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Pontic Greek Society of Chicago Holds Public Lecture by Prof. Richard Hovannisian

Originally published in GPN, Genocide Prevention Now, Special Issue 5, Winter 2011

Reprinted with Permission

Editorial Note: GPN’s editor was present at a conference in Yerevan some years ago given by the World Armenian Congress (WAC) that had assembled an international group of scholars as experts on the Armenian Genocide.  In a session chaired masterfully by Professor Richard Hovannisian, Hovannisian himself proceeded to propose to the expert group recognition of other non-Armenian victims of the Ottoman Turks in the Armenian Genocide.  All hell literally broke loose in the room as approximately one half of those present objected vociferously  to the proposal – with strong emotions – while the second half (including GPN’s editor) very much welcomed it.

The following is a recent story from the American-Armenian press.

The Pontian Greek Society of Chicago presented a public lecture on May 15, 2010 titled “Genocide and Ethnic Cleansing: The Fate of the Christian Populations of the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Turkey” in Rosemont, Illinois.

Prof. Richard Hovanissian stated that following the Greek wars of independence at the end of the 19th century, three hostile Turkish regimes attempted to rid the republic of its Christian population.  Finally, by the 1920’s, only a small Christian population remained.  During the genocide of these people, immeasurable wealth was transferred to the Turks from the Armenians, Greeks, and Assyrians.  Though shielded ever since behind a veil of steadfast genocide denial, and fostered by the Kemalist strategy that the “survivors will die, and their children won’t care,” the Turkish government’s policy of genocide denial is, at long last, being challenged.

Hovannisian, professor of Armenian and Near Eastern history at UCLA recalled that the Ottoman Empire had not been egalitarian; that non-Turkish people had to accept a second class status in the society; they were inferior.  Thousands upon thousands were forced to renounce their Christian religion. Some, at first pretended to convert to Islam, but eventually they became Turkish-speaking Muslims.

Source:  Meneshian, Knarik (July 8, 2010). Pontian Greek society of Chicago holds public lecture by Prof. Hovannisian.  Reprinted with permission of the California Courier.