Clergy appeal for resumption of peace talks

[TamilNet, Saturday, 26 April 2003, 01:49 GMT]
Leading members of the clergy Friday appealed to the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) not to go back to war and to resume peace talks immediately to find a negotiated political settlement to the ethnic conflict.

The Archbishop of Colombo Most Reverend Oswald Gomes on behalf of the Sri Lanka Bishops' Conference Friday in a press release said that they firmly hope that all groups involved in the peace process will work hard to resume peace talks, sources in Colombo said.

He expressed optimism that the LTTE would resume peace talks that would lead the country to find a political solution ensuring equal rights that would also take the country towards prosperity.

Rev. Thomas Savundaranayagam, archbishop of Jaffna, in an urgent letter sent to the leaders of GOSL and LTTE, to resume dialogue and to show in deed what have been agreed in discussions. "Suspension of talks has shocked and confused Tamil people. On behalf of the Tamil people who are still waiting to see improvement in living conditions, I urge both parties to approach talks with an open mind with the future prosperity of people at heart," added the bishop in his letter.

A leading Buddhist priest Venerable Siyamabala Wimalasara Thera of Vavuniya Friday appealed to the government and the LTTE not to think of a war at this critical juncture but to work hard to resume the peace talks that would pave way for the bright future of the country where all communities could lead harmonious life, sources said.

The Ven Wimalasara Thera further said majority of the Buddhist monks in the south are for a peaceful political solution and not for resumption of brutal war.