ANCA MARKS PONTIAN GREEK GENOCIDE REMEMBRANCE DAY
Joins
with Assyrian and Greek Communities in Seeking Justice for Turkey's
Genocidal Crimes
WASHINGTON, DC -
The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) joins with Pontian
Greeks - and all Hellenes around the world - in commemorating May 19th,
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 along the southeastern coast of the Black Sea.
"We join with the Hellenic American community in solemn remembrance
of the Pontian Genocide, and in reaffirming our determination to work
together with all the victims of Turkey's atrocities to secure full
recognition and justice for these crimes," said Aram Hamparian,
Executive Director of the ANCA.
The Ottoman Empire, under the cover of World War I, undertook a systematic
and deliberate effort to eliminate its minority Christian populations.
This genocidal campaign resulted in the death and deportation of well over
2,000,000 Armenians, Assyrians, and Greeks.
The Pontian Genocide has been formally acknowledged by Greece and Cyprus
and, within the United States, by the states of New York, New Jersey,
Florida, South Carolina, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Illinois, among
others.
