Istanbul  - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday criticized an online petition in which thousands of Turks apologized for the massacre of hundreds of thousands of Armenians at the hands of Ottoman Turks during the First World War.

"I haven't committed any crime. Why should I apologize?" Erdogan asked. rejecting the initiative, and adding that an apology in this matter would not be logical, as it would have to come from the perpetrators of the crime.

A group of former Turkish ambassadors had also issued a counter statement declaring the petition as against Turkey's national interests.

More than 5,000 Turks have signed up to apologize for the "great catastrophe" on a petition on the website www. ozurdiliyoruz. com. Initiated by Turkish journalists and academics, the petition was simply headed by the phrase "I apologize."

"I cannot accept the denial of the great catastrophe of 1915 that Ottoman Armenians were subjected to. I condemn this injustice and acting on my own behalf I share the feelings of pain of my Armenian brothers," the petition said.

The campaign is in direct contrast to official state policy that refuses to admit that the deaths of up to 1.5 million Armenians in the last days of the Ottoman Empire actually constitute a genocide.

Turkey says that while there were massacres of ethnic Armenians the events were the result of a civil uprising during the war.

Neighbouring Turkey and Armenia do not have any diplomatic relations. (dpa)