Greek diplomatic sources criticised a Turkish foreign ministry post about the 1821 siege of Tripolitsa, saying historical memory should not be used as a foreign policy tool.
Tripolitsa, Greece. Greek diplomatic sources accused Turkey on Wednesday of “systematic distortion of history” after the Turkish foreign ministry posted about the siege of Tripolitsa. The post described “systematic massacres” of the Peloponnese’s Muslim population between 1821 and 1830.
Anniversary of the siege
The ministry’s post marked the 205th anniversary of the fall of Tripolitsa, then the Ottoman administrative capital of the Peloponnese. Revolutionary forces captured the town in 1821, during the opening months of the Greek War of Independence.
Large numbers of the town’s Muslim inhabitants were killed during the siege and its aftermath. The episode remains contested: Turkish officials have cited it in past years as evidence of atrocities against Muslim communities, while Greek historians have described it as an isolated episode in a war marked by atrocities on both sides.
Greek response
Greek diplomatic sources told the Cyprus News Agency that “the systematic distortion and instrumentalisation of history and the selective invocation of historical memory do not change historical events”.
They said such positions contradicted recorded historical events, did not help build trust, mutual understanding or substantive dialogue, and were inconsistent with the approach required by good neighbourly relations.
“Historical memory cannot be turned into a foreign policy tool,” the statement said. “History is not written down, distorted or erased by postings on social media. It has the annoying characteristic of surviving propaganda.”
