[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 62 (Thursday, May 18, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E874]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 IN RECOGNITION OF THE PAN-PONTIAN FEDERATION OF THE UNITED STATES AND 
CANADA ON THE ANNUAL DAY OF REMEMBRANCE OF THE PONTIAN GREEK VICTIMS OF 
                                GENOCIDE

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 18, 2006

  Mrs. MALONEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the annual day of 
remembrance of the genocide of the Pontian Greek people at the hands of 
the Ottoman Empire that took place from 1915 to 1923, and to salute the 
Pan-Pontian Federation of the United States of America and Canada for 
its role in preserving and passing on the vibrant history and 
traditions of the Pontian Greeks.
  With a long and distinguished history and a proud culture, the Greek 
Pontians have for millennia upheld Hellenic traditions against all 
odds. Named after Pontus, the Greek term denoting ``the sea,'' the 
Pontians trace their origins to the region of the southeastern part of 
the Black Sea. There, one of the first Greek cities of Pontus, Sinope, 
was founded in 785 B.C.
  The seeds for the Pontian genocide were planted during negotiations 
among the European powers that led to the signing of the Treaty of 
Berlin in 1878. The ensuing rise of nationalism led to many 
revolutionary wars and independence movements within the decaying 
Ottoman Empire, causing Turkish leaders to become increasingly fearful 
that their ethnically diverse domain would begin to disintegrate.
  By the turn of the 20th century, many nations within the Balkans had 
acquired their independence from the Turks. However, due to the 
politics of the era, many of these newly formed nations only consisted 
of a small portion of their population, as the great powers had no 
desire to see these new Balkan states become too strong. As a result, 
many Serbians, Greeks and Bulgarians still lived within the borders of 
the Ottoman Empire. The nations of the Balkans yearned to incorporate 
and unite their people who still lived under Turkish rule. This 
situation led to the Balkan Wars of 1912-1913, in which the members of 
the Balkan League joined to present a united front against their 
Turkish oppressors. The Ottoman armies were soundly defeated, and 
national borders were created and rearranged accordingly.
  The reality was that many different nationalities existed within the 
Ottoman Empire and that their increasing desire to unite with their 
mother countries did indeed pose an ultimately fatal threat to the 
continued existence of the Ottoman Empire. In reaction, the Young Turk 
movement ushered in a new nationalistic and ethnocentric ideology in 
the Ottoman Empire. From 1916 to 1923, largely under the leadership of 
Kemal Ataturk, the Ottoman Empire began to practice a ferocious 
genocide of the Christian population within its borders.
  In 1916, after the Turks had concluded their massacre of the Armenian 
people, the Pontians became their next victims. The Pontian Greeks were 
subject to massacres, atrocities, mass rapes and abductions of women 
and children. They were forced into starvation and sent on long marches 
whose true intended destination was the graveyard of history. This 
genocide almost resulted in the extinction of a people who had lived on 
Asia Minor for nearly three millennia. Between the years of 1915 and 
1923, more than half of the Pontian population, or about 353,000 human 
beings, fell victim to what the world now knows to be genocide. These 
Pontians who did survive the Turkish onslaught were exiled from their 
ancestral homes, and many fled to Greece, Russia and the United States. 
It is estimated that there were about 400,000 Pontian refugees during 
this cataclysmic era.
  Despite the death and displacement of almost 1 million Pontians, 
their traditions and culture still resonate across the world to this 
day. While forces of evil tried to obliterate an entire people, the 
determination and endurance of the Pontian Greeks stand as a testament 
to mankind's extraordinary ability to defy all odds in the hope of 
ultimately living in peace and justice.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that my distinguished colleagues join me in 
observing the annual day of remembrance of the victims of the Pontian 
Greek genocide, and in recognizing the Pan-Pontian Federation of the 
United States of America and Canada, its vital mission of preserving 
Pontian Greek culture and history, and its significance as a symbol of 
mankind's hope and endurance.

                          ____________________