THE FABRICATED PONTUS NARRATIVE AND HATE SPEECH

This article aims to examine the genocide story invented during the late 1980’s and 90’s called the “Pontic Greek Genocide” by way of referring both to the Greek academic sources and Pontic Greek allegations. This article also examines this invented story by referring to the Turkish evaluation of the “Pontus question” before, during, and after the World War I with a special emphasis on the period corresponding to the establishment of the Republic of Turkey. In this general framework, this article reviews the ethnic background of the Pontic Greeks, the fragmentation of the Byzantine Empire and its successor states, the conquest of the Greek Trebizond Empire by the Ottoman Empire, Pontus Greek narratives and claims concerning the World War I developments, Pontic Greek activities and efforts to establish a Pontian state during World War I, and the invented story of genocide. It also elaborates the elements of the hate speech developed against Turks on the basis of the fabricated “Pontic Greek Genocide”