Bethnahrin National Council issues a statement on 105th anniversary of Pontic Greek Genocide

BETH NAHRIN — The  the Bethnahrin National Council (Mawtbo Umthoyo D’Bethnahrin, MUB) issued a statement on Pontic Greek Genocide that was carried out by the Ottoman Empire during the first World War.

During the years of the first World War, the Ottoman Empire carried out a strategy of genocide against Christian peoples. It committed one of the greatest crimes in history against humanity.

The plans of the Union and Progress Movement aimed at creating a Turkic-Islamic nation to destroy the indigenous ancient Christian peoples of Mesopotamia and Anatolia.

“On 19 May, 1919, a comprehensive ethnic and religious cleansing was launched against the Pontic Greek people in the Black Sea region and many regions of Anatolia. This genocide, which is a continuation of the genocide that took place from 1914 to 1915, since it was a basic mentality after the establishment of the Turkish Republic. Hundreds of thousands of Pontic Greek inhabitants of the Black Sea region were slaughtered. All their wealth and culture were also plundered, as well as their historical and religious monuments were destroyed,” read the MUB statement.

People were forbidden to speak their own language and were expelled from their homes. This ethnic cleansing was systematically carried out against Christian peoples and other identities since 1914. Tens of thousands of people have been forcibly displaced and separated from their identities, beliefs and roots.

The Turkish Republic, which inherited the heritage of the Ottoman Empire, made a demographic change in the territory it occupied after it destroyed many civilizations.

The MUB declared that since the governments of the Turkish Republic relied on a policy of destruction and deprivation, they formed a unified nation with a racist education system.

Therefore, feelings of hatred against different identities, languages, cultures and beliefs are enhanced, and hostile approaches appear. In addition, facts are distorted and peoples are ignored.

The mentality that created the Turkish Republic poisoned the entire Middle East and the consciousness of the people, many people were doomed to fear, lies and petty interests. People’s wealth has been spent on wars, prisons, torture centers, weapons of mass destruction and jihadists, and violence has become part of social life.

After the genocides committed against the Syriac (Aramean-Chaldean-Assyrian), Armenian and Pontic Greek peoples, whose religion is Christian, are unacceptable, their suffering also has not been compensated.

For this reason, the culture of democracy, law and relations of contemporary life in Turkey are not being formed and are not developing. This construction based on the racist-fascist mentality can be destroyed only by the common struggle of the people.

“On the 105th anniversary of the Pontic Greek Genocide, we respectfully commemorate all the martyrs and curse the murderers. Our struggle will continue until we condemn this genocidal mentality against our people,” the MUB concluded.