Η 19η Μαΐου είναι η επέτειος της Ποντιακής γενοκτονίας. Είναι ημέρα αφιερωμένη στην ιερή μνήμη των 353.000 Ελλήνων του Πόντου, γηγενών από χιλιετηρίδες στην περιοχή, που με ψυχρά υπολογισμένο και συστηματικό τρόπο εξοντώθηκαν, με την έμπνευση και καθοδήγηση του εμπνευστή και ιδρυτή του σύγχρονου Τουρκικού κράτους, Κεμάλ Ατατούρκ.
Η 19η Μαΐου 1919, είναι η ημέρα πού ο Κεμάλ, αποβιβάστηκε στην Σαμψούντα, οπότε και άρχισε η συστηματική επιχείρηση της εξοντώσεως ενός ολόκληρου λαού. Οι τρόποι, οι μέθοδοι και τα μέσα που χρησιμοποίησαν οι Τούρκοι, για να εξοντώσουν τον Ποντιακό Ελληνισμό, είναι απίστευτα: επιστράτευση και εξόντωση νέων, τάγματα εργασίας - τάγματα θανάτου, στρατόπεδα συγκέντρωσης και εξόντωσης, συνεχής εργασία και αγγαρείες κάτω από άθλιες συνθήκες, επιδρομές ατάκτων και σφαγές αμάχων στα ελληνικά χωριά.
Τις παραμονές του Α΄ Παγκοσμίου Πολέμου οι Έλληνες του Πόντου αριθμούσαν 700.000 άτομα. Από αυτά μέχρι το 1923 είχαν εξοντωθεί με ειδεχθείς τρόπους 353.000. Πρόκειται για ένα οργανωμένο σχέδιο αφανισμού των μη τουρκικών πληθυσμών από το νεοτουρκικό κράτος το οποίο είχε ήδη καταρτισθεί από τους εγκεφάλους των Νεότουρκων από το 1911 ακόμη.
Ο Πόντος ερούξεν
Ο Πόντον μάνα, έρουξεν,
η Τραπεζούνταν επάρθεν,
όλεα το 'κες ερήμωσαν
και η Ρωμανίαν εχάθεν.
Η Ρωμανία πώς μικραίν,
πώς κόπουν τα ποδάρεα τσς,
πώς κόπουν τα στράτας ατσς
και χάνταν τ' ιχνάρεα τσς.
Σύννεφα μαύρα ασήν Πόλ',
έρχουνταν σο Αιγαίον,
ατσάπαν ντο θα είνουμες'
και εμείς κορτσόπον νέον.
Στ. Καζαντζίδης, Ποντιακή Ραψωδία
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Έλληνες συγγραφείς και καλλιτέχνες είχαν απευθύνει προς τους διανοούμενους της Ευρώπης και Αμερικής την εξής διαμαρτυρία:
Αθήναι, 22 Νοεμβρίου 1921
“Μετά βαθυτάτης συγκινήσεως οι συγγραφείς και καλλιτέχναι της Ελλάδος απευθύνονται προς τους διανοούμενους του πεπολιτισμένου κόσμου όπως γνωστοποιήσουν εις αυτούς την τραγωδία χιλιάδων οικογενειών του ελληνικού Πόντου. Ξηρά, εξηκριβωμένα και αναμφισβήτητα γεγονότα είναι τα εξής:
Οι Τούρκοι εφόνευσαν όλους ανεξαιρέτως τους κατοίκους της πόλεως Μερζιφούντος, αφού την ελεηλάτησαν και την επυρπόλησαν. Τους προσπαθούντας να διασωθούν ετυφέκισαν και εθανάτωσαν, καταλαβόντες τας διόδους. Μετετόπισαν όλον τον άρρενα πληθυσμόν των πόλεων Τριπόλεως, Κερασούντος, Ορδούς, Οινόης, Αμισού και Πάφρας και καθ' οδόν κατέσφαξαν τους πλείστους εξ αυτών. Έκλεισαν εντός του ναού του χωρίου Ελεζλή εν Σουλού- Τερέ 535 Έλληνας και τους κατέσφαξαν διασωθέντων μόνο τεσσάρων. Πρώτους έσφαξαν 7 ιερείς δια πελέκεως προς της θύρας του ναού. Απηγχόνησαν εν Αμάσεια 168 προκρίτους Αμισού και Πάφρας. Εβίασαν όλας ανεξαιρέτως τας γυναίκας, τας παρθένους και τα παιδιά των άνω πόλεων, τας ωραιοτέρας δε παρθένους και νέους έκλεισαν εις τα χαρέμια. Πλείστα βρέφη εφόνευσαν, σφενδονίζοντες αυτά κατά των τοίχων.
