A solemn ceremony in central Athens has marked the 107th anniversary of the Genocide of the Pontic Greeks, with commemorations held at Syntagma Square and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Monday evening.
The date of May 19 is observed by Pontic Greeks as a key moment in their historical memory, marking the 1919 landing of Mustafa Kemal in Samsun, which Greek accounts associate with the beginning of the most violent phase of persecution, displacement and mass killings of Pontic Greek communities in what is now Turkey’s eastern Black Sea region.
Commemorative organisations and Greek sources cite a death toll of 353,000.
Members of Pontic associations, many dressed in traditional black clothing, gathered outside Parliament alongside attendees of all ages to honour those who were forced into exile during early 20th-century upheavals.
The memorial event was organised by the Pan-Pontian Federation of Greece, which has long coordinated public remembrance initiatives and awareness campaigns.
A notable moment of the ceremony took place outside the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, where the Presidential Guard Evzones performed the changing of the guard wearing a traditional Pontic uniform.
The commemoration comes amid continued diplomatic tension, with Turkey’s foreign ministry issuing a statement on the same day condemning the events.
Ankara rejected references to genocide as “incompatible with historical facts,” accusing Greece of distorting history and targeting Turkey’s national struggle, and also alleging Greek officials and organisations were “exploiting historical grievances for political purposes.”
Source: Tovima.
