Dear Ianus - you say tomato, I say potato.

Submitted by Kali (Australia), Feb 17, 2012 at 21:50

Ianus - Thank you for your views, but I stand by my comment that the figure on both sides collectively was well in excess of 1 million. Whether or not those displaced souls eventually made it to their final imposed destinations is another question. No doubt many did not survive on both sides I'm sure you will agree. Unfortunately, there are accounts of extermination all over the world, and what happened in both Greece and Anatolia during this period is no exception.

There are many well documented cases of the atrocities committed over the centuries. Any attempts to quantify the number of lives lost is open to conjecture, and worse yet, it ignores the importance of attempting to shed any light on this part of the planet in an attempt to avoid further tragedy.

I agree that the identity of "Turk" did not come into popular play until just prior to the time Mustafa Kemal came to power, and now you put it in a revisionist context that's consistent with the selective historical hindsight you provide. I understand that once the modern Turkish state was formed that all persons within it's borders are technically Turks. This is not to say that I support modern Turkish policy. This is especially the case in recent months considering growing belicosity from Ankara.

As a relative new student trying to comprehend the complicated history of this particular part of the world I appreciate your clarifications and am grateful to you. As they say in my country " I don't have a dog in this fight", I'm just trying to get a clearer picture from all sides of history. I admit to reading both Greek and Turkish perspectives, as well as the European take on what the then current governments were duplicitous in. Your comments regarding the Armenians is well taken.

I don't dispute your claim that genocide did indeed occur in the Pontic region of the Black Sea. I submit that it's not the only place that it happened, - nor was it done by one side only. As I stated previously, I'm not an expert by any stretch. But I do have limited first hand experience with conflict, and it is never a simple question of black and white nor right and wrong.

"Beyond right doing and wrong doing there is a field. I will meet you there".

Hint - Try to avoid words like "Jihad" and I will gladly drop my use of "relocation".

Best wishes Ianus,

Kali

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