France Urges Turkey Not to Deny Genocide
French President Jacques Chirac urged Turkey to acknowledge the mass killings of Armenians in the early 20th century as genocide.
Armenians say that as many as 1.5 million of their ancestors were killed from 1915 to 1923 in an organized campaign to force them out of eastern Turkey.
Turkey acknowledges that large numbers of Armenians died but says the overall figure is inflated and that the deaths occurred amid civil unrest. But the government is facing increasing pressure to fully acknowledge the killings as it seeks membership in the European Union.
“Should Turkey recognize the genocide of Armenia to join the European Union?” Chirac asked, echoing a question posed by a reporter in Yerevan, the Armenian capital. “Honestly, I believe so.”
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