IL HR0261

Recognizes the genocide of Greeks from Asia Minor, Pontos, and Eastern Thrace committed by Ottoman and Kemalist governments from 1913 to 1923

Acknowledges that Greek Christian men ages 18-48 were drafted into Ottoman labor battalions in 1914, where most died from brutal conditions, malnutrition, and extreme weather

References the September 1922 destruction of Smyrna, where Greek and Armenian quarters were burned and tens of thousands of inhabitants were massacred by Kemalist forces

Notes the 2007 International Association of Genocide Scholars resolution affirming the genocide against Pontian and Asia Minor Greeks and Assyrians as comparable to the Armenian genocide

Urges all Illinoisans to acknowledge and recognize this genocide to bring closure to descendants of victims and prevent future atrocities