Greece’s Education Minister Nikos Filis is under relentless fire by opposition MPs and the whole Pontic population after expressing the opinion that the slaughtering of 350,000 Pontian Greeks by the Turkish army was not a genocide.
When asked about the incident, government spokesperson Olga Gerovasili defended the minister saying that he was expressing his personal opinion which does not represent the opinion of the government. Speaking on Real radio she claimed that in a leftist government different opinions are acceptable. She further said that the opposition has blown the issue out of proportion for political gain.
New Democracy MP Makis Voridis asked in parliament Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to terminate Filis:”The minister’s statement, apparently is already exploited by Turkish policy to weaken the argument concerning genocides committed by the Turkish State developed internationally and therefore harmed directly and immediately the objectives of Greek foreign policy, which is pressing Turkey to recognize the genocide of Greeks of Pontos and Asia Minor.”
Greek Parliament has officially recognized the killings of Greek Pontians as genocide in 1994 and May 19 has been designated as an annual day of remembrance.
House Speaker Nikos Voutsis said he recognizes the 1994 Parliament decision but defended Filis saying that every person is entitled to their opinions and would be judged on them.
Deputy Foreign Minister Yiannis Amanatidis said: “The history of Pontos will remain indisputably real. The scientific research can be expressed freely in a democracy, however the government’s position is well-known and has been publicly expressed by the former government spokesperson on May 19, 2015, as well as the speeches on days commemorating the Pontic Genocide in the past.”
On behalf of the Pan-Pontian Federation of Greece, chairman Christos Topalidis said that “…arguments about the genocide like the one Mr. Filis has stated are only expressed by organizations like [Turkey’s] Grey Wolves.”
The Pontic Genocide of 1914-1923 is recognized by a number of Parliaments beyond that of Greece, and has been officially documented by the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS).
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