The turks just love to make propaganda films to show just how evil and ruthless America is,haaa they are pathetic hypocrites who love to project their own guilty consciences on others.When we were protecting them from the soviets we were best buds with the backstabbing turks, now because we are at war with their fellow muslims we are now the bad guys.When is the world going to call turkey on its genocidal ways?

Posted by: tscipio at May 19, 2007 8:55 AM

Robert,

Thank you for posting this. Armenians, Assyrians (Syriacs), Greeks all suffered the same fate at the same time because it was part of a "solution" by the more fanatical Young Turks for the "problem" posed by non-Muslims (read: Christians) in the Ottoman Empire. After the Ottoman disaster in the Balkan wars the Young Turks realized that if the Ottoman Empire was to have its borders remain intact it would have to deal with the Christians. The Greeks already had a country so even though around 300,000 were killed in this period most were forcefully expelled at the Turks' insistence after the Greek army lost the war it was fighting against them in 1919-1922. The Turks maintain that the Greeks were trying to occupy their country. The Greeks counter by noting that they were trying to save their fellow Greeks from what the Turks had done previously and that this could only be accomplished by liberation.

As the Assyrians/Syriacs and Armenians had no country to go to they were mostly all killed and the few that escaped made it off to the West et al.

Now, all this may make one hate the Turks, especially since they seem to have learned nothing from their past (unlike Germany). But I tend to think along the lines of Prof. Taner Akcam who says that he prefers to think of the extremely brave (some may say foolhardy) Turkish Muslims who hid Christians even though they knew an order had gone out that such behavior will be rewarded with hanging.

We should also not exonerate the Germans in all this. It was the German extermination of the Herero and Nama tribal nations in Colonial German Africa that showed the Young Turks how "useful" genocide can be.

The Jews were not considered a threat because until Zionism emerged, they had no territorial claims on Ottoman territory. But even Ben Gurion realized that the Jews in Palestine could have faced a tragic fate and he urged his followers to hold back.

Of course the Turks will counter that the Christians were “traitors”. This is exactly the same excuse that the Khartoum Government today uses against the black Africans in Darfur and exactly the same excuse used before by the Hutus against the Tutsis in the Rwanda Genocide.

Didn’t Hitler consider Jews traitors working against the Reich too?

Posted by: purplemarbles at May 19, 2007 9:29 AM

and for those who are advocating getting out of Iraq.......

Where do you think those terrorists are going to flock to? It will be Kosovo in Europe.....Clinton brought the muhajadeen out of the Middle East and used it in his Kosovo oil war and to keep Greece and Turkey from blowing each other up for NATO's sake.

Now reality of today: Putin is ticked off about Serbia and the EU is ticked off about Kosovo being blocked by Russian.
History reminder: World Wars start in the Balkans.

Now fast forward to the near future of oil demand high, America and the EU are at odds with Russia, China and the Middle East Islamocommunists.
One spark.....might be Iran, might be the neo Syrians, might be Taiwan or it might be Kosovo sets a regional skirmish into a Greek Christian with a Turkish Islamic state and spreads for the reason of "national security" to include Russia which then sets off NATO.

That is a world war with America having to fight in Saudi Arabia, because America gave up Iraq in a very shortsighted get out of Iraq policy that people were fixated on.

The year is soon coming when the complainers who advocated this policy are going to either be silent or try and blame Bush for their policy too, because everyone in the future is going to want Iraq.....but it will be too late as Russia has it...along with 3/4's of the world's oil supply and the other quarter on fire in the Saudi oil fields.

These Eurasians butcher each other and always have....a small war is going to be fought with WMD which will close things down.....the big boys will arm to the teeth and within three and a half years a world war is coming which will slaughter billions.

Posted by: Lame Cherry at May 19, 2007 11:34 AM

Lame Cherry sounds like you have a cyrstal ball, what happens to mecca, does it go down to dust? that would be one sight l would love to see!

