“No” from the Pan-Pontian Federation of Greece to naming a park “Giannis Boutaris” in Thessaloniki

The Pan-Pontian Federation of Greece (P.P.F.G.) expresses its beardown absorption to the determination of the Municipality of Thessaloniki to sanction a parkland aft Giannis Boutaris.

As the P.P.F.G. notes, “its presumption is not random, but is based connected the deceased’s nationalist statements implicit time, which severely offended the humanities representation and dignity of the Pontic Hellenism, challenging the precise genocide of our ancestors.”

“The acceptance of specified an grant for individuals who person wounded the nationalist sentiments of Pontic Greeks finds america opposed. We telephone connected the municipal medication to respect humanities information and the feelings of hundreds of thousands of refugees successful the metropolitan country of Thessaloniki,” the Pan-Pontian Federation of Greece emphasizes successful its statement.

It has besides sent a missive to the politician of the city, Stelios Angeloudis, arsenic good arsenic to members of the Thessaloniki Municipal Council, requesting that the determination connected the naming not beryllium implemented.

Letter of the Pan-Pontian Federation of Greece

Thessaloniki, 30/4/2026
Ref. No.: 13795

To: The Mayor of Thessaloniki, Mr. Stelios Angeloudis

President of the Thessaloniki Municipal Council, Mr. Spyros Vougas

SUBJECT: Historical representation is not taxable to statute of limitations – categorical absorption to the connection to sanction a parkland aft Giannis Boutaris

Please bring this to the attraction of the Municipal Council astatine its gathering to beryllium held today, Thursday, April 30, 2026.

Dear Sirs,

The Pan-Pontian Federation of Greece expresses its categorical, clear, and non-negotiable absorption to the connection to sanction a municipal abstraction successful grant of the precocious Giannis Boutaris.

Our presumption is not political. It is profoundly historical, national, and moral. It is rooted successful corporate memory, successful the pain, and successful the work toward our ancestors who were exterminated during the Genocide of the Greeks of Pontus.

We respect the representation of each person. However, the nationalist beingness and actions of an elected authoritative cannot beryllium separated from the judgement of society. For Pontic Hellenism, the tenure of this peculiar idiosyncratic does not correspond simply a play of administration, but an unfastened and profound insult to our humanities memory.

The refusal to assistance support for the usage of Agia Sofia Square for the yearly May 19 commemoration lawsuit cannot beryllium forgotten. That determination was not neutral. It was an enactment with beardown symbolic weight, which undermined the symptom of exile families and offended the representation of our 353,000 genocided ancestors.

Even much superior and profoundly violative were his nationalist statements regarding Mustafa Kemal. His connection that “it does not substance to him whether Kemal was a murderer oregon not,” arsenic good arsenic his notation to him arsenic a “leader of exceptional stature,” are not simply idiosyncratic opinions, but positions that straight insult the representation of a radical who suffered persecution, massacres, and uprooting.

Particular indignation is caused by the effort to relativize humanities world done the connection that “we person created a story astir Kemal.” For us, this is not a myth. It is humanities experience, documented and lived done generations.

In 2006, Giannis Boutaris projected renaming Apostolou Pavlou Street (near Kemal’s alleged house) to “Kemal Atatürk Street,” a connection that intelligibly reflects his cognition and stance toward persons and events with dense humanities value for Hellenism.

At the aforesaid time, the logic that humanities representation tin beryllium acceptable speech successful the sanction of tourism improvement oregon attracting visitors, and the promotion of the thought that specified approaches “ease tensions,” represent a unsafe downgrading of humanities information and profoundly insult our corporate identity.

Thessaloniki is not a neutral city. It is the metropolis of refugees, of the uprooted, of memory. And this representation cannot beryllium negotiated oregon equated wrong a vague “historical neutrality.”

The naming of a nationalist abstraction is an enactment of the highest symbolism. It is not a elemental administrative decision. It is simply a nationalist honor. And nationalist grant requires respect for, not wounded to, the humanities consciousness of citizens.

For each the supra reasons, we telephone connected the Municipal Council to see the motivation value of the determination and not proceed with a prime that volition go a root of part and heavy discourtesy for thousands of our chap citizens.

Historical representation is not negotiable.
It is not taxable to offsetting.
It does not expire.

Respectfully,
For the Board of Directors

The President
Georgios Varythymiades

The General Secretary
Athina Sotiropoulou