Οι υπογεγραμμένοι θέτουσι τα ανωτέρω υπ' οψιν των διανοουμένων της Ευρώπης και της Αμερικής θεωρούντες ότι όχι μόνον τα γεγονότα ταύτα, αλλά και η ανοχή αυτών αποτελεί πένθος της ανθρωπότητας.
Αννινος Χ., Αυγέρης Μ., Βλαχογιάννης Ι., Βώκος Γερ., Γρυπάρης Ι., Δούζας Α., Δροσίνης Γ., Ζάχος Α., Θεοδωροπούλου Αύρα, Θεοτόκης Κ., Ιακωβίδης Γ., Καζαντζάκης Ν., Καζαντζάκη Γαλ., Καμπάνης Αρ., Καμπούρογλους Δ., Καρολίδης Π., Κόκκινος Δ., Κορομηλάς Γ., Μαλακάσης Μ., Μαλέας., Μένανδρος Σ., Νικολούδης Θ., Νιρβάνας Π., Ξενόπουλος Γρ., Παλαμάς Κ., Παπαντωνίου Ζ., Παράσχος Κ., Πασαγιάννης Κ., Πολίτης Φ., Πωπ Γ., Σικελιανός Αγγ., Σκίπης Σ., Στρατήγης Γ., Ταγκόπουλος Δ., Τσοκόπουλος Γ., Φυλλύρας Ρ., Χατζιδάκις Γ., Χατζόπουλος Δ., Χόρν Π., Σβορώνος Ι.
Μεθ' όλης της πικρίας δια την κυρίωςυπό της Γαλλίας, και υπό ουδενός αισθήματος ή συμφέροντος ανθρωπίνου, δικαιολογημένην εγκατάληψιν εις σφαγήν των Χριστιανών.
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AHI Praises Governor Pataki For Issuing Pontian Greek Genocide Proclamation
June 13, 2002
The American Hellenic Institute (AHI) applauds New York State Governor George E. Pataki for his recent proclamation designating May 19, 2002 as "Pontian Greek Genocide Remembrance Day". The Governor's initiative increases awareness of the violence and genocide perpetrated against the Pontian Greek population in Asia Minor at the hands of the Turkish government during the early part of the twentieth century. Also remembered are the tragedies that befell the Armenian and Assyrian populations of the region.
Recognition of these tragic events is crucial in preventing their repetition in that region and elsewhere. Governor Pataki's proclamation is significant especially based on this reason, and AHI thanks him for his very important initiative.
The full text of Governor Pataki's May 19, 2002 "Pontian Greek Genocide Remembrance Day" proclamation appears below.
