Pro-democracy and leftist parties in Turkey mark 110th anniversary of Sayfo Genocide

ISTANBUL — Two of Turkey’s pro-democracy and leftist political movements, the Peoples’ Democratic Congress (Turkish: Halkların Demokratik Kongresi, HDK) and the Socialist Party of the Oppressed (Ezilenlerin Sosyalist Partisi, ESP), issued statements this week commemorating the 110th anniversary of the Sayfo genocide, a series of mass killings carried out by the Ottoman Empire and allied Kurdish tribes in 1915 against the Syriac (Aramean–Assyrian–Chaldean) population.

The statements, released to coincide with the annual day of remembrance, reflect a growing push from within segments of Turkish civil society to reckon with the country’s past and acknowledge crimes committed during the waning years of the Ottoman Empire. Estimates suggest that hundreds of thousands of civilians were killed during the Sayfo Genocide, which occurred in parallel with the Armenian Genocide.

In its declaration, the HDK emphasized that the genocide were “a crime against humanity” and expressed solidarity with the Syriac (Aramean–Assyrian–Chaldean) people. “Facing the truth is the cornerstone of building a peaceful and democratic society,” the HDK said, while affirming its support for official recognition of the atrocities.

The Socialist Party of the Oppressed took a stronger tone, describing the Sayfo as an orchestrated attempt to erase the ancient identity of the non-Muslim populations of Mesopotamia. “The goal was to ethnically cleanse and displace these peoples from their historical homeland, to transfer their wealth and legacy to the centers of Turkish Muslim power,” the ESP said.

Sayfo’nun 110. yılında Süryani halkının yanındayız

15 Haziran 1915, Mezopotamya’nın kadim halklarından Süryanilere yönelik büyük soykırım, Sayfo’nun (Kılıç) başlangıç tarihidir.

Osmanlı’nın son döneminde, Müslüman olmayan halkları yok
etmeye ve zenginliklerini “Türk-Müslüman”… pic.twitter.com/os49bVXOln

— ESP🇵🇸 (@espresmi) June 15, 2025

The ESP also drew attention to policies that followed under the modern Turkish Republic, including the closure of Syriac schools, bans on cultural and linguistic expression, and the systematic destruction of churches, monasteries, and cemeteries tied to the Syriac (Aramean–Assyrian–Chaldean) community.

Both parties concluded their statements with calls for justice and official recognition of the genocide, stating that a democratic and equal future cannot be built without first confronting the nation’s historical crimes.

The Sayfo Genocide — sometimes referred to as the Assyrian Genocide — remain unrecognized by the Turkish government. However, a growing number of international scholars and human rights organizations have called for acknowledgment of the atrocities, placing them alongside other genocidal campaigns of the early 20th century.