Posted by: ZenaWarriorPrincess at May 19, 2007 11:41 AM

I recommend thia website about the Pontian Greek Genocide, especially for educators. Some pictures are included.
http://www.xeniteas.net/history/PontianGenocide.pdf

Posted by: Johnathan at May 19, 2007 12:28 PM

Doom on all Jihads and all Jihadists. I have heard Greece is full of aggravating commies, leftists and America haters. But I can honestly say I have liked all Greeks and Armenians I have met here in USA. Same for real Lebanese I have met here with real meaning Christian Lebanese who used to vastly outnumber Sunni and Shiite

Posted by: dennisw at May 19, 2007 12:32 PM

EliasAlucard wrote :

"He considered them as Jews, which means they weren't Germans."

Actually in one of his televised speeches after 1936 Hitler uses the German word "Verrat"
meaning treason to describe Jews.Of course what you write is true to the extent that he didn’t even consider them human beings
but "Untermenschen" or sub-human.

Posted by: purplemarbles at May 19, 2007 1:11 PM

Another excellent pedagogical opportunity for teaching the infidels about the history of Islam. Let this incident, and that of the Armenians, become well known. Let it be taught in the classrooms, and let the story be re-enacted on the History Channel, let Mel Gibson direct a movie about it, this massacre of 350,000 Christians.

We need to know that the jihad did not begin on Sept. 11, 2001, nor was that attack even among the top 10 most violent incidents of the jihad. We think the jihad is all about us (D'Souza even claims that we're responsible for instigating it), but we've not even begun to taste what Greece, Armenia, Persia, the Baltics, and India have been dealing with for centuries.

Posted by: special_guest at May 19, 2007 1:21 PM

Another point worth mentioning is this: In the Ottoman context it is striking that NO ISLAMIC ethnic group rose up against the Turks. Under the Islamic way of doing things they were treated well whilst the dhimmis got the short end of the stick. This together with the European Enlightenment provided the instigation to seek freedom for the Christians. There were failed revolts even before the Enlightenment. It is just that after the Enlightenment the Great Powers of the West felt more sympathy for the Greeks initially and the others following. Hence they provided armed support e.g. Battle of Navarino where the Ottoman Navy was wiped out after the 1821 Greek Revolution.

Before that other Christian ethnicities felt so overwhelmed that they accepted conversion to Islam as a way out of the oppression of the Turks e.g. the Albanians.Or,they were simply forced to convert e.g. the Bosnian Muslims ( a mix of converts from Croatian and Serb ethnic background).

Lastly , the Arab Muslims only revolted after 1914 because the British (see “Lawrence of Arabia”) wanted them to as a way of destabilizing the Ottoman Middle East and ultimately taking it over after 1919. The Arabs never really felt a need to rebel. What for? They were Muslims and that meant they were treated well.

Posted by: purplemarbles at May 19, 2007 1:51 PM

As a Greek this story is heart felt and thank you Robert for posting it.

This is something that the world is basically ignorant of and the story needs to be told.

In response to Dennisw above, I agree that Greece has its fair share of commies and US bashers, but Greece as a whole is not leftist. The US bashing is something that has taken off since the 1974 Cyprus invasion, and the steady US alliance with Turkey on every issue there is out there.

It's not lost on the Greek people that Turkey has received billions in military aid from Uncle Sam, while on the other hand Greeks have spent billions just to keep up. The Turks have their own F16 factory (the only one on earth outside the US), and Greeks are paying through the nose.

Keep in mind that when President Kennedy was assasinated Greek schools were shut down, the country came to a halt, and Greeks mourned the loss of an American President (being Democrat had nothing to do with it). Greeks reverred the US back then, but it has been fed a steady diet of crap that has soured them on their relationship with the US. Add as Orthodox Christians the treatment and lack of interest in Orthodox sufferings worldwide, case in point Serbs and Kosovo, Christians in Egypt, Iraq etc. this is where the US bashing comes from and from that point of view it is justified.

