Athra Alliance urges the Turkish state to recognize the Sayfo Genocide. International community must not acquiesce to Turkish denial

ANKAWA, Iraq – On the 110th anniversary of the Sayfo Genocide, the Athra Alliance in Iraq issued a public statement on what the four member parties call “one of the most horrific genocides in modern history”. In it, the Alliance renewed its call for Turkey and the international community to officially recognize the Sayfo Genocide of 1915. The Sayfo was perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire and Hamidian Divisions -Kurdish tribes under the Empire’s command- with the ultimate goal to “to uproot our Chaldean-Syriac-Assyrian people, not only through killing and displacement, but also by attempting to obliterate our civilization, history, and very existence,” the statement says.

By doing what they did, the Ottoman Empire and the allied Kurdish tribes killed hundreds of thousands of Chaldeans-Syriacs-Assyrians, destroyed hundreds of villages, uprooted the survivors from their lands, altered their demographics, and seized the lands. The consequences of the Genocide of 110 years ago, are still felt todays: a threatened existence in the homeland of Beth Nahrin (Mesopotamia), trampled rights, traumatic memories, and more seized lands and property.

The Athra Alliance in Iraq is a joint political bloc consisting of four Chaldean–Syriac–Assyrian political parties, being the Bethnahrin Patriotic Union, Assyrian Democratic Movement, Bethnahrain Democratic Party and the Chaldean–Syriac–Assyrian Popular Council.

The four parties urge the Turkish state to finally take responsibility for the great violence it has inflicted on the Chaldeans-Syriacs-Assyrians, the Armenians, and the Greeks. It is a demand for justice. When it comes to the Turkish state the Athra statement concludes:

“We demand that the Turkish state respect the innocent blood and lives of the genocide victims, and strives earnestly to achieve societal justice for the remaining people in their historical lands.”

But it is justice not only by the Turkish state, but also by the international community. Silence by the international community leads to acquiescence. It is the biggest reason for the recurrence of genocides:

“We also call on the international community to assume its moral and humanitarian responsibility regarding this issue and to restore the dignity of the victims of genocide by recognizing it and working to ensure it does not happen again.”