Theodorakis statement
Sir, With regard to the inaccurate reports in your newspaper on Sunday (Nov. 30, 2003) and Monday (Dec. 1) regarding the meeting that Mikis Theodorakis had with members of the Geneva Accord, we would like to clarify the following: It is completely wrong to say that Mr Theodorakis invited Israeli MP Roman Bronfman to visit him (let alone to invite him with the aim of «apologizing» for his recent, well-known statements) or that Mr Bronfman «demanded» that Mr Theodorakis apologize in writing so that he might accept the (nonexistent, anyhow) invitation. The fact is that the organizers of the meeting at the Zappeion, seeking the broadest possible support and solidarity for this initiative, proposed to Mr Theodorakis that he meet at his home with representatives – generally – of members of the conference. He accepted the proposal. Indeed, conference members from Germany, England and Palestine visited him at his home. Whether Mr Bronfman was to take part in this visit, and what precisely stopped him from doing so, is known better by those who organized the meeting – during which Mr Theodorakis declared that he supports this specific peace initiative. As for the rest, Mr Theodorakis first learned of it in the above-mentioned reports, which we refute. From the office of Mikis Theodorakis, Athens. Editor’s reply: The two reports that Mr Theodorakis’s office refers to were sent on Nov. 28 and 30 by the Jerusalem bureau of Agence France-Presse, as was clearly marked in our Saturday and Monday editions. We could have checked with Mr Theodorakis’s office but had no reason to question the veracity of statements made by the Israeli MP Roman Bronfman. We thank Mr Theodorakis’s office for setting the record straight.
