Mar 22, Colombo: A Catholic Bishop in Sri Lanka has called on the Commonwealth to play a greater role in ending the ethnic issue in the country.

Most Rev. Dr. Thomas Savundranayagam Bishop of Jaffna has made this request during a meeting with visiting Canadian Special Envoy for the Commonwealth, Senator Hugh Segal.

Explaining the post-war situation in the North to the Canadian envoy Bishop Savundranayagam has noted that communal tensions seem to be resurging in the country due to delays in expediting the process to find a solution to the political aspirations of the Tamils.

"A large number of civilians have disappeared during the final phase of the war. Hundreds of Tamil political prisoners are still detained without trials. Partial treatment, when handing out jobs and educational opportunities still prevail in the country, and the minorities have been very much neglected. The government, which has a two-thirds majority in Parliament, is acting in a dictatorial manner. Therefore, the Tamils in the North and East are losing hope over an amicable settlement to their political and humanitarian problems," the Bishop has been quoted as saying.

According to Bishop Savundranayagam, the army personnel in Jaffna are on the increase and the military is engaged in grabbing lands in the North.