Schools across Cyprus will teach and commemorate the genocide of the Pontic Greeks under measures formally integrated into the education system, Education Minister Athena Michaelidou confirmed on Monday

Addressing students during a remembrance event at Ayios Ioannis Chrysostomos high school in Lakatamia, Michaelidou said Cyprus had made the “preservation of historical memory a priority” and confirmed that the commemoration of the Pontic Greek genocide had become part of the institutional educational framework.

“In the schools of Cyprus, this has become a legislative act,” she affirmed.

“We have already passed through parliament to have a specific Remembrance Day, but also during the school year our schools will commemorate and teach issues related to the genocide of the Greeks of Pontus.”

She said the teaching of history gives children “the opportunity to learn about important aspects of Hellenism” while helping them develop “the necessary skills as active citizens”.

“We live in a divided homeland, you can draw your conclusions from today’s day of remembrance,” Michaelidou remarked.

School headmaster Aris Tirkas spoke of the “historical and emotional bridges” connecting Pontus and Cyprus, saying that “mourning, crying and pain are common”.

The event concluded with a theatrical and musical performance by students featuring traditional songs from Pontus and Cyprus.

The Pontic Greek genocide refers to the mass killings and deportations of Pontic Greeks in the Pontus region of Anatolia between 1914 and 1923 during and after WWI.

Historians estimate that around 350,000 Pontic Greeks died through massacres, forced marches, starvation and persecution carried out under the Young Turk and later Kemalist forces.

Greece officially recognised the genocide in 1994 and commemorates it annually on May 19, while several other countries and international bodies have also recognised the events, including Sweden, the Netherlands and Armenia.