Bill > HR0870

This Resolution formally recognizes the genocide committed against the Greeks of Pontos, Asia Minor, and Eastern Thrace, acknowledging the systematic persecution, murder, and expulsion of these communities by the Ottoman and Kemalist governments, which ultimately ended their 3,000-year presence in their ancestral lands on September 14, 1922. It urges the current Turkish government to also acknowledge these atrocities, aiming to provide closure for the descendants of the victims and to serve as a deterrent against future genocides by any nation. The resolution highlights the historical context, including the brutal treatment of Greek men in labor battalions, the destruction of Smyrna, and the forced population exchange that followed, emphasizing that silence on such crimes can encourage further atrocities.