I only hope one day the US will wake up and dump Turkey, or at least stop enabling Turkey and treat Greece as well as she does Turkey. I can guarantee that my people are reasonable and know when they are treated fair, they will embrace the US as true friends once again.

Posted by: The fanatic at May 19, 2007 1:59 PM

I will never forget the Greeks who died under the barbaric Turks i am glad robert has this article
also I will never forget Cyprus and the illegal occupation of our land.

The fanatic posted
I only hope one day the US will wake up and dump Turkey, or at least stop enabling Turkey and treat Greece as well as she does Turkey. I can guarantee that my people are reasonable and know when they are treated fair, they will embrace the US as true friends once again.

I really dont think that will happen finatic I seen Americans praising the turks becuase of those so called secular protest done by turks a few days ago. majority of Americans dont care about the death of Greeks or orthodox christians done by turks all they care about is Turkey is there ally and has bases and turkeys support for isreal. the only time america helped greece was under thomas jefferson when he supported Greece to become independent from ottoman empire.

Posted by: Greek Gurl at May 19, 2007 2:34 PM

Robert ,

I just thought of this fact . There are around 100,000 Greek speaking Muslims(forced converts) in the Pontus region today . During the period of genocide not a single Greek speaking Muslim was touched . They felt themselves to be ethnic Greeks too back then and many still do now albeit secretly . This shows that the genocide was not racial or ethnic in focus but religious .

Hence the title should be in reality :

Pontian Greek *Christian* Genocide .

This is a better , more accurate term historically.

Posted by: purplemarbles at May 19, 2007 2:40 PM

Greek Gurl, no where in my post did I say I believed the US would treat Greece fair, I simply stated for those who think of Greeks as anti-Amercican that they are right, and there's only one way to fix that.

Posted by: The fanatic at May 19, 2007 3:46 PM

Good points purplemarbles. You're well read.

And to build upon it, the Kurds did not face the threat of genocide in the years after WW I, I presume, because they were Muslim. Infact, many Kurds took part in the killings of Armenians and Assyrians with the Turks. Muslim Brothers after all!

Take care

Posted by: npabga at May 19, 2007 3:47 PM

History is one long sorry record of the slaughter, the displacement, often the extermination of some lately "indigenous people" or "indigenous culture" everywhere on earth. It happened at Constantinople, it happened with Pizarro in Peru, the Aztec with the Toltec, etc. It is history everywhere. But what strikes me about Muslims is their unapologetic self-righteousness, their shamelessness in this kind of thing. I think it is the supremacist dogmas of Islam (Dhimmitude, etc.) that prevents them from taking any responsibility for their (not unique with humans) actions, their mass murder in the name of their religion-ideology. But they sure do whine about being victims-don't they?

Posted by: Frank at May 19, 2007 3:48 PM

Robert,

Is this the region your ancestors fled from?

Posted by: wrathofasma at May 19, 2007 3:57 PM

"...but we've not even begun to taste what Greece, Armenia, Persia, the Baltics, and India have been dealing with for centuries". special_guest-

Your comment is brilliant and eerily prophetic. We are so naieve in America.

Posted by: Frank at May 19, 2007 4:05 PM

Greek Gurl wrote:

"the only time america helped greece was under thomas jefferson when he supported Greece to become independent from ottoman empire."

I may be mistaken, but I believe Pres. Truman took decisive action, perhaps at Churchill's urgings, to prevent the communist takeover of Greece, which no doubt has rankled Greek communists & far leftists over the intervening years.

BTW, before today I had never even heard of the Pontian Greeks, much less of the turkish genocide against them. Sadly, I can't say I'm surprised.

