International Forum Confronts Forgotten Chapter of Genocide History 

New York — A century after the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, the wounds of its violent unraveling remain deeply felt by descendants of the empire’s Christian peoples. This week, the Eastern Mediterranean Business and Cultural Alliance (EMBCA) hosted its third annual forum on the Greek Genocide, bringing together leading scholars to confront a still-contested chapter of 20th-century history: the coordinated destruction of Armenians, Greeks, and Syriacs (Chaldeans-Assyrians-Arameans) between 1914 and 1923. 

Moderated by EMBCA president Lou Katsos, the forum offered a sobering reassessment of the events often treated as fragmented or regionally isolated. “These were not separate atrocities,” Katsos said, “but a coherent campaign of ethnic cleansing aimed at homogenizing a collapsing empire.” 

One of the key presentations, titled From Empire to Nation-State, was delivered by humanitarian researcher and historian Dr. Themistocles Kritikakos. His talk traced how Ottoman pluralism gave way to ethnic nationalism, leading to systematic persecution under both the late Ottoman regime and the Turkish nationalist movement. Drawing on the work of Turkish historian Taner Akçam, Kritikakos argued that genocide in this context should be understood not as a single event, but as a cumulative process—unfolding in stages from legal discrimination and economic marginalization to mass deportation and extermination. 

The panel featured experts including Dr. Fatma Müge Göçek of the University of Michigan, Lou Ureneck of Boston University, and Dr. Vasileios Meichanetsidis, whose work underscores the ideological roots and geopolitical anxieties that fueled the destruction. From the Hamidian massacres of the 1890s to the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, which codified the population exchange between Greece and Turkey, speakers detailed a trajectory of escalating state violence driven by fears of internal disloyalty and foreign interference. 

Territorial losses in the Balkan Wars and the influx of Muslim refugees intensified Turkish nationalist sentiment. The Young Turks’ Committee of Union and Progress increasingly portrayed Armenians, Greeks, and Syriacs (Arameans-Chaldeans-Assyrians) as existential threats. This rhetoric laid the groundwork for atrocities such as the Sayfo Genocide, the Armenian Genocide of 1915, the Pontic Greek persecutions of 1916–1922, and the burning of Smyrna in 1922. 

The forum also emphasized the complicity of local actors, including Kurdish and Arab militias, and noted that lesser-known groups—Syriac Maronites, Antiochian (Rum) Greeks, Yezidis, and Jews—also faced targeted violence. The lack of accountability, particularly following the collapse of the Treaty of Sèvres and the absence of lasting international legal mechanisms, allowed perpetrators to consolidate power and narratives. 

Scholars urged greater public education and political recognition to confront what they see as a century of denial. “The legacy of this violence still haunts regional politics,” said Dr. Theodosios Kyriakidis of Aristotle University. “Understanding its scope is essential for justice, reconciliation, and the integrity of historical memory.” 

As Turkey continues to suppress open discussion of these events, forums like EMBCA’s serve as vital platforms for truth-telling. “Acknowledging the past,” Katsos concluded, “is not about blame—it’s about healing, accountability, and ensuring these crimes are never repeated.”