PROCLAMATION
Whereas, the Empire State is home to many ethnic communities whose members benefit from the freedom and democracy upon which our Nation was founded; as a global leader in many areas of basic human and social rights, New York State has a prominent role in acknowledging events in history -- many of them tragic and distressing -- that teach valuable lessons from which our greater society benefits; one such event is the Genocide of the Greeks of Pontus and Asia Minor, a tragedy that took the lives of an estimated 353,000 Greek civilians during World War I; and
Whereas, these Greeks, whose ancestors had lived in communities along present-day northern Turkey near the Black Sea for three millennia, were singled out by the Turkish authorities for expulsion along with Armenians and Assyrians; from 1915-1923, Pontian Greeks endured immeasurable cruelty during a Turkish Government-sanctioned campaign to displace them; an estimated 353,000 Pontian Greeks died while being forcibly marched without provisions across the Anatolian plains to the Syrian border and those who survived were exiled from Turkey and today they and their descendants live throughout the Greek diaspora; and
Whereas, the Turkish perpetrators of genocide in Asia Minor were notably brutal when executing their campaign to displace Greeks, Armenians and Assyrians from their ancestral lands; the formerΉs attack on the latter was widely noticed but largely unchecked by the world community; the celebrated book, "Not Even My Name," is one of the few English-language accounts of the Pontian Genocide; it is a touching story of perseverance, triumph and healing, and makes an important contribution to the treasury of works that clarify our understanding of this dark chapter in history; and
Whereas, it is believed by many that acknowledgment and awareness of this shameful event will not only teach future generations, but also will help mankind prevent such crimes from being repeated; this concept is particularly important as our State works to instill in youth, a universal respect for other cultures, races, religions and viewpoints; and
Whereas, it is fitting that all freedom-loving people worldwide and New Yorkers alike, share in the solemn commemoration of the Pontian Genocide of 1915-23, and join with the Greek-American community and its many religious, communal and philanthropic organizations as they honor the sacrifices and memory of their noble ancestors;
Now, Therefore, I, George E. Pataki, Governor of the State of New York, do hereby proclaim May 19, 2002 as
PONTIAN GREEK GENOCIDE
REMEMBRANCE DAY
in the Empire State.
πηγή: http://www.ahiworld.com/061302.html
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Genocide recognition
Terminology
The word genocide was coined in the early 1940s by Raphael Lemkin, a Polish lawyer of Jewish descent. In his writings on genocide, Lemkin is known to have detailed the fate of Greeks in Turkey. In August 1946 the New York Times reported:
Genocide is no new phenomenon, nor has it been utterly ignored in the past. ... The massacres of Greeks and Armenians by the Turks prompted diplomatic action without punishment. If Professor Lemkin has his way genocide will be established as an international crime ...
The 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (CPPCG) was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in December 1948 and came into force in January 1951. It defines genocide in legal terms. There are a number of other genocide definitions used by historians and genocide scholars which some consider better suited for academic use.
Before the word genocide came to exist in the 1940s, the destruction of Ottoman Greeks was known, by Greeks, as 'the Massacre' (Greek: η Σφαγή) or 'the Great Catastrophe' (Greek: η Μεγάλη Καταστροφή) or "the Great Tragedy" (Greek: η Μεγάλη Τραγωδία). Primary source accounts would use improvised terms, such as "annihilation", "systematic extermination", "persistent campaign of massacre" and "wholesale massacre"
Academic
In December 2007 the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS), an organization of the world’s foremost experts on genocide, passed a resolution affirming that the 1914-1923 campaign against Ottoman Greeks constituted genocide. Employing the term "Greek Genocide", it affirmed that Ottoman Greeks were subject to genocide alongside other groups, namely Armenians and Assyrians. The resolution was adopted on 1 December 2007 and the press release issued by the organization on 16 December. The IAGS resolution was passed with an "overwhelming" majority. However, a few members of the organisation argued that more scholarship should be completed before a genocide resolution was endorsed. They included scholars who had researched and published on the Armenian Genocide, namely Taner Akcam, Peter Balakian, Stephen Feinstein, Eric Weitz and Robert Melson.
Mark Levene has speculated that some historians avoid using the term genocide in order to prevent their magnification by comparison with the Armenian Genocide. Historian Mark Mazower states that the deportation of Greeks by the Ottomans was on a "relatively small scale and do not appear to have been designed to end in their victims' deaths. What was to happen with the Armenians was of a different order." On the other hand, and as per the IAGS resolution, Niall Ferguson, for instance, has drawn a comparison with the fate of the Armenians and believes the term genocide is fitting. Moreover, genocide scholars, such as Dominik J. Schaller and Jürgen Zimmerer, have stated that the "genocidal quality of the murderous campaigns against Greeks" is "obvious".
