Catholic bishops in El Salvador on Tuesday demanded that wounded veterans and ex-guerrillas leave a cathedral they have occupied since December 20 in a demonstration over pensions.
"We demand the immediate evacuation of the San Salvador cathedral and we ask that the occupying of places of worship not be repeated," the Episcopal Conference of El Salvador (CEDES) said in a statement.
"There are other more appropriate means and places to press for one's rights," it added.
The former soldiers and guerrillas who fought in the country's 1980-1992 civil war have called on the government to raise their pensions and increase benefits for the parents of fallen comrades.
The bishops said they were "moved" by the poverty in which many of the surviving parents live and called on the government to negotiate with the ex-combatants to reach a "fair deal."
El Salvador's president apologized nearly a year ago for the rampant human rights violations committed by government forces during their 12-year war with leftist guerrillas, including massacres, executions and disappearances.
Some 75,000 people died and more than 7,000 went missing during the conflict.
The United Nations estimated losses of 1.6 billion dollars to the tiny Central American country.
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