European Syriac Union Marks 110th Anniversary of Sayfo Genocide

BRUSSELS — The European Syriac Union (ESU) on Sunday issued a solemn statement commemorating the 110th anniversary of the Sayfo Genocide, the mass killings of Christian Syriacs in the waning years of the Ottoman Empire. In its communique, the ESU described Sayfo as “an act of systematic extermination” carried out between 1914 and 1918 under the leadership of the Young Turks and supported by the Hamidiye cavalry and allied Kurdish tribal chiefs.

“As the indigenous inhabitants of Beth Nahrain,” the Union reminded its members, “our people lived for millennia across Tur Abdin, Adıyaman, Harput, Urfa, Hakkari and Urmia. On the eve of the First World War, we numbered nearly one million, speaking our language, tending hundreds of villages, monasteries and churches, and sustaining a rich cultural heritage.”

But, the ESU noted, that heritage was nearly obliterated in a span of years. Dozens of Christian villages were razed, monasteries looted and burned, and hundreds of thousands of men, women and children were killed. Thousands more were abducted or forced to convert. Libraries of unique Syriac manuscripts vanished, altering the region’s demographic, economic and cultural landscape forever.

The statement drew a direct line from the Ottoman-era atrocities to the founding of the modern Turkish Republic, which the ESU said has “continued policies of cultural erasure” against Christian minorities. By remembering Sayfo each June 15, the Union argued, “we honor our martyrs, heal our collective wounds and transmit to future generations the truth of our history.”

European Syriac Union Co-Presidents Manuela Demir and Fahmi Vergili called on governments across Europe to recognize Sayfo in their official commemorations of World War I, echoing recent parliamentary resolutions in France, Germany and Sweden. “Our story,” they said, “is not just about the past. It is a reminder that denial allows injustice to endure.”

Across Europe, Syriac diaspora communities plan candlelight vigils, public lectures and digital exhibits this week, underscoring a broader push to ensure that the Sayfo genocide “remains alive in public memory” and serves as a bulwark against hate in the present day.