1393 - The right time

N. Lygeros
Translated from the Greek by Evi Charitidou

In the diplomatic documents from Vienna (1909-1918), Polychronis Enipikides writes: “Genocide à la turque is mute, cunning and oriental, it has no theoretic background, but rather a looting one. The so-called deportations, exiles of habitants of entire villages, those exhausting marches of women, children and old men in the snow- men were already in labour battalions or in the army- do not lead of course in any Auschwitz with the diabolically organized machinery of physical extermination of the human being – no! It had been, though, an en route Auschwitz, people were dying en marche, they did not march to arrive some place else. No. They were marching to die of hardship, freezing cold, hunger, debasement of the human. That was the diabolic system, craftily set up. There was no Auschwitz at the end, because for the most there was no terminal. Death was the trip itself to death, not the end of the trip”.

As proved by the mention to Auschwitz the document is certainly posterior to genocide of the Pontiacs and WW II. Consequently, the framework of comparison with the genocide of the Armenians and the genocide of the Jews exist. The above mentioned genocide cases exist due to the domino effect theory. Since the former has not been recognized as a crime against humanity, the latter one followed altered and the third one used the former as a model for the operation of oblivion. The Turkish element showed the example of the unacceptable and, as the international community had not responded properly, the other cases of genocide followed. So, the international community even though it is not guilty, is responsible.

The same is now happening with the Eastern question. The problem of the genocide of the Armenians, the Pontiacs, of Imvros and Tenedos, of the Great School of the Nation, of the recognition of Cyprus exist. What else do we need in addition to at last realize that negotiations should not be launched prior to resolving these essential problems? In the past, we did the mistake, and as a whole in fact, not to react to the expansionist tactics of Turkey. Now, with the European given we can not accept this any longer. It is a matter of morals, decency and reliability. And this holds especially for the genocide of the Pontiacs which has not been recognized by no other state apart from Greece. The framework is positive and contacts should take place within the European Union with Austria and France and outside of it with Armenia. To launch the actual recognition of the genocide of the Pontiacs by Cyprus we have to use the current given. It does not suffice to lament our black fate. There are lawsuits to be filed, we have to claim the rights of the Pontiacs now, before genocide committed by oblivion takes place.