Three Pontus federations unanimously condemn the attack against the mayor of Thessaloniki,, Yiannis Boutaris. In a joint statement issued late on Saturday, the federations underline that the perpetrators are “extreme elements not related to the organized Pontus field.”
“We condemn in the most categorical manner the attack at Mayor of Thessaloniki, Yannis Boutaris, received today. The extreme elements, the perpetrators of the attack, have nothing to do with the organized Pontus field. We mention that members of the organization committee of event were injured in their attempt to protect the Mayor, ” the announcement said.
The statement is signed by the President of the Pancyprian Federation of Greece, Christos Topalidis, the President of the Pan-Hellenic Federation of Pontian Societies, Christina Sachinidou, and the President of the Panhellenic Federation of Associations of Repatriated Pontus Greeks from the former USSR, Sergios Kalpazidis.
75-year-old Yiannis Boutaris was brutally beaten by an angry far-right mob while he was attending an event to commemorate the thousands of Pontus Greeks massacred by the Turks in the beginning of 20th century.
I attended the Pontian Genocide Commemoration in Syntagma (Athens) yesterday. It was a very calm and friendly event. I was surprised to read what happened in Thessaloniki yesterday.