Seminars and courses in several western universities examine the events. These include the University of New Mexico the College of Charleston, the University of Michigan Dearborn and the University of New South Wales which has a dedicated research unit.
Political
The Greek Parliament has passed two laws on the fate of the Ottoman Greeks; the first in 1994 and the second in 1998. The decrees were published in the Greek Government Gazette on 8 March 1994 and 13 October 1998 respectively. The 1994 decree affirmed the genocide in the Pontus region of Asia Minor and designated 19 May a day of commemoration, while the 1998 decree affirmed the genocide of Greeks in Asia Minor as a whole and designated 14 September a day of commemoration.
The Republic of Cyprus also officially recognizes the events as genocide.
In response to the 1998 law, the Turkish government released a statement which claimed that describing the events as genocide was "without any historical basis". "We condemn and protest this resolution" a Turkish Foreign Ministry statement said. "With this resolution the Greek Parliament, which in fact has to apologize to the Turkish people for the large-scale destruction and massacres Greece perpetrated in Anatolia, not only sustains the traditional Greek policy of distorting history, but it also displays that the expansionist Greek mentality is still alive" the statement added. The law passed by the Greek government also met some opposition domestically. For example, incorrectly interpreting the decree as pertaining to the Smyrna 1922 events and believing it to be politically motivated, the late Greek historian Angelos Elefantis claimed the Greek parliament was acting "like an idiot".
In his book With Intent to Destroy: Reflections on Genocide, Colin Tatz argue that Turkey denies the genocide so not to jeopardize "its ninety-five-year-old dream of becoming the beacon of democracy in the Near East". In their book Negotiating the Sacred: Blasphemy and Sacrilege in a Multicultural Society, Elizabeth Burns Coleman and Kevin White present a list of reasons explaining Turkey's inability to admit the genocides committed by the Young Turks
International community
The incidents are also recognized as genocide in some states of the USA. The states of South Carolina, New Jersey, Florida, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Illinois have passed resolutions recognizing it. In addition, George E. Pataki, governor of the New York State issued a proclamation designating 19 May 2002 as Pontian Greek Genocide Remembrance Day, although since states within the United States do not have foreign-policy authority those statements are not legally binding on a federal US level.
Armenia mentions the "Greek Genocide", its commemoration, and a death toll of 600,000 Greeks in Anatolia, in its first report to the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages of the Council of Europe. In addition, on 19 May 2004 an event commemorating the Pontian Greek victims of the Greek Genocide was held in Yerevan, Armenia and was attended by "Greek ambassador to Armenia, Antonios Vlavianos, other dignitaries, government officials and ordinary Armenians".
In Australia, the issue was raised in the Parliament of Victoria on 4 May 2006, by the Minister for Justice Jenny Mikakos. On 30 April 2009 the House of Assembly of the Parliament of South Australia passed a motion recognising "the genocide by the Ottoman state between 1915-1923" of Armenians, Greeks, Syrian and other minorities in Asia Minor.
On 7 June 2006 Stephen Pound, member of the British House of Commons linked the case of the Ottoman Greeks with the Armenians and Assyrians claiming that "3.5 million of the historic Christian population of Assyrians, Armenians and Greeks then living in the Ottoman empire had been murdered—starved to death or slaughtered—or exiled by 1923."
In Serbia, an event commemorating the Pontian Greek victims of the Greek Genocide was held in the Chapel of the Belgrade Theology School in 1998.
Nongovernmental organizations
In Germany, organizations such as Verein der Völkermordgegner e.V (i.e. "Union against Genocide") or the initiative Mit einer Stimme sprechen (i.e. "Speaking with One Voice") aim at the official recognition of the genocide of Christian minorities, such as Armenians, Greeks and Assyrians in the late Ottoman Empire.
On 19 May 2007, the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) issued a press release stating that the organization "joins with Pontian Greeks - and all Hellenes around the world - in commemorating 19 May, the international day of remembrance for the genocide initiated by the Ottoman Empire and continued by Kemalist Turkey against the historic Greek population of Pontus" and reaffirms its "determination to work together with all the victims of Turkey's atrocities to secure full recognition and justice for these crimes".
