(AFP) Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today that oppression must first be eradicated before terrorism can be overcome.

The premier said the government supported US moves to hunt down terrorists after last week's attacks on New York and Washington but did not want to see innocent people and countries victimised in the process.

"Hunting terrorism with weapons alone will not solve the problem completely as long as the anger among the oppressed still exists," he was quoted as saying by the official Bernama news agency.

Mahathir said Islamic countries were oppressed because they were weak.

"If (we) want to wipe out terrorism, the problem in Palestine must be eradicated as well as that in Iraq and Chechnya. Only when there is no fresh oppression will the problem of terrorism be overcome," he added.

Anticipating strikes

His comments came amid anticipation of US strikes on Afghanistan after President George W. Bush told the ruling Taliban militia to hand over chief suspect Osama bin Laden and his lieutenants or "share in their fate".

Bush in a speech yesterday to Congress and the US people said evidence pointed to bin Laden and his al-Qaeda organisation as responsible for the deadly terrorist attacks of September 11.

Mahathir last week called for a world conference on international terrorism after expressing concern that any US retaliation would cause more deaths without resolving any problems.