Emotional scenes at Syntagma Square as Evzones commemorate 100 years of the Greek Genocide of Pontus

There were emotional scenes with the changing of the guard yesterday at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Syntagma Square, as Greece’s Evzones honored the hundreds of thousands of victims that were tragically killed during the horrific Greek Genocide of Pontus.

May 19, 2019, marked the 100-year anniversary and during the moving ceremony at Syntagma Square, hundreds gathered to remember those who lost their lives.

The change of the Presidential Guard took place with two Evzones dressed in the official Pontian soldiers’ uniform marching and paying respect, as other Evzones also stood guard and participated in the official ceremony.

The Hellenic Parliament was lit black and red on Sunday night to mark Remembrance Day for the Genocide of the Pontian Greeks. According to a parliament announcement, the red and black “symbolises the blood of the genocide’s innocent victims and the lasting mourning.”

“This is the first time that the Hellenic Parliament is undertaking this symbolic act, stating the undimmed historic remembrance and the ongoing demand for historical restitution, on the occasion of the completion of 100 years since the second and most horrific phase of the extermination of the Greeks of Asia Minor’s Pontus,” they added.

*Photos courtesy of Eurokinissi