“Native Christians Massacred”:
The Ottoman Genocide of the Assyrians during World War I
Genocide Studies and Prevention (December, 2006)
by Hannibal Travis, Florida International University College of Law.
Posted: Friday, September 03, 2010 at 07:47 AM CT
The Ottoman Empire’s widespread persecution of Assyrian civilians during World
War I constituted a form of genocide, the present-day term for an attempt to
destroy a national, ethnic, or religious group, in whole or in part. Ottoman
soldiers and their Kurdish and Persian militia partners subjected hundreds of
thousands of Assyrians to a deliberate and systematic campaign of massacre,
torture, abduction, deportation, impoverishment, and cultural and ethnic
destruction. Established principles of international law outlawed this war
of extermination against Ottoman Christian civilians before it was embarked
upon, and ample evidence of genocidal intent has surfaced in the form of
admissions by Ottoman officials. Nevertheless, the international community has
been hesitant to recognize the Assyrian experience as a form of genocide.
The Assyrian genocide is indistinguishable in principle from its Armenian
counterpart, however, and its recognition by scholars and the international
community may assist in the resettlement and relief of the Assyrian remnant,
currently fleeing by the thousands from its homelands in Iraq.
Related Information
 Government Forum
 Assyrian Government Network Archives
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