WASHINGTON: The largest gathering of Nobel Peace Prize laureates ever was held in Oslo, Norway this past weekend. The subject of Sept 11 and terrorism was seldom far from their lips during three days of discussions among 30 past winners of the peace prize created by the Swedish industrialist a century ago.

While the Nobel laureates agreed that terrorism was the gravest threat to peace in the 21st century, they argued over the US military action in Afghanistan and the longer-term solutions. The following are some excerpts from their talks.

Elie Wiesel (1986 winner), a writer who supports the US action: ”We must first eliminate terrorism and then later organize a major international conference to examine its cause.”

Desmond Tutu (1984 winner), a South African Anglican bishop, opposes the US military response: “If the death of innocents is wrong in New York or Washington, just give me one reason why it’s not in Afghanistan.” He also says that “external circumstances such as poverty and a sense of grievance and injustice can fill people with resentment and despair to the point of desperation.”

Kim Dae-jung, President of South Korea: “At the bottom of terrorism is poverty. That is the main cause. Then there are other religious, national, and ideological differences.”

Jody Williams, founder of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines: “I don’t think poverty in and of itself causes terrorism. It is a combination of factors: poverty, lack of education, despair, and a profound sense of inequality that can be exploited by people whose political agenda is to create terrorism.”

Oscar Arias Sanchez, former President of Costa Rica: “The world’s priorities are wrong. With just a small amount of what the world spends on defence, we could address poverty, inequality, illiteracy, disease, environmental degradation, and drought.”

Dalai Lama Tibetan spiritual leader: ”The reality is that we and ‘they’ are not different. Mentally and emotionally we are all the same. We find that out by meetings between individuals, scholars, and representatives of different religions and organizations.” —Dawn/LATS Service (c) Christian Science Monitor.