The Syriac community held events commemorating the 108th anniversary of the 1915 Sayfo Genocide, in Turgi, Switzerland.

As part of the commemoration organized by the Syriac Orthodox Church, a religious ceremony was held at the Catholic Church in Gebenstrof. During the prayer, presided over by Syriac priests Michael Aziz and Kerim Asmar, prayers were recited and hymns were sung.

In a short speech during the prayer, Father Michael Aziz said: “The region of Beth Nahrain is home to Kurds, Arabs, Armenians, Yazidis and many other peoples. The Syriacs were the salt of the dish made in this region, which was left without salt after the massacre they suffered. In every Syriac house, there is a victim of Sayfo. We must keep their memories alive in order to survive.”           

Aziz added, “The genocidal mentality of the Ottoman Empire and the Turkish state, which perpetrated the Sayfo massacre, was later directed against the Kurdish people as well. To our regret, some tribes that collaborated with the state at the time were also subjected to massacres afterwards, just like what happened to the Syriacs. This genocidal mentality still persists today. Our Assyrian and Syriac people are struggling to survive in exile, clinging to their roots. However, it will not be easy for them to exist unless they hold onto their roots and regain their homeland. They can bring themselves into existence only on their own lands. Only in this way can the Sayfo be truly compensated.”

After the ceremony, the Syriacs proceeded to the Syriac Cultural Association in Turgi, where they held another commemoration event.

During the event here, former mayor of Sur Municipality, Abdullah Demirbaş, former Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) deputy Tuma Çelik, Syriac religious official Kerim Asmar and director of the film ‘Kobanê’, Özlem Yaşar, delivered speeches.

A statement read out on behalf of the European Syriac Union (ESU) commemorated the tragic events of the 1915 genocide against the Syriac, Armenian and Pontic Greek communities, and extended greetings to those participating in the commemoration. The European Syriac Union paid tribute to the victims and denounced the atrocities and trauma suffered by their community.

The statement highlighted that the Syriacs were an ancient and indigenous people of Mesopotamia who made significant contributions to civilization throughout history. It said, “However, in 1915, the Ottoman-Turkish regime under the Committee of Union and Progress, and their allies organized a genocidal campaign against our people, the Armenians and Pontic Greeks. During the 1915 genocide, more than two million innocent people were brutally massacred, hundreds of thousands were forcibly displaced, dragged to death marches and converted to Islam. Their history, wealth, possessions and properties were confiscated. Furthermore, the trauma inflicted by the Sayfo Genocide continues to affect our people. Although many countries around the world have recognized the 1915 genocide, there is still a tremendous effort needed to spread and implement its recognition in other countries. In 1915, the Christian population was systematically annihilated. Turkey continues to employ ethnic cleansing methods in the country and the Middle East region. Successive Turkish governments have denied the 1915 genocide and have tried to obstruct justice through their economic and political influence and malicious attitudes. Today, the Syriac, Armenian and Greek populations in Turkey amount to less than a hundred thousand. This is a result of the 1915 genocide and subsequent ethnic cleansing policies.”

Expressing its demand for the recognition of the Sayfo genocide, ESU stated, “Like any other people, we want to protect ourselves from the threat of extinction, oppression and all forms of violence. The humanitarian approach shown to our people in the 108th year of 1915 is an official recognition and acceptance of Sayfo. We call upon leaders to recognize June 15 as the anniversary of the Syriac genocide.”