Prime Minister John Key won't apologise for Gallipoli invasion

A prominent Turkish-New Zealander has called on the Government to say sorry for the Gallipoli campaign, which claimed 86,000 Ottoman lives.

Prime Minister John Key today said he won't be apologising for New Zealand's role in the invasion Gallipoli a century ago.

On the eve of the bloody First World War conflict's centenary, a prominent Turkish-New Zealander has called on the Government to say sorry for the offensive that claimed 86,000 Ottoman lives - almost twice the number of Allied soldiers killed.

"It would be a very humane and befitting New Zealand gesture that Turks would welcome greatly. From the depth of my heart, I feel New Zealand is mature enough to do that," said Nejat Kavvas, a former diplomat who lives in Auckland.

But today when Mr Key was asked if he should apologise on behalf of New Zealand for the bloodshed of 100 years ago, he replied: "No."

A spokeswoman for this office said: "The Prime Minister has been invited to Gallipoli by the Turkish government. He will use the occasion to pay his respects to the people of Turkey, to commemorate a historic campaign for our countries, and to remember those who sacrificed their lives on both sides."

Prime Minister John Key. Photo / file

During the landings on Turkish soil on April 25, 1915, the Allies suffered heavy casualties but the military top brass were desperate to push on. Over the next eight months, there were 141,547 casualties with 44,150 dead.

Robust Turkish record-keeping dispels the myth the Turks did not suffer as much as the Allies.

There were 251,309 Turkish casualties, with 86,692 dead.

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Mr Kavvas, who emigrated to New Zealand in the late 1970s, is critical that some Anzac historians have failed to give a balanced view of the conflict.

"History is a positive science, like physics or chemistry, it is not gobbledegook. Like all positive sciences, you look at all angles, and make a positive deduction from it.

"But it hasn't always happened that way and that is one of the main reasons that Kiwis have never really found out what happened at Gallipoli," he said.

Over the last 35 years, strong relationships have also developed between New Zealand and Turkey, says Mr Kavvas, who played a part in that as a diplomat.

He is proud that the two countries have developed a better understanding and respect for one another.

"Turks realise that New Zealanders were just innocent pawns and good people dragged in to a very dirty game by the British," Mr Kavvas said.