With a special message, the building of the Greek Palriament was lit up on Wednesday evening to mark the anniversary of the Pontic Genocide, the massacre of ethnic Greeks who lived on the shores of the Black Sea by the Turks during World War I and the subsequent Greek-Turkish war, in the period 1914-1923.
A minute of silence was kept at the Plenary.
“We must stand up to the oblivion that befits those who committed crimes and who are now trying to distort history,” said Deputy Prime Minister Panagiotis Pikramenos during the session. He stressed that genocide is a global issue, as is the Holocaust of the Jews and the Genocide of the Armenians.
On 24. February 1994 Greece officially recognized the Genocide on some 370,000 Pontic Greeks and the Palriament voted to designated May 19 as the day of remembrance.
Events to remember the thousands of massacred Pontic men, women and children are held across Greece on Remembrance Day.
Do not forget …