TOKYO - If the world allocated money it spent on weapons to end poverty, it could restore peace quicker, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday.
Erdogan told reporters, ''a state can't hold a grudge against others. It can't suspend laws due to its grudge. If it does so, it is also a terror.''
Briefing the journalists about his meetings in Japan, Erdogan said he conveyed message of Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer to Japanese Emperor Akihito inviting him to Turkey.
Erdogan stated that he met with Japanese businessmen and that he had the opportunity to brief them about the facilities given to foreign investors in Turkey.
Replying to questions of reporters about the three Japanese citizens taken hostage in Iraq, Erdogan said situation worsened in Iraq although one year passed after the war. He said healthy information could not be obtained regarding the three Japanese citizens, and noted that Turkey could expend intelligence assistance to Japan.
Erdogan said a Turkish citizen was taken hostage in Afghanistan a while ago.
Stressing the importance of formation of a joint platform in fight against terrorism, Erdogan said, ''we don't want formation of a federative formation in Iraq based on ethnical or religious roots. We attribute importance to Iraq's territorial integrity. Any ethic root or religious group in Iraq should not be allowed to have sovereignty on the other. All natural resources of Iraq should be given to Iraqi people themselves. We do not consider the current developments as healthy.''
Erdogan stated that countries should focus on relationship of cause and result in terrorism.
He thought it was not possible to prevent terrorism ''militantly'', Erdogan said.
Erdogan noted that terrorism was a phenomenon when, where and how it would hit and whom it would hit.
All the world focused on the results of terrorism not on its causes, Erdogan pointed out.
Erdogan stated that the most important cause of terrorism was poverty and added, ''poverty is an issue which can easily be used for ideologies. Terrorism claimed lives of about 40 thousand Turkish people in 1990s. Our country was a target of four separate terrorist attacks last November. You are seeing the same situation in Kosovo, Madrid and Afghanistan. So, if we spend our money and possibilities to end poverty instead of buying weapons, I think we can get a good result in preventing and solving terrorism. If the world allocated money it spends on weapons to end poverty, it will restore peace quicker.''
(BRC-AY) 13.04.2004