Turkey has rejected as “unfounded” a statement by Greece marking September 14 as a day of remembrance for the genocide of Greeks in Asia Minor.
In a statement issued on Monday, the Greek Foreign Ministry said Asia Minor Greeks had been “violently uprooted from their ancestral homelands” after centuries of presence in the region, culminating in the destruction of Smyrna in September 1922.
“Preserving historical memory is a duty we owe to those who lost their lives or were displaced, as well as to future generations. History can neither be erased nor falsified,” the ministry said.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry rejected the Greek account, saying that during the period in question “Greece attempted to occupy and invade Anatolia.”
“Greece perpetrated massacres and acts of destruction against the civilian population in Anatolia during the same period, and acknowledged these crimes and agreed to pay compensation pursuant to Article 59 of the Lausanne Peace Treaty,” Ankara said.
It called on Greek officials to “act with responsibility and common sense.”
The Greek Parliament in 1998 approved legislation formally recognizing the genocide of Greeks in Asia Minor and designated September 14 as a national day of remembrance. The date coincides with the anniversary of the Great Fire of Smyrna in 1922.
