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PROFESSOR RICHARD DEKMEJIAN OFFERED BOOK DEAL FROM QADDAFI
ARMENPRESS
MARCH 28 2012
YEREVAN
YEREVAN, MARCH 28, ARMENPRESS. In 1979, Richard Dekmejian, a professor
of political science, traveled to Libya for a conference in observance
of the 10th anniversary of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi"s coup d"etat.
Dekmejian said the dictator invited him to speak at the conference
and then asked him to write a book about his reign, Armenpress reports
citing DailyTroyan.
"I had written a book called Egypt Under Nasser," Dekmejian said. "He
never read the book and thought it was about Nasser, so he invited
me to write a book about him. Of course, I shook my head just so I
could get out of Libya. Once I got back to the states, I broke off
future communication because I really wasn"t interested in writing
a book praising him."
Qaddafi was not the only ruler to offer Dekmejian a book deal, but
there was never any doubt in his mind that turning down each offer
was the right thing to do. The son of two Armenian genocide survivors,
writing in praise of these rulers contrasted with his own moral values.
"There are a lot of countries on this earth that will give you big
money if you deny genocide," Dekmejian said. "Despite the fact that
you can make thousands of dollars, you can"t play that game. Beyond
a certain point, you can"t pull punches when someone is really bad."
Dekmejian was born in Aleppo, Syria, nearly 20 years after the genocide
that killed most of his extended family.
From: A. Papazian
ARMENPRESS
MARCH 28 2012
YEREVAN
YEREVAN, MARCH 28, ARMENPRESS. In 1979, Richard Dekmejian, a professor
of political science, traveled to Libya for a conference in observance
of the 10th anniversary of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi"s coup d"etat.
Dekmejian said the dictator invited him to speak at the conference
and then asked him to write a book about his reign, Armenpress reports
citing DailyTroyan.
"I had written a book called Egypt Under Nasser," Dekmejian said. "He
never read the book and thought it was about Nasser, so he invited
me to write a book about him. Of course, I shook my head just so I
could get out of Libya. Once I got back to the states, I broke off
future communication because I really wasn"t interested in writing
a book praising him."
Qaddafi was not the only ruler to offer Dekmejian a book deal, but
there was never any doubt in his mind that turning down each offer
was the right thing to do. The son of two Armenian genocide survivors,
writing in praise of these rulers contrasted with his own moral values.
"There are a lot of countries on this earth that will give you big
money if you deny genocide," Dekmejian said. "Despite the fact that
you can make thousands of dollars, you can"t play that game. Beyond
a certain point, you can"t pull punches when someone is really bad."
Dekmejian was born in Aleppo, Syria, nearly 20 years after the genocide
that killed most of his extended family.
From: A. Papazian