Anniversary Of The Massacres Committed By The Ottoman Empire Against The Armenian People—Alongside Chaldeans, Maronites, Assyrians, Syriacs, & Greeks
Elias Bejjani/April 24, 2025
On this day each year, the human conscience stands before one of the most horrific crimes in modern history: the massacres committed by the Ottoman Empire against the Armenian people—alongside the Chaldeans, Maronites, Assyrians, Syriacs, and Greeks. A crime that does not expire with time, that cannot be justified by any context, and that history will never forgive.
More than a century ago, in 1915, the Ottoman killing machine launched a systematic, brutal campaign of religious and ethnic extermination. One and a half million innocent Armenians—children, women, elderly, and men—were slaughtered, starved, displaced, and dragged across death marches, simply because they were Armenian, because they were Christian. It was not a war—it was a full-scale ethnic cleansing project, comparable in scale to the Holocaust, and perhaps even more barbaric in execution.
Yet despite the catastrophe, the Armenian people did not perish. Their spirit was not broken. Their faith did not falter. Rising from the ashes of genocide, they spread across the globe like a phoenix, carrying with them their message, their culture, their Christian faith, and their sacred history. From this sorrow, from this blood, emerged a vibrant Armenian diaspora—resilient, proud, and brilliant.
As a Lebanese Maronite Christian, I do not merely sympathize with the Armenian people—I share their pain, I stand by their just cause, and I am united with them in faith, in values, and in the belief in Christ the Redeemer. I am also proud that my homeland, Lebanon, is home to a strong and dignified Armenian community that has contributed immensely to the survival and defense of our nation.
The massacres committed by the Ottomans against the Armenians, Chaldeans, Assyrians, Maronites, and other Christians of the East are not merely events of the past—they remain an open wound in the conscience of humanity. A wound that deepens with every official Turkish denial, every international silence, and every attempt to falsify or erase history.
The time has come to end political appeasement at the expense of historical justice. The international community, human rights organizations, religious institutions, and global cultural bodies must speak out boldly and without hesitation. Recognizing the Armenian Genocide is not only a duty toward the victims—it is a moral responsibility toward future generations and toward the values humanity claims to uphold.
There can be no true peace without justice, no genuine reconciliation without truth. Turkey, the legal heir of the Ottoman Empire, must assume full ethical, legal, and humanitarian responsibility by officially acknowledging the Armenian Genocide and taking meaningful steps toward reparation—just as Germany did in the case of the Holocaust.
A heartfelt salute to the Armenian people—resilient and faithful—who gave the world the first Christian kingdom in history, and who continue to inspire with their saints, martyrs, thinkers, and creators. A tribute to the innocent souls of the Armenians, Chaldeans, Assyrians, Maronites, and Syriacs who were slaughtered for their faith and identity, yet never surrendered their dignity or their cross.
And in the end, let us say this with unwavering conviction: Those who escape the justice of man will never escape the justice of God. Innocent blood does not vanish. Truth never dies. And though justice may be delayed, it never disappears. Glory to the martyrs, eternal memory to their cause, and light to the truth.
Elias Bejjani/Below my editorial that was published on 24 April/2024 addressing the massacres
The Annual Remembrance Day of the Ottoman massacres against the Armenians, Maronites, Syriacs, and Chaldeans between the years 1914-1915.
Elias Bejjani/April 24/2025
Each year, on April 24, we pause to remember the horrific massacres committed by the Ottoman Empire during the First World War—atrocities that targeted entire Christian communities across the region: Armenians, Maronites, Syriacs, Assyrians, Chaldeans, and Greeks. These were not isolated events of war, but deliberate campaigns of extermination rooted in ethnic, religious, and racial hatred.
In the archives of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a document dated 1916 quotes Ottoman Minister of War Enver Pasha as stating:
“The empire must be cleansed of Armenians and the Christians of Mount Lebanon. We eliminated the Armenians by the sword, and we will eliminate the Lebanese by famine.”
This chilling confession captures the genocidal intent behind the Ottoman policies of mass murder and forced starvation.
The “Sefo” (meaning “sword”) massacres began in 1914, targeting Assyrian and Syriac Christians in what is now northern Iraq and southeastern Turkey. Carried out by Ottoman forces and Kurdish militias, these massacres resulted in the deaths of over 400,000 Syriacs. The Turkish state continues to deny these atrocities ever took place.
Between 1914 and the present day, the proportion of Christians in the Near East has plummeted to near extinction—an unprecedented demographic collapse not seen since the time of the Mamluks.
We also mourn the 200,000 Maronite martyrs of Mount Lebanon, who perished between 1915 and 1918, victims of a famine deliberately orchestrated by the Ottomans through blockades, resource confiscation, and indifference to human suffering. These Maronites, along with the victims of the Sefo massacres and the Armenian Genocide, form an unbroken chain of martyrs whose blood cries out for justice.
Every April 24, we reaffirm this truth: Recognition of the genocides committed against Armenians, Syriacs, Assyrians, Chaldeans, Maronites, and other Christian peoples is not optional—it is a moral imperative. Historical justice demands acknowledgment, not denial. The truth must be honored, not buried.
We extend our deepest respect to these courageous peoples who, despite enduring extermination and displacement, have preserved their heritage, excelled in every corner of the world, and remained faithful to their identity. The anniversary of the Armenian Genocide reminds us that justice is a sacred cause that transcends generations, and no amount of time can erase the memory of what was done.
We salute all activists, scholars, and communities who continue the fight for the official recognition of the Armenian Genocide—those who labor to transform this tragic anniversary into a national and international day of truth, remembrance, and dignity.
From the depths of our hearts and with unwavering conviction, we send heartfelt salutations to the Armenian people—for their steadfastness, their loyalty to faith and identity, and their unyielding defense of their civilization. Every April 24, they renew their sacred commitment to remember, to resist erasure, and to carry their cause forward with honor.
Now, 109 years since the genocide committed by the Ottoman Sultanate—on the basis of religious fanaticism, ethnic hatred, and imperial barbarity—the Armenian people, dispersed across the globe, remain unbroken in their belief in their Lord and in their right to live in dignity and freedom. One and a half million innocent Armenian civilians—children, women, the elderly, and men—were butchered in cold blood. Those who survived were abused, exiled, and condemned to statelessness and loss.
A heartfelt tribute to this noble people—the first nation to adopt Christianity as an official religion. A people of saints, martyrs, scholars, and builders of civilization. A people who still suffer, yet continue to give light to the world.
As a Lebanese Maronite Christian, I do not merely empathize with the Armenian people—I stand with them in faith, pain, and purpose. I take pride in Lebanon’s Armenian community, which has played a vital role in the country’s survival and defense, embodying the values of love, sacrifice, forgiveness, and Christian resilience.
In the 21st century, silence is no longer acceptable. The world must no longer turn a blind eye to the genocidal legacy of the Ottoman Empire. It is the duty of all free peoples, international human rights organizations, and religious institutions to demand recognition from the Turkish government—followed by serious steps toward accountability, reconciliation, and historical reparation.
To the Armenian people: we salute you on this solemn anniversary. May your endurance be honored, your dead never forgotten, and your cause forever just.
Those who escape the justice of this world will never escape the judgment of God.
The blood of the innocent does not dry in silence. Truth never dies. And justice, though delayed, is never lost.
