commemoration of Armenian Genocide, "Sayfo" is century of pain

On April 24 of each year, a painful memory resurfaces for the peoples of Mesopotamia, represented by the Armenian Genocide and the Seyfo massacres, where Armenians and Assyrian Chaldeans were subjected in 1915 to one of the most horrific acts of genocide in modern history at the hands of the Ottoman Empire.

These massacres led to the displacement and killing of more than one and a half million Armenians and hundreds of thousands of Assyrian Chaldeans, transforming them from thriving peoples in their homeland into scattered communities around the world.

On April 24, 1915, around 250 members of the Armenian intellectual elite in Istanbul were arrested and executed, marking the beginning of the implementation of the genocide plan against one of the indigenous peoples, accompanied by systematic massacres involving looting, burning, displacement, and rape.

Black Years

The first stages of the massacres against the Armenians began in the late 19th century, specifically between the years (1894 – 1896), when the Armenians demanded political reforms and constitutional rights. Instead of yielding to these legitimate demands within a democratic framework, Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II unleashed his army to carry out what later became known as the "Hamidian Massacres."

These massacres resulted in the deaths of approximately 88,243 Armenians during these years, and 546,000 people were injured. Additionally, 2,493 villages were looted, and 456 villages were forcibly converted to Islam. In addition to the demolition of 649 churches and monasteries, 328 of which were converted into mosques, according to the records of the German missionary Johann Lepsius.

One of the most horrific of these massacres was in Roha (Urfa), where 2,500 Armenian women were burned inside a single cathedral. The number of victims was later estimated to be more than 300,000 Armenians.

Organized extermination

All these documents, although they do not reflect the full extent of the massacres, confirm that the genocide was not a random act or a result of war, but rather an organized and systematic process carried out under the supervision of the Ottoman Empire, amidst international complicity and silence at the time.

This is confirmed by the Secretary-General of the Armenian Union Party, Imad Tatyrian, who pointed out that the genocide carried out by the Ottoman Empire was done in collaboration with the great powers, such as Britain and Germany, and some other countries that turned a blind eye to the massacres that occurred.

Ethnic cleansing under the guise of war

With the outbreak of the fronts of World War I, the Ottomans exploited their military involvement alongside Germany to launch extensive extermination campaigns. By April of the same year, around 5,000 Armenian villages were looted, and the killing of 27,000 Armenians was recorded, in addition to large numbers of Syriacs and Chaldeans on the Russian-Iranian front.

These violations took on a more aggressive nature following the resounding defeat suffered by the Ottoman leader "Enver" Anwar" Pasha" in the Battle of Sarikamish against the Russians in January 1915.

Instead of acknowledging the military failure, the Pasha blamed the Armenians for the defeat, accusing them of "treason." This pretext sparked the beginning of forced deportations and the disarmament of 100,000 Armenian soldiers, in addition to the confiscation of civilian weapons.

The tragedy did not stop at disarmament; it culminated in the execution of brutal massacres against unarmed soldiers, which varied from slaughter to being buried alive, in one of the most horrific chapters of genocide in modern history.

Deprivation of military protection... prelude to genocide

Commenting on those events, the then American ambassador to Turkey, Henry Morgenthau, described the disarmament of the Armenians as a call for the extermination of the Armenians.

In a meeting between Talaat Pasha, the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the American ambassador Henry Morgenthau, Talaat Pasha said: "We have managed to get rid of three-quarters of the Armenian people, and they have no trace left in Bitlis, Van, and Erzurum..." The Armenians must be exterminated. If we don't do it, they will surely take revenge on us.

This incident provided a harsh existential lesson for the peoples of the region, indicating that societies lacking a comprehensive system of "self-defense" remain perpetually at risk of extermination and persecution.

The term "self-defense" does not necessarily mean carrying weapons only; it also means possessing political awareness, community organization, cultural defense, and free education.

It is considered one of the pillars of the democratic nation model, which protects cultural pluralism and preserves national identities from dissolution or targeting.

"Death marches"

After the massacres, the forced displacement of women, children, and the elderly across the arid deserts without water or food, known as the "Death Marches," was known.

Between 250,000 to 500,000 lives were claimed from the Syriac, Assyrian, and Chaldean communities, alongside the Armenians, through brutal methods that included looting and mass rapes, in what is known as the Seyfo massacres or the "Assyrian and Syriac massacres."

In this context, Imad Tetran links the tragedy of 1915 to the current Syrian reality, pointing out that the mentality that used the "name of religion" or "ethnicity" to eliminate the Armenians is the same one that motivated the mercenaries of "ISIS" against Armenians and Christians, the forced displacement in areas like Afrin and Sere Kaniye/ Ras al-Ain, and the massacres that affected Syrians in the coast, Sweida, and the neighborhoods of Sheik Maqsoud and Ashrafieh.

Imad Tetran also said: "There should be strict laws to deter these massacres, and when they talk about democracy and human rights, these texts or laws should be real and not just words and illusions, in a deterrent manner so that no entity can commit massacres or genocides against components and ethnicities."

A million and more victims

By the end of 1923, more than 1.5 million Armenians had been killed, along with another half a million missing, according to estimates by historians and international organizations. This caused a complete change in the demographics of many Armenian areas, as well as the Syriac-Assyrian-Chaldean regions, and damaged the demographic fabric of Anatolia.

Hundreds of thousands of them sought refuge in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and France, while the rest emigrated to the Americas. Entire villages and towns were obliterated, and cultural, religious, and historical landmarks were eliminated.

Turkey's refusal to acknowledge the genocide

Despite having had irrefutable evidence, Turkish authorities continue to deny the genocide to this day and criminalize acknowledging it under Article 305 of the Penal Code, while 20 countries officially recognize the genocide, including France, Russia, Canada, Lebanon, and Greece.

It is also recognized by 43 U.S. states and local councils in Australia, Spain, and Canada, in addition to the European Parliament, the United Nations, the World Council of Churches, and other international bodies.

The head of the Armenian Union Party, Imad Tatyrian, called for an increase in the level of global official recognition of this genocide, to pressure Turkey and restore the rights of the Armenian people, in addition to obliging the interim government to acknowledge the massacres committed in the coast, Sweida, and Kurdish neighborhoods in Aleppo, affirming that recognition is the only deterrent to prevent the recurrence of genocides against any people.

Recognition and accountability as a path forward

When asked how this painful memory can become a bridge toward understanding and democratization, Tetran pointed to the cultural richness of Mesopotamia and its need for peace and coexistence.

He stressed that turning this tragedy into a foundation for reconciliation requires full restoration of Armenian rights beginning with the return of lands seized by Turkey and territories taken by Azerbaijan with Turkish support, such as Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh). This must be accompanied by formal recognition of the genocide, restitution, and accountability.

“As long as a right is denied and demanded,” he said, “it will not be lost.”

In closing, Tetran urged international organizations to pursue justice for crimes committed against communities in Syria as well, warning that without accountability, the tragedy of the Armenians could be repeated against others in the 21st century.

ANHA