Day of Remembrance of the Genocide of the Greeks of Asia Minor
May 19, Monday
The Greek Genocide of Asia Minor was a series of brutal repressions, violence, massacres and deportations organized by the Ottoman Empire in the early 20th century against Christian populations, primarily Greeks and Armenians living in the Malaysian regions. These events were part of a wider wave of ethnic cleansing that affected various nationalities and religious minorities.
May 19 was chosen as a day of remembrance in honor of the tragic event of 1919, when the deportation and mass extermination of Greeks in Asia Minor began. This day also saw the landing of Turkish troops in Sinop, which became one of the key milestones in the process of genocide.