In an interview with the BBC Sandeshaya, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Colombo said that politicians in the south should get together and offer a political solution to engage in discussions with the Tamil Tigers.

	Discussions will be the way for peace

In an earlier statement issued by the government information department, it said that the archbishop had said “Fighting will likely to be the only way to end the conflict”.

The statement was quoting an interview father Gomis had given to Radio Vatican.

war is not the remedy

Commenting on the statement, the archbishop claimed that he was misquoted. “I never said that military defeat is a precondition for peace. What I said was that there are people who believe that there is no point in discussions because LTTE had always gained advances during this period of discussions. It is they who believe the war is a remedy to this situation. On the other hand there are lot of people who believe that we have to find a political solution to this problem and war is not the remedy for it”.

I clearly said that I do not share the opinion that the war is the solution Father Oswald Gomis

The Archbishop also said that he did not recommend any kind of violence. “In my interview to Vatican Radio, I told them the government had offered to talk to them only if the LTTE lay down arms. And the LTTE had replied saying that they are not prepared to lay down arms, but would come for discussions as they are. Taking that to consideration, I said there is hardly any prospect for peace talks at the moment”.

against violence

Clarifying the position of the Bishops Council, the archbishop said, “I clearly said that I do not share the opinion that the war is the solution”.

“We have always advocated for finding a political solution. We have always been against violence from whichever quarter it comes from. So I think, all political parties in the south should get together and offer a political solution paving the way for discussions with the LTTE and other Tamil leaders”. Archbishop Oswald Gomis told the BBC.