DENNIS PAPAZIAN: I HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH "APOLOGY TO TURKS" CAMPAIGN

PanARMENIAN.Net
03.02.2009 14:23 GMT+04:00

U.S. scholar Dennis Papazian said he is neither initiator nor
participant in the "apology to Turks" campaign.

"A while back, I made a personal statement of sorrow for all
bad things that happened in the Ottoman Empire to good people of
all nationalities, sorry for present-day Turks who have unjustly
suffered for anything I have done or claimed to be done in my name,
and I pledged to work for the recognition of the Armenian Genocide and
reconciliation between the Armenian and Turkish people. That is all,"
Dr. Papazian said in letter addressed to PanARMENIAN.Net.

"I cannot apologize for anything I have not done, and think a campaign
of this sort begun by Armen Gakavian is counter productive and has
numerous pitfalls.

I did not instigate it, I have not lent my name to it, and I want
to keep out of it. I expressed this position a while back in a reply
to an earlier attempt to involve me and some of my text. I have also
informed Armen.

I speak for myself only and do not want to be involved in any campaign
instituted by others speaking for themselves or attempting to speak
for the Armenians. No one is authorized to speak for all Armenians,"
he said.

Yesterday, Radikal Turkish newspaper said Sydney University
professor Armen Gakavian offered to make apologies to the Turkish
nation. Dr. Dennis Papazian was reported to support the initiative.