Washington, D.C. (PRWEB) June 02, 2016
In Defense of Christians Executive Director Kirsten Evans issued the following statement:
“Today, In Defense of Christians (IDC) commends the German Parliament for standing tall in solidarity with Christians and other vulnerable communities in the Middle East.
“Its recognition of the 1915 massacre of Armenians and other Christians by Ottoman forces as a ‘genocide’ calls the international community to conscience in the face of the ongoing genocide waged today against Christians, Yazidis, and other religious minorities by the so-called Islamic State.
“With German affirmation of the crime, over 25 countries have officially recognized the Armenian Genocide. The brutal campaign of religious and ethnic-cleansing took place between 1915-1917, targeting Armenians, Assyrians, Greeks, and other vulnerable Christian communities, and murdering more than one million men, women, and children.
“In the face of the genocide against Christians and other religious minorities being waged today by ISIS, and the targeting of Christians by extremist groups in other parts of the world, acknowledgement of the Armenian Genocide is a moral and historical imperative. Recognition is necessary to strengthen the modern conscience, to protect the world from the repetition of similar horrors, and is critical for any hope of reconciliation and healing between communities.
“Last year, on the one-hundredth anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, Pope Francis insisted that only through recognition and reconciliation ‘will new generations open themselves to a better future, and will the sacrifice of so many become seeds of justice and peace.’
“IDC stands in solidarity with the descendants of the Armenian Genocide, as well as with the many Middle Eastern Christian communities that suffer similar persecution today.
“We call upon President Obama to honor his pledge to commemorate the Armenian Genocide, and call upon the United States Congress to enact legislation seeking a truthful and just resolution of this dark chapter of world history.
“IDC calls upon the entire global community to acknowledge the historic reality of the Ottoman genocide of the Armenian, Assyrian, Greek, and other Christian communities, and to work unremittingly to protect religious minorities suffering similar atrocities today.”
IDC exists to empower the Middle Eastern Christian Diaspora and energize the American people to stand in solidarity with the Christian communities in the region.
Last September, IDC’s National Leadership Convention, “Mobilizing America for Christians in the Middle East” was the platform for Congressman Jeff Fortenberry’s (R-NE) public announcement of House Con. Resolution 75, an initiative to declare the systematic persecution of Christians and other religious minorities under ISIS as genocide. On March 14th the resolution passed with a historic and unanimous vote.