Erdogan opens conference via satellite

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan opened the three-day conference via satellite from in front of the US Capitol building in Washington on Thursday. The Turkish premier delivered a speech via satellite to open the "Democracy and Global Security Conference". “Turkey was able to combine the culture of democracy and the culture of Islam,” he said. “This achievement is very important. In addition, Turkey is an exemplary country which can undertake the duty of being a bridge to the Far East and Middle East.” Meanwhile, during a round-table meeting on “Religion and Terrorism” at the conference, religious representatives criticized people who try to link religion and terrorism. Religious Affairs Directorate head Ali Bardakoglu said, “Religious scholars should stand against all unfair treatment.” Turkish Armenians Patriarch Mesrob II said that terror should be condemned. Speaking on the PKK terrorist group, Directorate General of Security head said, “I don’t believe there is any other terrorist group which receives the clandestine help of various countries which we call our neighbors.” Middle East Technical University’s (METU) Yusuf Ziya Ozcan said that 97,000 people had died during the terrorist attacks of 1979-2004, and 33,000 people were victims of terrorism in 1984-2004 in Turkey, and that the PKK was responsible for most of these losses. Meanwhile, though it said it would participate in the conference on an official level, Greece has yet to send a representative. �