Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day: President Aoun stresses the importance of adhering to the principles of justice, human rights and dignity

BEIRUT – On the 110th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, Syriac Maronite President Joseph Aoun has emphasized the importance of adhering to the principles of justice, human rights, and dignity. In a post on his official X-account, he stated that “Lebanese civilians of Armenian descent have always shown to be of true national belonging to the country. At all times, they have been an integral part of the diverse and rich Lebanese identity.”  

Aoun asked for God’s mercy for the victims of the Armenian Genocide and for all victims of injustice and aggression worldwide, today and in the past.

Related: “KAFNO”: The Genocide on the Christians of Mount Lebanon during the First World War by Amine Iskandar

His words come on the 110th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. In 1915, during World War I, the Ottoman Empire committed genocide against its Armenian, Syriac (Chaldean-Assyrian-Aramean), and Greek populations. This involved mass deportations, starvation, kidnapping, and forced conversions to Islam. In southeastern Turkey, the Ottomans allied Kurdish tribes who did much of the dirty work and killing.

Many of the Lebanese Armenians have their origins in the Mediterranean coastal country as refugees from the Armenian Genocide of 1915 and afterwards.  

The genocide of 1915 is called Sayfo (“Sword”) in the Syriac language.