Today, on April 24, 2025, we commemorate with deep respect and profound sorrow the 1.5 million Armenians who lost their lives in the Armenian Genocide carried out by the Ottoman Empire in 1915, along with the 500,000 Syriacs who were massacred during the same period.
For centuries, ancient peoples lived in peace on these lands. However, due to their ethnic and religious identities, they were systematically targeted for extermination. As a result of deportations, massacres, and assimilation policies, the Armenian and Syriac peoples were brutally murdered and uprooted from their ancestral homelands. This great catastrophe remains a deep wound in the conscience of humanity, not just of the affected peoples.
Parallel to the Armenian Genocide, the Syriac people experienced what is known as Sayfo (the Year of the Sword), a genocide that claimed the lives of 500,000 Syriacs and is commemorated on June 15. This historical truth has long been ignored and suppressed by denial policies aimed at erasing the shared pain of our peoples.
As the European Syriac Union (ESU), we state clearly: the Republic of Turkey must confront its history and officially recognize the genocides committed in 1915. Furthermore, the international community must also acknowledge this crime against humanity and take concrete steps toward justice. Without confronting the past, it is impossible to build lasting peace for the future. As long as the past is denied, the risk of similar tragedies recurring will remain.
Denying history opens the door to new disasters. Genocides are fueled by silence and impunity. That is why we will never forget what happened in 1915, and we will not allow it to be forgotten. We will never abandon our pursuit of justice and our struggle for truth.
As long as genocides go unrecognized and those responsible remain unpunished, similar atrocities will continue to occur. A recent and painful example is the genocide carried out by the ISIS terrorist organization against the Yazidis and other communities. These atrocities were not limited to Sinjar but also took place in the Nineveh Plains—home to many Syriacs—and in Syria’s al-Hasakah (Habur) region. In these areas, Syriacs, Yazidis, and other ethnic and religious groups were subjected to mass killings and forced displacement. Silence and impunity have allowed such crimes against humanity to resurface.
We share in the collective pain of the Armenian and Syriac peoples and honor the memory of all those we have lost.
On this day of mourning and resistance, we once again renew our call: Recognize, confront, and act for justice.