Reasons for limited recognition
The United Nations, the European Parliament, and the Council of Europe have not made any related statements. According to Constantine Fotiadis, professor of Modern Greek History at the University of Aristotle, some of the reasons for the lack of wider recognition and delay in seeking acknowledgment of these events are as follows:
The Greek Genocide was overshadowed by a larger Armenian Genocide, a view also shared by the historian Mark Levene.
In contrast to the Treaty of Sèvres, the superseding Treaty of Lausanne in 1923 dealt with these events by making no reference or mention, and thus sealed the end of the Asia Minor Catastrophe.
A subsequent peace treaty (Greco-Turkish Treaty of Friendship in June 1930) between Greece and Turkey. Greece made several concessions to settle all open issues between the two countries in return for peace in the region.
The Second World War, the Civil War, and the political turmoil in Greece that followed forced Greece to focus on its survival and other problems rather than seek recognition of these events.
πηγη: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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αναφορές στην Γενοκτονία των Ποντίων
“Η πολιτική των Τούρκων είναι μέσω μιας γενικευμένης καταδίωξης του ελληνικού στοιχείου, να εξοντόσει τους Έλληνες ως εχθρούς του Κράτους, όπως πριν τους Αρμένιους. Οι Τούρκοι εφαρμόζουν τακτική εκτόπισης των πληθυσμών, δίχως διάκριση και δυνατότητα επιβίωσης, απ' τις ακτές στο εσωτερικό της χώρας, ώστε οι εκτοπιζόμενοι να είναι εκτεθειμένοι στην αθλιότητα και τον θάνατο από πείνα. Τα εγκαταλειπόμενα σπίτια των εξοριζόμενων λεηλατούνται από τα τουρκικά τάγματα τιμωρίας ή καίγονται και καταστρέφονται. Και όλα τα άλλα μέτρα τα οποία εις τους διωγμούς των Αρμενίων ευρίσκοντο εις ημερησίαν διάταξιν, επαναλαμβάνονται τώρα εναντίων των Ελλήνων”
Πολυχρόνης Κ. Ενεπεκίδης, Οι διωγμοί των Ελλήνων του Πόντου (1908-1918), ό.π., σελ. 11.
“Η καταστροφή των χωρίων ήρξατο κατα τον Απρίλιον του 1921 και συνεπληρώθη προ μηνός. Άπαντα τα χωρία κατεστράφησαν, εκάησαν, εξερριζώθησαν τελείως. Πάντες οι κάτοικοι των χωρίων τούτων εξωρίσθηκαν και εφονεύθησαν αδιακρίτως γένους και ηλικίας [...] Εκ των εις τα βουνά καταφυγόντων οι ημίσεις απέθανον εκ κακουχιών και φόνων και ασθενειών [...] Εγένοντο Αποστολαί εξορίστων εις το εσωτερικόν. Εκάστης Αποστολής οι εξόριστοι ελαμβάνοντο κατ' εκλογήν μεταξύ των εχόντων ηλικίαν 10 – 70 ετών. Η τύχη των εξοριζομένων ήτο ως επί το πλείστον σφαγή, αγχόνη και θάνατος εκ κακώσεων και πείνης”
αρχείο Μουσείου Μπενάκη , φάκελος 316
ο Βρετανός πρωθυπουργός Λόουντ Τζωρτζ προέβη σε δημόσιες δηλώσεις στη Βουλή των Κοινοτήτων (1921): “(Στον Πόντο) δεκάδες χιλιάδες ανδρών, γυναικών και παιδιών απελαύνονταν και πέθαιναν. Ήταν καθαρή ηθελημένη εξολόθρευση. “εξολόθρευση” δεν είναι δική μου λέξη. Είναι λέξη που χρησιμοποιεί η Αμερικανική Αποστολή”
House of Commons. The Parliamentary Debates, Fifth Series, τομ. 157, σελ. 2001 – 2002
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