SÜDEF President Evgil Turker calls on all Syriacs to wholeheartedly support the peace process in Turkey

MEDYAD (MIDYAT), Tur Abdin — This Monday was a historic day in the decades-long struggle for recognition, democracy, and equality before the law of the different peoples in Turkey. Thirty fighters from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) laid down their weapons by putting them in a fire during an official ceremony in northern Beth Nahrin (Mesopotamia). Due to security measures, images of the ceremony were only released on Friday. The ceremony marked the beginning of a new struggle. This time not an armed one, but one of dialogue and political debate in Turkish parliament. 

Evgil Türker, President of the Federation of Syriac Associations in Turkey (Süryani Dernekler Federasyonu, SÜDEF), attended the ceremony in North Beth Nahrin by invitation, as did some 150 representatives of other social and political organizations from Turkey.  

In a statement to SyriacPress, he described the day as a “historic day for the Middle East.” 

How the process will proceed remains to be seen over time, says Türker. However, he believes there is a working plan between the Turkish state and PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan and that the coming months will witness significant developments. 

Regarding the impact on the Syriac people, the SÜDEF President said:  

“This [peace] process has a profound impact on us as Syriac people, a people who have lived in Beth Nahrin for thousands of years, and for hundreds of years together with the Kurds, whether in Syria, Iraq, Turkey, or Iran. It must be known by now that wherever there is armed conflict, our people feel forced to flee. The losses for us as a people are enormous. This is a recurring theme throughout our history.” 

“We, the Federation of Syriac Associations in Turkey, support this peace process to the best of our ability. Because, the larger issues are also our issues. A lack of democracy in Turkey is our issue. The undermining of equality before the law also affects us. The Turkish constitution has denied [the peoples, cultures, and languages within Turkey] for 100 years, ever since the founding of the Republic. Of course, this is a matter for the Syriac people. We, too, are being denied and ignored.” 

Evgil Türker therefore wholeheartedly welcomes and supports the rapprochement and to come to a peaceful solution. SÜDEF is fully committed to bringing the peace process to a successful conclusion, so that all peoples within Turkey will see themselves recognized in a new constitution in which they are granted the right to exist. Each according to their own dignity, identity, language, and religion.  

In his concluding remarks, he expresses his hope that the peace process will be a reason for Syriacs in the diaspora to come and go in peace to their homeland or return for good. He therefore calls on all Syriacs, wherever they are in the world, to support the peace process.