Pope meets Sri Lankan president, urges meeting basic needs of people caught up in civil war

(December 1, 2008) Pope Benedict XVI on Monday received Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa and his delegation and underscored the urgency of meeting the needs of thousands of civil population severely hit by the ongoing civil war between government troops and the rebels of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, LTTE.
The Pope first met the president privately for some 15 minutes and was later introduced to the members of the 14-member delegation. Rajapaksa later met Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone and Vatican Secretary for Relations with states, Archbishop Dominique Mamberti.
After the meetings, the Holy See’s Press Office released a statement saying, “the cordial talks allowed them to review the current situation in Sri Lanka, in order to underscore the urgency of meeting the basic needs of the severely tried civil population and to consolidate the way to dialogue and negotiations as the only way to reach a just and lasting political solution to the conflict in course.” The Pope also hoped the Catholic Church would continue enjoying full right to religious freedom, in order to allow her to offer a significant contribution to the life of the country through her religious witness and her educational, healthcare and relief operations towards common good, reconciliation and peace.
The government of Rajapaksa has vowed to crush the rebels who since 1983 have been fighting to create an independent homeland for the country's ethnic minority Tamils, who have suffered marginalization at the hands of successive governments controlled by ethnic Sinhalese. Aid agencies estimate 230,000 people are displaced by the war currently, and diplomats say they are trapped between rebels who won't let them leave and soldiers they do not trust for safe passage. More than 70,000 people have been killed in the violence, since the insurgency began.