Pope John Paul II called Sunday for a negotiated solution to bring an end to two decades of ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka.
"A negotiated solution is the only way to confront the serious issues which are at the root of the conflict," the pontiff said in Sunday prayers before a crowd of thousands in Saint Peter's Square.
"The parties involved in the tragic ethnic conflict which has, for nearly 20 years, brought violence and atrocities to (Sri Lanka) are struggling to find the path to dialogue and reconciliation," he said.
Roman Catholics are a minority in predominantly Buddhist Sri Lanka, where efforts, spearheaded by a Norwegian peace envoy, to end the island's drawn-out Tamil separatist conflict have become bogged down -- VATICAN CITY (AFP)
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
