Calls for peaceful coexistence and democratic self-governance shaped a landmark meeting between Kurdish and Assyrian leaders in the district of Midyat (Mîdyad) in Mardin (Mêrdîn) province, southeast Turkey, on Sunday. Participants marked the 110th anniversary of Seyfo — the mass killing of Assyrians beginning in 1915 — and reflected on the future of pluralism in the region.
The event was held at the headquarters of Turkey’s Federation of Assyrian Associations (SÜDEF), bringing together elected officials from the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party and the Democratic Regions Party (DBP), including its co-chair Keskin Bayındır. Assyrian leaders and local residents also took part.
Speaking at the event, Bayındır described the meeting as a “Peace and Democratic Society Gathering” and linked its significance to the wider call made by Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned Kurdish leader whose political philosophy underpins much of the Kurdish movement’s vision for a democratic, multicultural Middle East.
“Mr Öcalan’s philosophy offers a model of coexistence that is equal, free, administrative and political,” Bayındır said. “These lands have known great suffering, like the Seyfo genocide, like the Armenian genocide, and the idea of a single language, a single faith and a single nation played a key role in those tragedies.”
Bayındır said Öcalan’s ideas presented a meaningful departure from this legacy, providing “a way out” not for just Kurds, but also for Assyrians, Armenians and all peoples of the region.
Following an opening speech in Assyrian by SÜDEF President Evgil Türkel, participants held a moment of silence for those killed in Seyfo and in the struggle for democracy. The term Seyfo, meaning “sword” in Assyrian, refers to the mass killings and displacement of Assyrians during and after 1915 — a history still awaiting official recognition and justice in Turkey.
Bayındır also referred to contemporary crises, including the violence in Israel, Palestine and Iran, arguing that dominant state models tend to intensify conflict. “More states, more violence. But Mr Öcalan’s system shows how we might live together. We have the strength to implement this perspective throughout the Middle East,” he said.
He urged the Assyrian community to support this vision, adding: “We ask our Assyrian people to withhold neither their support nor their hearts.”
The event continued with a speech by Yüksel Mutlu, co-spokesperson of the DEM Party’s Commission on Peoples and Faiths. The gathering later moved to a closed session where Assyrian citizens raised questions and shared feedback.
The Kurdish movement’s recent “Peace and Democratic Society” meetings are part of a broader outreach initiative led by both of Turkey’s pro-Kurdish parties, aimed at engaging different ethnic and religious communities across the region in dialogue about shared political futures. These meetings promote principles of grassroots democracy and cultural autonomy, often associated with Abdullah Öcalan’s framework of democratic confederalism — a bottom-up model based on local self-governance, gender equality, cultural pluralism and the rejection of state violence.
