With special honors Greece commemorates the genocide of 353,000 Pontus Greeks by the Ottoman Empire and the Turkish national movement in 1919. Wearing the traditional Pontic uniform Zipka,, two members of the Presidential Guard participated in the change of the guard at the Monument of the Unknown Soldier in front of the Greek Parliament earlier on Tuesday.
The Pontic lyre was “mourning” the loss of hundreds of thousands of men, women and children 101 years ago.
May 19 marks the Pontic Genocide Remembrance Day, when men, women and children were deported, marched to their death or massacred.
The political leadership of the country sent messages on the occasion of the day.
“Taking responsibility for the heinous acts of the past and sincere remorse are examples of the courage and responsibility of leaders who look forward to a future of peaceful coexistence and prosperity of peoples,” President of the Hellenic Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou said.
“Α century ago, the Pontian Greeks became the victims of an unprecedented atrocity.They were persecuted, displaced and exterminated. Those who survived left behind their ancestral homes to rise up again in the motherland,” stated Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
