The Ottoman prefect of Menemen, Kemal Bey, and the six gendarmes accompanying him were assassinated by Greek soldiers in the evening of the first day.

These deaths became the opening act for further killings carried out on the civilian population of Menemen the following day by a Cretan brigade aided by accomplices from the local Greek minority.

[2] The commission also said that the massacre was not organized by the Greek Command, but was as a result of the panic and anger of the young troops who were still affected by the Pergamos (Bergama) events and whom their officers were not able to calm.

Captain Charns, the head of that delegation, contrasted the number of Turkish victims against the non-existence of any Greek wounded, either civilian or military.

[7] Demographer Justin McCarthy, rejecting the findings of the Inter-Allied Commission, claimed the massacre was preplanned, indicated by the fact that before the attacks all Greek houses in the city had been marked with white crosses and were not affected by the pillage and destruction.

[8] British Admiral Calthorpe, commenting to London on the fact that some Turks of Menemen had managed to survive, stated: In my opinion the Greeks are responsible for the whole affair... Only their complete lack of organization prevented them from obtaining a greater measure of success.

It is also possible that the unexpected presence of British witnesses cooled them a little.Celal Bayar, the third Turkish president, wrote the testimony of the local merchant; Çerkes Sefer Efendi.