Bethnahrin National Council commemorates Armenian Genocide on 108th anniversary, calls for recognition of historical facts

BETH NAHRIN — On the 108th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, the Presidential Committee of the Bethnahrin National Council (Mawtbo Umthoyo D’Bethnahrin, MUB) issued a statement condemning the genocide of Christian peoples planned and perpetrated by the Committee of Union and Progress, which came to power during the last years of the disintegration and collapse of the Ottoman Empire.

Massacres of Christian peoples — Armenian, Greek, and Syriac (Aramean–Assyrian–Chaldean–Maronite) — started in the 1840s and continued throughout the 20th century.

The statement read:

“The most horrible atrocities in human history were carried out with genocide against the ancient peoples of Beth Nahrin (Mesopotamia) and Anatolia. About 75 years ago, the Christian peoples of the region were subjected to great destruction due to the policy of massacres, looting and exile. The climax of this murderous mentality and genocide fell as a black page in world history, with the massacre of hundreds of intellectuals, politicians, opinion leaders and businessmen of the Armenian people, on 24th April, 1915.”

The MUB committee has stated that April 24th is a day of mourning and commemoration for martyrs, representing a dark period for Armenians, as well as all Christian and non-Islamic peoples and societies in the Middle East. However, the government of the Republic of Turkey denies the genocide of millions of people that occurred a hundred years ago. The Turkish government still maintains this mentality and is complicit in the crimes committed.

“The sovereign powers that do not accept confronting historical facts have also trampled on democratic values and human rights, because they view change as a threat to their existence, so they have not stopped antagonizing freedoms, out of their hatred,” the statement added.

The MUB declared that the upcoming Turkish elections give people and all groups in society hope for change and a shift towards democracy, peace, and freedom. Hopefully past atrocities can then be condemned and confronted.

Banning racist and genocidal policies in Turkey and considering them crimes against humanity will open the doors to a culture of democracy and raise awareness for coexistence and economic development throughout the Middle East, read the statement.

The statement concluded:

“Despite the passage of 108 years since the 1915 Genocide, the wounds of our peoples still bleed. Since the genocide is not accepted by the government of the Republic of Turkey, the shock of this barbarism is transmitted from generation to another, and our grief and pain do not end.”  

“We, as the MUB, strongly condemn the genocide perpetrated against the Armenian, Greek, Syriac-Chaldean-Assyrian peoples. We respectfully commemorate the millions of martyrs who lost their lives in the genocide, and declare once again to the whole world that we will continue to defend their rights until justice is achieved. We call on our peoples who have been subjected to genocide everywhere, to struggle together so that countries and governments that do not accept genocide officially recognize this reality.”