Nagorno-Karabakh: the commitment of Pascal Légitimus, of Armenian origin

INTERVIEW

It is relatively little known but Pascal Légitimus is of Armenian origin, by his mother.

The comedian, invited Monday morning on Europe 1, expressed his anger at the violent fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh, which continues to oppose Armenia and Azerbaijan despite a ceasefire concluded over the weekend latest. 

"In my show, I said that I was of 'Caucasian-coconut' origin"

"My father is of West Indian origin via Ethiopia and my mother was of pure Armenian origin, via my grandfather and my grandmother. It is true that in appearance, we rather see the strong pigmentation. My Armenian aspect is not visible but I spoke about it from 1992 on the program

of Anne Sinclair ", tells the former member of the Unknowns.

"We do not deny our roots, even less those which are maternal since I lost my mother when I was 15. So inevitably, the attachment is all the stronger. I was brought up in an Armenian environment. , I spoke Armenian when I was a kid. I was fed Armenian as well as West Indian food. In my show I said besides that I was of 'Caucasian-coconut' origin ", added- he humorously.

"I told the public a few years ago, to understand the couple my parents were, to imagine Charles Aznavour sleeping with Christiane Taubira!"

"Turkish government denies Armenian genocide" 

Pascal Légitimus then denounced the attitude of the Turkish government, which refuses to recognize the Armenian genocide.

"Unfortunately, the Turkish government denies the Armenian genocide even in history books. It is as if we say today that the Holocaust and the genocide of the Jews did not exist. Anger is mounting because it is. It is serious to deny History. But today, History is repeating itself ", lamented Pascal Légitimus.

"Unfortunately for part of the population of Nagorno-Karabakh, there are 80 million Turks on one side and 3 million Armenians on the other side, the scales are tilted to one side."

The "natural brotherhood" of the diaspora 

Pascal Légitimus also praised the solidarity of the strong Armenian diaspora, especially in France.

"There are 12 million Armenians all over the world, sometimes in very important, major and strategic positions. So there is a kind of coagulation, of energy that occurs naturally. Between Armenia and France there is There is still a natural fraternity, via all the artists that we know as well as (the footballer Youri) Djorkaeff, (the musician André) Manoukian, (the humorist Mathieu) Madénian ", noted the actor.

"We are all united because I was the boss of the Armenian Fund of France in 2009 and we raised 1.3 million euros for Nagorno-Karabakh. It is useful because it is still a fairly good country. poor where there is not a lot of water, where electricity does not arrive everywhere. So a natural solidarity is being made ", he added. 

"They are not an aggressive people" 

"My name does not end in 'ian' but I am 50% Armenian by my mother. There are many Armenians who come from this homeland which is very, very beautiful. The legend says that the Garden of Eden is found there, it is a somewhat mystical land. The Armenians are nice people. They are not an aggressive people, they have never attacked ", concluded Pascal Légitimus.