ISTANBUL
Türkiye slammed on Friday “baseless claims” and activities by some radical groups in Greece against Turkish history, according to the country’s Foreign Ministry.
“We consider it a futile effort to target this special day (May 19), which represents the beginning of our war of independence, through the baseless ‘Pontic’ claims by some radical groups against our history, activities fueling Turkish hostility, and the statements by some politicians in Greece that distort the historical facts,” the ministry said in a statement.
May 19, 1919, was the day Mustafa Kemal, later to become Mustafa Kemal Ataturk — the founder of the Republic of Türkiye — arrived in the Black Sea city of Samsun from Istanbul to organize the war that saw the remnants of the Ottoman Empire transformed into modern Türkiye four years later.
The statement stressed that May 19, 1919 is a blessed date when a nation started its struggle for survival under the leadership of Great Leader Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
“This unique struggle for liberation has taken its place in history as a lesson that Greece, which attempted to invade Anatolia with the support of the imperialist powers of the period, should never forget.”
Ankara calls on politicians, who continue to use tools such as distortion and lies, to face their own dark history by getting rid of the hysteria stemming from Turkish hostility, it underlined.
“We recommend that all circles in Greece adopt a vision that will enable an environment of peace and cooperation, instead of continuing their provocative rhetoric and actions today,” it said.
