6 Nov 1921: Reports Massacres of Greeks in Pontus, New York Times

nyt 0611921

REPORTS MASSACRES OF GREEKS IN PONTUS
Central Council Says They Attend Execution of
Prominent Natives for Alleged Rebellion.

The New York Times
Nov 6, 1921

  Alexander Kehaya, a member of the
Kehaya   Trading    and    Finance Corpor-
ation, with offices at 60 Wall Street, said
yesterday that the Greek residents of New
York were aroused by news of mas-
sacres by Turks of Greeks in Pontus.
He made public a letter received from
the Central Council of Pontus at Athens
inclosing a list of prominent Greeks of
Samsoun,    Bafra and other Pontian
cities who were condemned to death
and executed at Amasia by   order of
Mustapha Kemal.
   "The recent    news   regarding the
Greeks   of Pontus   has terrorized us,"
Mr. Kehaya    said. "We    learn from
news received   almost   daily that the
Kemalist   Government has ordered all
the male element sent into the interior
of Asia Minor, where their   fate is un-
known, while the Greek women are
forced into harems. A letter addressed
to a friend of mine describes the hor-
rible fate of these women.
   "Protests against these horrors have
been sent to our Government here, but
the reply has been that since this Gov-
ernment   has no relations    with the
Kemalist   Government, it finds itself un-
able to take any steps toward lessening
or   halting the suffering of these un-
fortunate people, doomed as they are to
be buried alive by the most barbarous
and cruel people who ever lived.
   "The Greeks   in    New York, waving
aside their political   affiliations, plan a
mass meeting in protest, at which Con-
gressmen and Senators will be invited to
speak. We   Greeks of Pontus, as good
American citizens, will urge the civilised
nations of the world to put an end to
these horrible massacres. We belong
neither to the Royalist Party nor to the
Liberal    Party, although   all    Pontians
are   Liberals. We are   working inde-
pendently and not as a political party.
Thousands are being killed every day
women and girls are   being   violated,
children    are being   taken   into the
harems. I am well aware of the fate of
the Greeks   of   Ordou,   which is my
native country."
   The letter   from the Central Council
of Pontus, which Mr. Kehaya made pub-
lic,   says that   the   executions   were
carried out under the pretext that the
victims were   "the ringleaders in the
matter   of   the   Republic of Pontus,"
Among   those executed were: Theo-
charides Demetrios, Professor of Greek
at the   American College of Marsovan
for twenty-seven years; the Rev.Pav-
lides Paul, a Protestant   Minister    of
Marsovan; Papamarius   George,    Pro-
fessor of Natural Science in Bafra and
Samsun Greek schools;   the Right Rev.
Yermanos   Karavangelis,    Metropolitan
of Samsoun and Amsaia, member of the
Holy   Synod and   Greek   Patriarchate,
Constantinople; Arsoglou    Theoedoros,
members of the Imperal Ottoman Par-
liament, Constantinople, and the Right
Rev.   Efthimios Silou, Assistant Bishop
of Samsoun.