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“Don’t force political issues on the Pope, don’t use his visit to Sri Lanka for political ends”: the Archbishop of Colombo, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, sent out a clear appeal to the Sri Lankan government and the opposition. Francis’ visit to the country (13-15 January 2015) comes right before the presidential elections. Given how heated the situation there is, the Pope’s visit could easily be exploited for the purposes of propaganda, particularly by the government. The wounds of civil war are still fresh, there are still tensions between the Sinhalese and the Tamils and Buddhist fundamentalism and nationalism is ever present. The Sri Lankan Church has asked for the suspension of rallies and other initiatives linked to the election campaigns during Francis’ three-day visit to the island."via: http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/world-news/detail/articolo/francesco-sri-lanka-36321/