NICOSIA, Cyprus — The Parliament of Cyprus on Monday unanimously adopted a resolution recognizing and condemning the Syriac (Aramean-Assyrian- Chaldean), Armenian, and Greek (Rum) “Sayfo” Genocide of 1915, which was perpetrated by Ottman Turks and allied Kurdish tribes, along with the Simele massacre of 1933, marking a significant act of historical acknowledgment and solidarity with one of the Middle East’s oldest Christian communities.
The resolution, approved during a plenary session of the House of Representatives, was introduced by Independent Socialist lawmaker Kostis Efstathiou. It formally denounces the mass atrocities committed against Syriac (Aramean-Assyrian- Chaldean), Armenian, and Greek (Rum) people, during the final years of the Ottoman Empire and in the early decades of the modern Iraqi state.
In his address to Parliament, Efstathiou situated the Syriac (Aramean-Assyrian- Chaldean), experience alongside that of Armenians and Pontic Greeks, describing the events of 1915 as a “trilogy of genocides” that targeted Christian populations of the region. He emphasized that violence was not incidental but systematic, aimed at erasing ancient communities with deep historical and cultural roots.
He said that the Syriac (Aramean-Assyrian- Chaldean) people, “are heirs to one of the world’s oldest civilizations, whose contributions to human history are profound and enduring, yet whose suffering remains insufficiently recognized.”
The resolution also designates 7 August as an official Day of Remembrance, commemorating the 1933 Simele massacre, in which thousands of Chaldean-Syriac-Assyrian people were killed in northern Iraq. That episode, the measure notes, occurred at a moment when Chaldean-Syriac-Assyrian people had hoped the creation of a new state would bring security, only to face renewed persecution.
Lawmakers across the political spectrum voiced support for the resolution, leading to its unanimous passage, a rare moment of consensus in the Cypriot legislature. Several parties framed the decision as consistent with Cyprus’s own historical experience of displacement, ethnic cleansing, and minority suffering.
Efstathiou drew a direct connection between Cyprus’s past and the plight of the Syriac (Aramean-Assyrian- Chaldean) people, arguing that recognition is both a moral obligation and a safeguard against historical erasure. He referenced a public event held at a church in Nicosia on 19 November, during which he read the text of the proposal that would later be adopted by Parliament.
Beyond his work in Cyprus, Efstathiou is active in European human rights advocacy through the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. His efforts have focused on issues related to the European Court of Human Rights, the implementation of its rulings, and broader concerns surrounding Turkey and minority rights.
The Cypriot resolution adds to a growing, though still limited, number of parliamentary recognitions of the Sayfo genocide worldwide. For Syriac (Aramean-Assyrian- Chaldean) people in the Middle East and diaspora, the vote represents not only a symbolic victory but also a reaffirmation that historical truth, even long delayed, can still find a place in the public record.
History, after all, has a long memory, but only if institutions are willing to listen.