The government's decision to erect a monument in Paralimni for the Pontic Genocide, work on which will begin as soon as the Municipality indicates the site, as well as the allocation of a state building, a government residence in Nicosia, which will operate as the Center for Pontic Culture, was announced tonight by the President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides.
In his speech at the anniversary event of the Commemoration of the Genocide of the Pontic Greeks, which took place last night in Paralimni, President Christodoulides said that every time he participates in events for the anniversary of May 19, 1919 to honor the victims of the Genocide of the Pontic Greeks, he is overcome by "a shiver of emotion and pride. Especially today, when we are in the border area of the Free Province of Famagusta, which has been almost 85% under Turkish occupation for half a century, together with Pontic ensembles with our Pontic brothers from Greece and Cyprus."
He added that "the feelings are intense and mixed" and noted that "the Greeks of Pontus, with a long-standing presence of almost three thousand years on the lands of Pontus, were forced to abandon their homeland and seek new destinations, either north to countries of the former Soviet Union or to mother Greece. With them, wherever they went, they carried their unslavish and proud Greek soul, they carried their hard work, their intelligence, their honesty and their culture."
He also noted that "despite the hardships, the successive relocations, the extremely difficult survival conditions and national adventures, they managed after more than 100 years to maintain an indelible memory and an indelible seal of their origin. Wherever our Pontian brothers were, wherever they ended up, they live with dignity and pride, they grafted the societies that host them and their new homelands and contributed to all areas of life, in the arts, in culture, in entrepreneurship, in sports, in literature, in politics."
Apart from Greece, President Christodoulides continued, "many Pontians traveled and migrated for a second and even third time to many parts of the world. Everywhere, however, they maintained their traditions and origins with vigor and unparalleled zeal," he said, adding that "their language, music, dance and song are heard to this day and captivate everyone, Pontians and non-Pontians alike."
They managed, the President said, "to make all Greeks and not only them sharers and followers of their tradition, thanks to the strength of their soul and the incredible energy they transmit."
He also noted that "even in Cyprus, pained and wounded by the tragic events of modern history, Pontic Hellenism, and we are proud of this, gives its own testimony and wins over more and more souls of Greeks in Cyprus. Within this context, many of our compatriots are interested in learning to sing and dance Pontic, they are interested in learning about the history of Pontic Hellenism either through personal testimonies or through historical research and studies."
And this, he said, "because the Greeks of Pontus and the Greeks of Cyprus, with their undeniable and uninterrupted Greek origin, feel and are brothers in soul, brothers in fate, brothers in struggles, brothers in faith and culture."
In his greeting, the President of the Republic referred to one of the first decisions taken by the government in the Council of Ministers and expressed satisfaction with the fact that it is already being implemented, namely "that May 19th be taught in our schools, that all children in Cyprus learn what happened to our Pontian brothers so many years ago. The Minister of Education can testify to the interest of our children in these two years that the History of Pontic Hellenism and the drama of our brothers from Pontus have been taught in our schools," he noted.
According to President Christodoulides, "Virgin Mary Soumela and Apostle Andrew are great symbols of the faith and desire of the Pontians, pilgrimages and places of prayer and promise. It is no coincidence that in the free areas of Cyprus, churches have been erected in honor of Virgin Mary Soumela and Pontic Greeks make vows at the occupied Monastery of Apostle Andrew in Rizokarpaso."
After saying that "we are united by many things, the same things that unite us with all the Greeks of Asia Minor, Cappadocia, Constantinople," President Christodoulides explained that these are "language, faith, culture, history, in one phrase, the painful Greekness. These bonds are strengthened daily, as evidenced by the holding of tonight's event and by the recent decisions, and he honors all those who made the decisions, the School Ephorates in Famagusta and Paphos who have confirmed the naming of two halls in honor of the national martyr of Pontus Nikos Kapetanidis, one at Theoskepasti Gymnasium in Paphos and one at the Paralimni Lyceum."
The President of the Republic also referred to the event to which he was invited in Thessaloniki for Nikos Kapetanidis and Evagoras Pallikaridis and invited everyone to dedicate a few minutes to read the story of Nikos Kapetanidis and see "how many years later, 30 years later, Evagoras Pallikaridis followed exactly the same path."
Referring to the history of Pontic Hellenism, President Christodoulides said that it "received the first blow of Turkish fanaticism, mainly after the end of World War I. The Young Turk movement, led by Mustafa Kemal, landed in Samsun on May 19, 1919 to coordinate the ethnic cleansing campaign in Pontus that had already begun in 1914."
