A message from the FMEEC on Genocide
A Message from the Fellowship of Middle East Evangelical Churches (FMEEC)
to the Union of Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East, Our Armenian sisters and brothers in the region,
and All fellow Christian churches and organizations in the world
As the world commemorates the hundredth anniversary of the Armenian “State sponsored” Genocide, the Fellowship of Middle East Evangelical Churches (representing Lutheran, Reformed and Anglican Churches in the region) wishes to assure the recipients of this message that we continue to share the pain that the Armenians still feel as they remember this momentous event in history … an event that robbed them of their loved ones, their properties and their lands. We also wish to express our solidarity with the Armenian nation and Diaspora all across the world.
We are greatly pained as we remember the 1.5 million victims of the Genocide, most of whom were Armenian Christians. These men and women of all ages, along with members of Syrian, Chaldean and Assyrian Christian communities (and even some Kurds), were exterminated on the basis of ethnic and religious cleansing. Sadly, a similar number of these peoples was deported and/or displaced throughout the Middle East region and the rest of the world.
FMEEC also stands in solidarity with the Armenian nation and people as they demand a formal and final recognition of the Genocide by Turkey, the perpetrator of that horrific event. This recognition must also be accompanied by an apology, and provision of appropriate reparations.
We also call upon all nations and world organizations that have not yet recognized the Genocide, to speak out and break the silence, lest similar acts in the future shall unjustly enjoy impunity. We firmly demand that the human dignity of the victims and their descendants be preserved.
Our call bears a special significance today, not only because a hundred years have passed and the Genocide is still unrecognized by Turkey and other states, but also because the Middle East region is currently undergoing great turmoil and suffering. Hundreds of thousands of people (many of whom are Christian) are being massacred, uprooted, displaced and rendered refugees in the very same region that suffered the Genocide a hundred years ago. It behooves countries like Turkey, as well as other regional and world powers that are feeding the conflict by supplying arms and facilitating the influx of fighters, to bear a very critical responsibility in bringing these massacres and wars to an end.
May the Good Lord accompany you, our Armenian brothers and sisters, as you experience this painful memory for the hundredth time! You have been, and shall surely continue to be faithful witnesses to God’s great love to humanity in Christ Jesus. Thus, may God reward you with a future filled with faith in His mercy and justice, hope in His providence, and joy in His ultimate reconciliation and everlasting glory.
On behalf of FMEEC,
Ms. Rosangela Jarjour, General Secretary
Rev. Dr. Andrea Zaki, President
Rev. Dr. Habib Badr, Vice President
Beirut, April 30, 2015