A hunger strike will be staged in Midyat district of Mardin to protest the centenary of 1915 Syriac (Sayfo) genocide the Ottomans started against Syriacs and Armenians in Van, Bitlis and surrounding areas, then Diyarbakır, Hakkari and Tur Abdin.
A hunger strike will be staged in Midyat district of Mardin to protest the centenary of 1915 Syriac (Sayfo) genocide the Ottomans started against Syriacs and Armenians in Van, Bitlis and surrounding areas, then extending this to Diyarbakır, Hakkari and Tur Abdin.
The hunger strike in Tur Abdi has started at 11 am today, under the slogan "100 hours for 100th year".
The strike which will last four days has been organised by Sayfo Committee to take place at the local of Federation of Syriac Associations (SÜDEF). Activists joining the protest will also be receiving visits during the four days of the strike.
The Sayfo genocide launched against the Syriac, Armenian and Hellenic peoples of Mesopotamia and Anatolia killed more than a million Armenians, half a million Syriacs and 300 thousand Greeks. Hundreds of thousands of others were displaced or forcibly converted to Islam. In the process the property of the Christian peoples was seized.
It is estimated that around 300,000 Syriacs were massacred in 1915 and that 200,000 died in camps. Many others were displaced or forcibly converted. The genocide of Syriacs has only been recognised by the Swedish Parliament (2010) and Armenian Parliament (2015), while the Armenian Genocide has been more widely recognised internationally.
