Sydney Armenians not going to apologize to Turkey

PanARMENIAN.Net - Reports on an apology campaign allegedly to be launched by Armenian intellectuals of Sydney are untrue, head of the ARF Dashnaktsutyun Bureau's Hay Dat and Political Affairs Office Director Kiro Manoyan told PanARMENIAN.Net

"During an online discussion, Sydney University professor Armen Gakavian expressed an opinion which was later ascribed to the entire Armenian community," Mr. Manoyan said.

Gavakian presumed that the campaign launched by the Turkish intellectuals should be followed by a similar move on the Armenian part.

"Certainly, his offer caused indignation of the other participants of the discussion," Mr. Manoyan said. "Some of the Turkish campaign initiators hoped that Armenians will follow their example and apologize for the national liberation struggle in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. It's outrageous because the Armenian Genocide can't be equaled to the resistance Armenians put up during those years."

Radikal Turkish newspaper quoted Armen Gakavian as saying that "Armenia should apologize to the Turkish nation for killing several thousand of Turks in the early 20th century."

U.S. scholar Denis Papazian is reported to support the initiative.