Posted by: sheik yer booty at May 19, 2007 4:12 PM

Understand Greek Gurl's bitterness over U.S's glaring double standards.
Whilst Turkey invented 'Ethnic Cleansing' in the
region-this has always been IGNORED-seems it is okay to kill Orthodox Christians in favour of supporting 'Our Friends & Allies'-Muslims!
As for cowardly E.U-how could they ever dream of offering Membership to Turkey when THERE ARE STILL TURKISH TROUPS IN CYPRUS?? Of course there
are a lot of countries in the E.U-especially those whose suffered for 500 yrs under Turkey who
say NO-it was AMERICA & BRITAIN WHO HAVE BEEN DRIVING THIS AS WELL AS GIVING KOSOVO TO ALBANIANS.
Well Greek Gurl-America & Britain deserve payback for their treachery and their innocent citizens are the unlucky ones who will reap the Jihad.Unfortunately it will take many deaths and much humiliation before U.S & Britain admit 'they were wrong'[if they ever do] and change their suicidal foreign policies.

Posted by: Morgane at May 19, 2007 4:17 PM

npabga ,

The national movements of the neighboring Christians influenced the Kurds too. In 1915 the Young Turks promised the Kurds a national homeland if they helped wipe out the Armenians. They later went back on this promise after they had finished the job and needed them no longer.

The Kurds whilst been Muslims under the Treaty of Sevres (1919-1922) were promised a national homeland (at President Woodrow Wilson's behest) along with the Assyrians and Armenians.

After the Turks defeated the Greek army in 1922 the Allies realized that they could not (or would not?) enforce this treaty.

A new treaty was drawn up more favorable to the Turks designed to appease them and hence pacify them. This excluded Armenian, Assyrian and Kurdish national rights.

But the Treaty of Sevres (even whilst never implemented in 1919-1922) awakened a new Kurdish nationalism.

We see the results today.

Posted by: purplemarbles at May 19, 2007 4:36 PM

the finatic i did not say that you said the usa would treat greece fair at all what I was replying to was what you said about the usa waking up and treating greece fair like it treats turkey.

I hope i am wrong and america does wake up to Turkey but that would be a miracle if that happened. Who knows the USA might change one day and stop supporting evil Turkey but i doubt it American foreign policy is very pro Turk and American foreign policy never changes much despite who ever is in power republican or democrat

Posted by: Greek Gurl at May 19, 2007 4:44 PM

morgane

Well Greek Gurl-America & Britain deserve payback for their treachery and their innocent citizens are the unlucky ones who will reap the Jihad.Unfortunately it will take many deaths and much humiliation before U.S & Britain admit 'they were wrong'[if they ever do] and change their suicidal foreign pol

morgane i think america and britian are already getting payback for supporting the muslims against Orthodox christians but i dont think they deserve it nobody deserves this what makes me angry is that after what has happened with muslims turning against america and britian the usa and uk still want to support muslims to give them kosovo and to keep the Turks in n cyprus

Posted by: Greek Gurl at May 19, 2007 4:48 PM

Greek Gurl
HOPE U.S will seek Orthodox Christian Allies & stop ridiculous Cold War against Russia but old habits die hard like some Senators still in WhiteHouse.

EliasAlucard
Agree.Small nations are like pawns on a Chessboard to the 'Big Boys' and therefore expendable but joined together[with other Orthodox countries] can make a formidable 'Big Boy' of their own.

Posted by: Morgane at May 19, 2007 7:31 PM

Amazing how they sincerely believe they don't commit "genocide"...it's not in mOslem vocabulary, unless it's done against them.
As with their genocide against the Armenians, they deny it because they're so brainwashed the word doesn't apply to them in their own mind, just as the genocide of greeks (or anyone else, past, present, or future) applies to them, thanks to that universal catch-all:

taqqiyah, taqqiyah taqqiyah

Posted by: jcom972 at May 19, 2007 7:44 PM

I am completely at odds with the U.S. policy towards Kosovo. Supporting an Islamic state on European soil is not in the best interest of the U.S and the European Union. Kosovo is the spiritual homeleand of the Serbian Orthodox Church and its fate should belong to the Serbs not the Americans or the European Union.

