Famous French-Armenian musician Charles Aznavour has been criticized for statements he made on television channel France 2 regarding the World War I-era deaths of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire.
“A different word should replace ‘genocide’ to reopen the Turkish-Armenian border and to start dialogue with the Turks,” Aznavour said. He also expressed a wish to visit Turkey, referring to the Turks as good people.
The Armenian community in France has been harshly criticizing Aznavour on the Internet, accusing him of betraying the Armenian cause. Armenia claims up to 1.5 million Armenians were systematically killed in 1915 under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. Turkey denies this, saying that the deaths were the result of civil strife that erupted when Armenians took up arms for independence in eastern Anatolia.
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