“We do not forget the shameful crime and its victims”, stated the Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos in his message on the Pontic Genocide Memorial Day (May 19th) and called for the perpetrators of the crime, even now, to ask to be forgiven.
In particular, Mr. Pavlopoulos states in his message:
“The Day of Remembrance of the Genocide of Hellenism in the Pontus, which was established by the Greek Parliament under Law 2193/1994, highlights, over time and uninterruptedly, a shameful crime against Humanity. Honoring the Sacred Memory of the tragic victims of this Genocide, we, the Greeks, send a double message all over the world:
Firstly, we do not forget the shameful crime and its victims. And we call on the perpetrators of the Genocide, even now, to ask to be forgiven.
Secondly, we call on all peoples, who remain committed to the principles of democracy, our culture and human rights, not to forget and, on the other hand, not to permit such crimes against humanity to take place in the future.
Our appeal is of greater value nowadays, given that the hard times we are experiencing, especially through the barbarity of jihadist terrorism, prove that the nightmare of crimes against Humanity has unfortunately not been eliminated. In this context, the Sacred Memory of the tragic victims of the Genocide of the Hellenism of Pontus -as well as the Sacred Memory of the Tragic Victims of all Genocides- must remain alive in order to maintain vigorously the vigilance of the world consciousness”.
