Syriac Union Party releases statement on 107th anniversary of Sayfo Genocide

ZALIN, Syria — On the 107th anniversary of the Sayfo Genocide, the Syriac Union Party (SUP) in Syria released a statement in which it declared that the genocide targeting the Syriac–Assyrian people by the Ottoman Empire in 1915, during which some 750,000 Syriacs–Assyrians were martyred, is one of the most heinous crimes that took place in the 20th century.

The SUP statement said that the crimes of the Ottoman forces begining in 1915 constitutes genocide, despite Turkey’s attempts to deny it and evade acknowledging its responsibility for the deliberate and systematic extermination of the Syriac–Assyrian, Greek, and Armenian peoples.

The statement pointed out that this issue has not been given enough attention by the international community and the perpetrators were not held accountable. International interests played a significant role in concealing the truth and denying the rights of the Syriac–Assyrian people, read the statement. This weak international stance opened the way for continued massacres against the Syriac–Assyrian people and others, such as the atrocities in Hakkari in1925, Simele in 1933, and the crimes of the Islamic State (ISIS) in the villages of the Khabur River Valley and Nineveh Plains.

The international silence towards the Sayfo Genocide opens more room for new Turkish genocides, stated the SUP, who reaffirmed its rejection of the current Turkish project to form a so-called “safe area” across northern Syria. It also called on the international community to stand firmly against the Turkish plan, which it considers a new extermination of the indigenous peoples of the region, including the Syriacs–Assyrians, Kurds, Arabs, Armenians, Yezidis, and others.

The SUP stressed the need to activate international resolutions related to the Syrian situation to reach a political solution that ends the suffering of the Syrian people.

It also called for the continuation of the peaceful and diplomatic struggle until full recognition of the Sayfo Genocide, accountability of its perpetrators, and the return of rights and dignity of the Syriac–Assyrian people is achieved.