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Dear Honorable Parliamentarians and Fellow Greeks;

I am a Greek-American whose maternal grandparents and forefathers were refugees of the Turkish slaugther in Smyrna. I grew up with my grandparents and other relatives telling me the stories of how the Turks came and massacred all non-Turks, how my great grandmother died of shock when she saw her daughter raped and then had her breasts cut off by that Turk, of how they ran for the coast with rare icons from their church and dived off cliffs into the sea and were rescued by boats (two of these icons now hang in the Cathedral in Athens). Of how they went from being aristocrats (one of my great Uncles was Demarhos of Smyrna) to having no money, relying on the goodness of others. Of how they went to Alexandria, Egypt, and then came to the United States. Of how they struggled through poverty and the Great Depression to build a life and raise a beautiful Greek family. And through all their suffering, they never complained. Papou always had a smile on his face and thanked God for saving them. Yiayia was the rock, heart and soul of determination and love. Their faith was with God and our blessed Greek Orthodox Church. They are real heros, they are my heros, and as are countless other Greeks who died or suffered through the Turkish holocaust, they are the heros of Greece, the Greek people, and the citizens of the world.

Your governmental policies, to deny the Holocaust ever existed, for the sake of political expediency is repulsive. To deny facts, to revise history, puts the Greek Government at the same low level as the Communist Russians and Red Chinese. It is no different than if the Allies allowed the Germans to revise world history to say that the Jewish Holocaust never happened during World War II. Absurd. It makes me feel filthy to be a Greek if this is what the Government promotes. These are not the principles our ancient Greek forefathers gave the world. Promote Truth! Shame on all of you!

Where is your spine, where is your pride, where are your principles and where is your honor? Rectify this situation immediately and show the world that Greece belong as a righteous member of the community of humanity and implement September 14 as our holiday in rememberance of those Greeks who were so shamelessly cut down by the barbaric Turks of the early 20th century.

Make me and all Greeks of Asia Minor lineage proud to be Greeks again.

Respectfully yours,

James N. Lazos
St. Petersburg, Florida, United States of America

Jimlazos@############

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