Sadly, American foreign policy has not been very favorable over the years to Orthodox Christians. The Americans and British took no action during the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974. Under the Nixon administration, Henry Kissinger led the U.S. to do absolutely nothing about the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, a Orthodox Christian nation.

The time has come for the U.S. ( and Britian ) to cease support for Turkey's bid into the European Union and reverse its support for an Islamic state on European soil in Kosovo.

Posted by: Johnathan at May 19, 2007 8:09 PM

EliasAlucard wrote: "Correction: it hasn't been favourable to any kind of Christians. Chaldean Catholics are dying in Iraq as we speak, and the US government couldn't care less."

Unfortunately, your statement is valid. America is largely a Christian country and yet numerous American foreign policies work AGAINST Christians in other regions of the world. This must change.

As an American who is Roman Catholic, I am ashamed how President Bush and his administration has represented the United States in Iraq, especially towards the Chaldean Christian community.

(Former President Clinton wasn't any better when he was leading the U.S. on the international stage).

Keep in mind that President Bush and his policies in Iraq don't represent the intentions of all Americans. The Iraq war is not a popular one among Americans. Brave American soliders are dying on the streets of Iraq to stabilize a country that has become even more Islamic and vicious towards Iraqi Chaldean Christians. I predict that America will begin withdrawing troops on a large scale in the late fall or early winter.

Posted by: Johnathan at May 19, 2007 11:25 PM

As we witness the death of the U.N. there will be many May 19 to go around.

What we find about this event,how horrific it was in it's brutality and it's continued intentions has now become the norm.

The "good boys and normal guys" are now in charge.

Posted by: Dar al-harb at May 20, 2007 12:33 AM

On behalf of my Greek and Armenian friends:

...

Posted by: abad at May 20, 2007 1:23 AM

What a very good set of well informed posts on an excellent thread.

This subject should be getting waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more exposure.

Posted by: ewha1 at May 20, 2007 4:07 AM

Elias Alucard
As ewha1 says "YOU NEED MORE EXPOSURE."
Have you considered making a video and putting it on YOUTUBE?? Millions go to this site daily.
Another idea is contacting Bishop John Sematu in
U.K-to protest your plight and those of other Christians in Middle East.
Doesn't matter if they are Orthodox,Catholic[write to Pope]everyone you can think of to publicize what is happening.
Is it possible to appear on your local T.V,Radio
station-direct plea to President Bush who proclaims himself a Christian!!
Where are you at this moment? Hope you are safe.

Posted by: Morgane at May 20, 2007 4:47 AM

l for one do not understand the support the US gives Turkey even now after they prevented them access to Turkey for going into iraq. they need to distance themselves of turkey and as earlier posts give more assisstance to Christians in peril who are the true victims of islamists.

Posted by: ZenaWarriorPrincess at May 20, 2007 6:58 AM

I do not suggest using youtube as a good way to spread the message Elias. I have boycotted youtube I seen to many hate sites towards Greeks but when theres videos of greeks insulting ataturk they get taken of youtube I was really disgusting on youtube when i saw a hate video of when turks shot Solomos Solomou, the greek Cypriot protestor who was shot years ago in cyprus and that video did not even have a adult rating.

i think we should boycott youtube as its pro turk and pro muslim

Posted by: Greek Gurl at May 20, 2007 9:49 AM

Thank you Robert!!!

May the strugle against jihad, sacrifises for freedom and inocent victimes of Balkans Christian nations never be forgoten.

Hear me Greeks, Serbs and Bulgars: honest western citizens are with you!!!

WE REMEMBER!!!

Posted by: WallsofByzant at May 21, 2007 12:26 PM

Well done Robert, it is a pleasure to read feedback of peoples thoughts on what the turks have inflicted to innocent people over the years.
About the U.S., they will never turn their backs on Turkey as long as their bases are still there.
May the DEARLY departed people that felt the wrath of the turks R.I.P.

Posted by: AussiePontian at May 22, 2007 4:52 AM