Assyrian genocide monument to be erected in Belgium

A monument to the victims of the Ottoman genocide of Assyrians in World War One will be unveiled on August 4 in Belgium, on the site of the sanctuary of Banneux, near Liège. The monument, an image of a dead dove, was carved from a 12-ton stone by renowned Assyrian artist Moushe Malke. The monument was a joint initiative of the Syriac Institute of Belgium and Assyrian Genocide Research Center. The genocide of Assyrians, or ‘seyfo’, occurred between 1915 and 1918 and claimed the lives of 750,000 Assyrians (75%), as well as 1.5 million Armenians and 500,000 Pontic Greeks. Seyfo literally means ‘sword’ in the Syriac language and refers to the genocide perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire in 1915 against all Christians in the territory corresponding to present-day Turkey. Assyrian genocide monuments have been erected in France, the United Kingdom, the US, Armenia and Australia.

(AINA)