OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada softened its line that terrorism could be combated by fighting poverty in Africa, saying on Tuesday its desire to help the world's poorest continent was not motivated out of pure self-interest.
The comments by Robert Fowler, the Canadian prime minister's personal representative with overall responsibility for a summit of Group of Eight leaders this June, marked a change in Ottawa's position from a few months ago.
Last November Fowler said a Canadian-led international initiative to help lift Africa out of poverty was more relevant than ever after the Sept. 11 attacks, since to abandon the continent could risk turning it into "a safe haven for terrorists."
But on Monday he expressed caution about the notion that poverty inevitably led to terrorism.
"We can all agree that it is simply not wise to allow an entire continent to sink into ever greater hopelessness and marginalization," he told Parliament's foreign affairs committee.
"But we need to be careful, I would argue, about drawing casual connections between poor or being marginalized and becoming a terrorist."
For example, he said, many of those who took part in the Sept. 11 attacks came from middle-class families and Osama bin Laden -- the militant accused of organizing the assaults -- was born into a wealthy Saudi family.
"Providing assistance and building a new partnership will help lift significant numbers of marginalized and desperate people out of poverty and give them a sense of hope. I don't think we need a counter-terrorism argument to justify this behavior," said Fowler, who declined to comment afterward.
At the June summit in the Rocky Mountain resort of Kananaskis, Alberta, leaders of the G8 -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States -- will unveil an action plan to respond formally to an African-led initiative called the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD).
NEPAD breaks new ground by insisting on the need for reform to draw in cash. It targets annual investment of an ambitious $64 billion to tackle poverty and revive slumping economies.
Fowler said western nations should not insist on too many guarantees before starting to pour desperately needed investment into Africa.
It would be unfair to impose "criteria that were unrealistic, that in other words were higher than the criteria that we apply in our own countries," he said, given that some African nations had unemployment rates of 60 percent.
"Therefore, I'm simply saying that we must be reasonably cautious -- as we talk about attracting investment to Africa -- to not scare it off at the same time," he told the committee.
Fowler also said that, within days, Prime Minister Jean Chretien would formally invite about six African leaders who had played a crucial role in creating NEPAD to take part in the G8 summit.
Although he did not name who would be invited, there seems little doubt that Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, South African President Thabo Mbeki and Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade will be on the list.
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan will also be invited, Fowler said.
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