Δελτίου Τύπου

On May 12th, aspecial  event was held with particular success at the Consulate General of Greece in New York for the commemoration of the Genocide of the Greeks of Pontus. The event was organized by the Pan- Pontian Federation of USA & Canada in cooperation with other Pontian associations and the Holy Institution Panagia Soumela.

During hisremarks, the Consul General of Greece in New York, Dinos Konstantinou, expressed his emotion at his first participation in the commemoration and tribute of the 104th anniversary of the Genocide of the Greeks of Pontus, a heinous crime that was committed with unprecedented brutality and left an indelible mark on all of Hellenism.

He also emphasized that there is an historical, moral and national duty of passing on these narratives of the sacrifice and martyrdom of the Pontians to the younger generations for the preservation of historical memory and the highlighting of historical truth. For this reason, Greece, as the first country to recognize the Pontian Genocide, designated May 19 and September 14 as commemoration days of the Genocide of the Greeks of Pontus and of the Christian populations of Asia Minor, respectively, while it has initiated and developed international collaborations with the ultimate goal of recognition of the Pontian Genocide by the international community.

He also expressed his satisfaction at the recognition of the Genocide by the  USStates of jurisdiction of the Consulate General thanks to the persistent efforts of the Pontic communities of these States. The preservation of this memory as an unquenchable flame becomes a power for the continuation of the fight for the international recognition of the Genocide, and in fact at a time when authoritarian revisionism threatens the stability not only of Greece but also of the planet. “We honor, we claim and we do not forget”, concluded the General Consul Dinos Konstantinou.

This special event attended and addressed a greeting, therepresentative of the Archbishop of America Elpidophoros, Father NektariosPapazafeiropoulos of Archdiocese of America, the Honorable President of AHEPA, Jimmy Kokotas, the President of the Pontic Federation of the USA and Canada Gus Tsilfidis and the President of the Pontic Youth Association USA-and Canada Alex Stefanidis.

The President of the ‘Panagia Soumela’ Foundation Dr. Charalambos Vassiliadis gave a short but comprehensive presentation of the history of Pontus from ancient times to the era of theGenocide(1914-1923).

During the event, a video with the remarks of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greece Mr. Nikos Dendias was presented to the audience. The moving commemoration event closed with the screening of the short film "Genocide – A true story" by Vasiliki Tsanaktsidou and with the demonstration of traditional Pontic dances by young Greek-Americans of Pontic origin.