Nikos Filis the Greek education minister appeared on Star television late on Monday night in an interview and debate with the audience. While backing away from controversial comments he had previously made on the effects of a 23% VAT on private education – which includes the necessary frontistiria , Mr Filis walked into another major controversy over his comments on the Pontian people’s tragedy in the aftermath of WWI. Nikos Filis said that he recognizes the pain and suffering of Pontians and is saddened by the blood shed, but a line should be drawn between a “bloody ethnic cleansing and the phenomenon of genocide.”
After comments to the contrary by the show host and an audience member, Filis maintained his position saying that he had expressed the same exact opinion seven years ago as a journalist and reiterated that the killings “was not a genocide in the scientific sense.”
Filis clarifies that this was his personal opinion and does not express the opinion of the Greek government.
The minister’s comment created a controversy among Pontians and other Greeks, causing several lawmakers of the opposition to call for his dismissal or resignation. Pontus, is an area on the shores of the Black Sea and in the Pontic Alps of northeastern Anatolia which was settled by a Greek population in ancient times – references go back to 1000BC.
The Ottoman government’s plan to annihilate the Christian populations living within Turkey, including Greeks, Syrians and Armenians, during World War I was set into force in 1914 with the decree that all Pontian men aged between 18 to 50 would have to report to the military. Those who refused to do so, were ordered to be shot immediately.
Of those reporting in to the Ottoman authorities at least 350,000 were exterminated through systematic slaughter by Turkish troops, deportations involving death marches, starvation in labour and concentration camps, rapes and individual killings. Entire villages and cities were devastated, while thousands were forced to flee to neighboring countries.
The Pontic genocide had officially been recognized by Greek Parliament in 1994. Also, an anti-racist law voted in September 2014 has sanctioned prison sentences for those who deny genocide as well as fines from 5,000 to 20,000 euros, and even stricter fines for public officials (10,000-25,000 euros).
