Pontian Greek Genocide remembered as communities honour victims and survivors

The Day of Remembrance for the Genocide of the Greeks of Pontus was established successful 1994 by determination of the Hellenic Parliament and is commemorated each year connected 19 May.

On 19 May 1919, during the Asia Minor Campaign, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk landed successful Samsun successful the Pontus region, initiating the 2nd and harshest signifier of the Genocide of the Pontian Greeks. This took spot within the broader discourse of the Turkish War of Independence against the Western powers (British, French, Italians and Greeks), which occupied territories successful Asia Minor. Between 200,000 and 350,000 Pontian Greeks were exterminated by the Young Turks betwixt 1916 and 1923, from a total colonisation of astir 750,000.

In aboriginal 1991, the parliamentary radical of PASOK unanimously accepted a connection by enactment person Andreas Papandreou, pursuing a missive from Pontian MPs of the movement, to submit authorities for the authoritative designation by Parliament of the Pontian Genocide and the constitution of 19 May arsenic the “Day of Remembrance of the Pontian Genocide”.

As a result, connected 1 April 1992, 22 PASOK MPs submitted the applicable bill, which was ne'er brought guardant for treatment by the Mitsotakis government.

Following PASOK’s instrumentality to powerfulness successful October 1993, the measure was reintroduced to Parliament connected 9 December 1993 and was unanimously passed connected 24 February 1994. Law 2193/94, published connected 11 March 1994 successful the Government Gazette (Issue 32 A’), officially established 19 May arsenic the Day of Remembrance of the Genocide of the Greeks of Pontus.