The Syrian People's Assembly has unanimously adopted a decision recognizing and condemning the genocide committed against Armenian people at the hands of the Ottoman State at the beginning of the 20th century.

With this decision, Syria has been the second Arab country to recognize the Armenian genocider after Lebanon.

Chair of the Syrian Parliament’s Arab and Foreign Affairs Committee Boutros Morjana emphasized that the Armenian Genocide is a historical fact, which was followed by the massacres of Assyrians and Arameans at the northern borders of Syria.

“It is time to recognize and condemn these inhumane actions and prevent their repetition, especially that many countries have recognized the Armenian Genocide”.

According to Armenpress, Syrian Ambassador to Armenia Mohammad Haj Ibrahim attached importance to the recognition of the Armenian Genocide, noting that the successors of those who committed the genocide are committing the same crime today against the Syrian people through terrorists.

“Recognition is important, because only Lebanon from Arab countries has recognized the Armenian Genocide so far”, he had said.

BACKGROUND

In April 1915 the Ottoman government embarked upon the systematic decimation of its civilian Armenian population. The persecutions continued with varying intensity until 1923 when the Ottoman Empire ceased to exist and was replaced by the Republic of Turkey. 

The Armenian population of the Ottoman state was reported at about two million in 1915. An estimated one million had perished by 1918, while hundreds of thousands had become homeless and stateless refugees. By 1923 virtually the entire Armenian population of Anatolian Turkey had disappeared.