European Syriac Union urges EU to recognize Sayfo Genocide; Universal Syriac Union Party prepares for commemoration in Lebanon

BRUSSELS / ZAHLE, Lebanon — With the approach of the 106th anniversary of the 1915 Sayfo Genocide by the Ottoman Empire against the Syriac (Aramean–Assyrian–Chaldean) people, the European Syriac Union (ESU) sent a letter to 703 deputies in the European Union from 27 different countries.

In its letter, the ESU called on the European Union to break its silence and recognize the Sayfo Genocide.

The ESU has put the Sayfo Genocide, which occurred in the First World War against our people, on its list of priorities since its establishment and seeks to global recognition for the genocide.

Every year, the ESU carries out activities and events in different countries demanding recognition of the Sayfo.

The Sayfo, literally The Sword, is the Syriac term for the series of genocides committed by the Ottoman Empire and its Kurdish, Arab, and Circassian allies which saw the deaths of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians, 300,000 Greeks, 300,000 Yezidis, and 300,000 Syriacs (Arameans–Assyrians–Chaldeans).

Each year, ESU leaders and officials conduct diplomatic work with European officials, as well as lay wreaths on the shrines of the Sayfo martyrs and deliver speeches.

The Universal Syriac Union party in Lebanon has also begun preparations for the anniversary, which will be held on Saturday in the Lebanese city of Zahle in cooperation and coordination with the Armenian Tashnag Party and the Syriac Maronite Union.

The event will include speeches by the parties organizing the anniversary and the performance of Syriac and Armenian songs inspired by the massacres.

Within this framework, the parties organizing the event made several visits to Christian clerics of all sects and visits to ministers, deputies, and political figures to extend official invitations to attend the memorial.