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 Soon after landing in Buddhist-majority Sri Lanka, Francis
appeared to make the case for a truth commission to investigate the
26-year civil war, an election pledge of the government voted into
office on Thursday.
"The process of healing also needs to include the pursuit of truth,
not for the sake of opening old wounds, but rather as a necessary
means of promoting justice, healing and unity," he said, draped in a
long garland of yellow and white roses.
Francis was speaking at Bandaranaike international airport, where he
was met by President Maithripala Sirisena, troupes of dancers and a
children's choir. Sirisena said the visit was a blessing for his new
government.
The pontiff departed past a long line of costumed elephants,
reaching their trunks towards his open-topped white jeep, which
briefly came to a halt surrounded by crowds lining the road. The
motorcade's slow progress through the late morning heat appeared to
tire the 78-year-old and he canceled a meeting with bishops.
"Due to the hot sun he could not go," said Sri Lankan Church
spokesman Cyril Gamini. The Pope attended a later meeting with the
president as scheduled.
 Francis is the first pope to visit Sri Lanka in 20 years.
Fighting between the mainly Hindu Tamils and the and mostly Buddhist
Sinhalese majority ended in 2009 with a crushing defeat for the
Tamils. A 2011 U.N. estimate put the death toll from the final army
assault at up to 40,000 civilians.
Pope Francis had first-hand experience of devastating civil strife
as a priest in his native Argentina during its "Dirty War". A
subsequent 50,000-page truth report revealed shocking details of
kidnappings, rape and torture by the military junta.
Francis will spend two days in Sri Lanka before heading to the
Philippines as part of a trip aimed at shoring-up the Church's
presence in developing nations. The week-long tour is his second to
Asia.
The Pope carried a message of inter-faith dialogue, chiming with the
new government's push for religious harmony.
"My government is promoting peace and friendship among our people
after overcoming a cruel terrorist conflict. We have people who
believe in religious tolerance and coexistence based on centuries
old religious heritage," Sirisena said.
However, Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director of Human Rights
Watch, was doubtful the new government would agree to a U.N. inquiry
into the end of the war. Sirisena was acting defence minister as the
war wound up.
"Sirisena has also said he is not going to back an international
investigation," said Ganguly.
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About 70 percent of Sri Lankans are Buddhists. Hindus make up about
13 percent and Muslims 10 percent. Catholics are about 7 percent,
split between ethnic Sinhalese and Tamils.
Francis will canonize Sri Lanka's first Catholic saint on Wednesday,
and visit a pilgrimage site that was shelled in 1999.
HUMAN DIGNITY
Francis called for a more inclusive society in Sri Lanka, in
comments that seemed directed at former president and wartime leader
Mahinda Rajapaksa, who lost office after a resurgence in religious
tensions and anger at alleged corruption.
"The great work of rebuilding must embrace improving infrastructures
and meeting material needs, but also, and even more importantly,
promoting human dignity, respect for human rights, and the full
inclusion of each member of society," he said, speaking under the
hot morning sun.
Rajapaksa is feted as a hero for ending three decades of war. He
also presided over a period of fast economic growth and
infrastructure reconstruction.
However, he refused to allow a fully independent inquiry into
alleged war crimes and presided over a period of growing repression
of religious minorities as well as political opponents.
Rajapaksa's rule coincided with isolated attacks led by hardline
Buddhist monks against churches and other Christian centers.
(Additional reporting by Shihar Aneez and Ranga Sirilal in Colombo;
Editing by Jeremy Laurence and Paul Tait)
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