The Swedish parliament is the first in the world to
acknowledge the Turkish genocide on Assyrians. The historical decision was
taken after a long debate in the parliament on Thursday. It was an
extremely narrow win as 131 parliamentarians voted for and 130 voted against.
Hundreds of Assyrians had gathered outside and inside the parliament
building in central Stockholm to witness the historical decision.
The Turkish embassador to Sweden
was immediately ordered to leave the country and Turkish prime minister Erdogan
announced the cancellation of his planned visit to Sweden the coming week.
Swedens pro-Turkish foreign
minister, Carl
Bildt was very upset by the decision of the parliament and warned
it will harm Swedish-Turkish relations and Turkish-Armenian relations as the
resolution called for the recognition of not only the Turkish genocide on
Assyrians but also the genocides on Armenians and Pontic Greeks.
The Assyrians
in Sweden have been lobbying their parliament for many years to
recognize Seyfo, as the genocide is called in Assyrian. On Thursday they could
finally celebrate their victory.
Seyfo Center