Politics – Syriac League marks Sayfo genocide

The Syriac League marked Monday the 97th commemoration of Sayfo, the Syriac Genocide, in presence of former President Amine Gemayel, Member of Parliament Hagop Pakradounian, and a panel of spiritual and political high-ranking dignitaries.

The Assyrian Genocide, also known as Sayfo, refers to the mass slaughter of the Assyrian population of the Ottoman Empire during the 1890s, the First World War, and the period of 1922-1925, a time of friendly relations between the Ottomans and the British, who were defending the Ottomans from the Russian Empire’s efforts to include under its protection the communities of Ottoman Orthodox Christians The Assyrian genocide took place in the same context as the Armenian and Pontic Greek genocides. In these events, close to three million Christians of Syriac, Armenian or Greek Orthodox denomination were murdered by the Young Turks regime.

In a word delivered on the occasion, the Kataeb Party leader upped calls to protect Lebanon from underway events sweeping the Mideast region.

“Lebanon’s salvation can be only clinched through the return to national pact and to the application of positive neutrality policy,” he said, lashing out at bids aiming to implicate Lebanon in regional and international axes.

http://www.nna-leb.gov.lb/newsDetailE.aspx?Id=400406