The Young Turks, he continued, "methodically and systematically, with persecutions, executions, massacres, arson, death marches, the Labor Battalions, are trying to weaken and eliminate every Christian element in the region. After the Armenians, the Greeks take their turn."
However, he noted, "despite the resistance from rebel groups, rebel groups such as EOKA, despite the constant appeals, mainly from the Church, to the West and the Greek Government for help, and despite the testimonies from foreign missionaries and diplomats, the work of the Young Turk movement proceeded normally and unhindered. During the ethnic cleansing, 350 thousand of our Pontic Greek brothers lost their lives."
The final end, the President said, "was given with the Asia Minor Catastrophe and the exchange of populations. Hundreds of thousands of Pontians among the one and a half million Asia Minor people, abandon their homeland, leave Sinope, Samsun, Kerasun, Trebizond, leave the densely vegetated Pontic Alps and the five-blue coastlines, leave the monuments, churches, monasteries, their homes, idyllic landscapes, properties, fertile soils, crops, leave their livelihoods and settle in new homelands, distant and unknown to them."
Since then, said President Christodoulides, "the Pontians have been struggling to keep their faith and origin alive. They establish Associations and Societies, erect monuments and pilgrimages so as not to forget, to pass on memories and to bear witness to the greatness of their soul."
He also mentioned that "since then, the Pontians have been fighting for the historically self-evident, the recognition of the Genocide by Turkey. Turkey denies it to this day and invokes unsubstantiated reasons, claiming that crimes and atrocities were allegedly committed by individual groups but not Genocide. To this day, however, with the persistent efforts of the Pontians of the world, the Genocide, in addition to Greece and Cyprus, has been indirectly or directly recognized by other countries, such as Sweden, Armenia, the Netherlands, certain states of the USA, Canada, Australia", while, as he said, "this effort continues".
President Christodoulides referred to certain issues that affect the daily life of the Pontians, as they had been communicated to him last year at a similar event, and for which, as he said, "I had publicly promised that as a Government we would examine them with a positive approach and explore relevant solutions. We started with the first decision of the government, which was teaching in schools," and then he referred to the specific issues.
He specifically referred to the "naturalization procedures, especially for applicants of Greek origin" and said that "as a first stage, we proceeded with legislative regulations so that certification of knowledge of the Greek language is not required - this is especially an issue that concerns your parents, the elderly - and indeed, for those who need it, we arranged, upon your request, for the relevant examination to be held more frequently in order to avoid any delays."
As the President said, he had a meeting today with the Minister of the Interior who informed him that "four thousand applications are currently pending which will proceed immediately."
Another issue is the provision of social pensions, he said, which he raised with the Greek Prime Minister, noting that "within the framework of the now institutionalized intergovernmental cooperation with the Greek Government, the issue has been set as a priority and we are proceeding with coordination between the competent authorities of Greece and Cyprus to resolve it."
At the same time, he announced "the Government's decision to erect a monument for the Pontus Genocide in Paralimni" and, addressing the Mayor of Paralimni-Derynia, Giorgos Nicolettos, he said that as soon as he indicates the site, "we will begin work, so that next year on this day we can inaugurate the Monument for the Pontus Genocide."
Furthermore, President Christodoulides continued, "as a Government we have decided to make available a state building, a government residence in Nicosia, which will operate as the Center for Pontic Culture, as a minimum recognition of our common struggles, our common goals and our common aspirations."
At the same time, he congratulated "all the involved groups in Cyprus and Greece, the Pontian Association "Temeteron" of Famagusta, the "Nikos Kapetanidis" Action Association, the Pontian Union of Argyroupoli, Attica, the Pontian Club of Kavala Prefecture and the Institute of Greek Culture of Cyprus, which makes us proud for their action and contribution, both in matters of preserving historical memory and in matters of culture, education and social solidarity."
He also congratulated the Municipality of Paralimni-Dheryneia and personally the Mayor since, as he said, this particular area is "one of the most hospitable areas of Cyprus and is in an area where 85% of its territory is under occupation."
Tonight, the President of the Republic concluded, "we honor all the heroes who fell in defense of the homeland, those who sacrificed and lost their lives during the national and liberation struggles, all the victims of every foreign, violent, expansionist and hostile atrocity. We remember, we do not forget the victims of the Genocide of the Pontic Greeks and we do not forget the victims of the Turkish invasion of 1974."
It is noted that those present at the event were, among others, the Minister of Education, the Deputy Ministers of Tourism and Immigration, the Primate of the Metropolis of Constantia and Famagusta, the Police Director of Famagusta, members of parliament, deputy mayors and a large crowd.
Source: KYPE
