COLUMBIA - Gov. Mark Sanford's praise for Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, considered the founder of modern-day Turkey, has brought sharp criticism from those who say Ataturk was responsible for the deaths of millions of Christians in the early 20th century.

In his first State of the State address Wednesday, Sanford mentioned Ataturk, saying he was a leader who transformed his country.

Ataturk, however, is reviled by those who hold him responsible for the killing or forced relocation of millions of Greeks and Armenians.

Sanford "needs to do his history," said Dr. Glenn Moradian of Chapin, who is of Armenian descent. "I'm a Republican. I voted for him, but he needs to do his research. It's absolutely offensive."

In preparing his speech, the governor was "looking for an example of someone who affected a tremendous degree of structural reform to the benefit of his country," said Sanford's spokesman Will Folks. "Different people are going to read history in a lot of different ways and in a lot of cases, it depends on who is writing that history."

Sanford should have picked a different example, said the Rev. Ari Metrakos, pastor of Columbia's Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church.

"I can't imagine that anyone who knew the entire history of the oppression of the Christian people of Asia Minor would hold up Ataturk as someone to be emulated," Metrakos said.

"Ataturk, to the people of Greek and Armenian heritage, was like Hitler was for the Jews," said state Democratic Party chairman Dick Harpootlian, also of Armenian descent.

The Turkish government denies there was genocide of Greek and Armenian Christians as the Ottoman Empire fell and leaders such as Ataturk came to power.

"It is not unusual, but it is a little overreaching for Greeks to criticize Ataturk," said Cem Saydam, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and of Turkish descent.

As for Armenians, "it was an inter-communal war, which they started," Saydam said. Turkey believes Armenians in Turkey joined invading armies of czarist Russia to battle the Istanbul government.

"To a large extent, it's pretty childish" for Armenians to criticize Ataturk, Saydam added.

It's not the first time Sanford has upset an ethnic community. During last year's campaign, he apologized for offending Jews who were upset that he referred to his time working on the family farm as a "concentration camp for boys."