05/19/2020 Turkey (International Christian Concern) – Today marks the anniversary of the Greek (Pontic) genocide which occurred from 1913-1922 in modern day Turkey. In the days preceding, Turkish press continued with their denial of this internationally recognized historical event. The newspaper Birlik Gazetesi published an article which implied disbelief by referring to it as a “so-called ‘genocide’” in the article’s title. Instead of providing an impartial account of the commemoration of the Greek genocide, the Turkish news source denied its occurrence altogether.
The Greek genocide was part of a larger attack on ethnic-Christian minorities, including Armenians, and Assyrians. At least 450,000 Greeks were killed during the exterminations, all as part of the Ottoman-era campaign to create a “Turkey for the Turks.” The genocide effectively eliminated the Christian presence in Turkey.
Turkey’s continued denial of the Greek genocide has led to a number of hardships for the descendants of the genocide’s survivors. Turkey has never acknowledged or apologized for these exterminations, and the country continues to enforce policies that ostracize Greek Christians within the nation. This has led to discrimination, the destruction of cultural heritage sites, and at times even new loss of life.
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