Only people with 'Hitler-like mindset' torch buildings: Ranil Wickremesinghe

Reacting publicly for the first time after his private house was set on fire by antigovernment protesters on Saturday Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Monday said only people with a Hitlerlike mindset torch buildings In a special televised statement Wickremesinghe said he accepted the post of Prime Minister as the economy was in disarrayWickremesinghe 73 said he took over the difficult task to rebuild the economy at a time when the public was undergoing hardships without fuel cooking gas and electricityThe cost of living was high no fuel there was a foreign exchange crisis People were losing jobs I saw the suffering of the people he said He said the International Monetary Fund IMF has noted that around four years would be required to stabilise the economy the first year is the worstThis cannot be done in 12 days at least a year would be needed to take the first corrective steps The IMF said it would take four years he said President Gotabaya Rajapaksa appointed Wickremesinghe as Prime Minister in May after his elder brother Mahinda Rajapaksa was forced to resign amidst growing pressure on the government over the mismanagement of the economyCommenting on the arson attack by the protestors on his house on Saturday he said only people with a Hitlerlike mindset torch buildings and said there was a background event that led to what transpired that nightHe said a miscommunication by way of a tweet by a Muslim party leader that he had objected to forming an allparty government and refused to resign had triggered the arson attack on his houseAlthough he corrected it by saying he was ready to resign after the formation of an allparty government a television station instigated the public to surround his house He had appealed to the TV station not to instigate the protesters to attack his houseHe said that he postponed all the meetings held on July 9 and stayed at home and then the police asked him to leave the house as there was a possibility of disturbance Due to this the Prime Minister stated that he and his wife left home in the eveningAlso ReadSri Lankan PM Ranil Wickremesinghe resigns President flees homeWickremesinghe said that this house was the only one he had in Sri Lanka as well as abroad and that it has now been burnt down My only house was set on fire I had 2500 books in my library my only asset There were over 200yearold valuable paintings All of them destroyed he saidHe said he had agreed with his wife to donate all the valuable books collected over time to a college in Sri Lanka and another international bodyA group of irate protesters on Saturday night entered Wickremesinghes private residence at Cambridge Place and set it on fire inflicting extensive damage to the property The incident came hours after Wickremesinghe offered to resign to make way for an allparty governmentThe arson attack took place after hundreds of antigovernment protesters stormed into the Presidents residence in central Colombos highsecurity Fort area after breaking the barricades as they demanded his resignation over the island nations worst economic crisis in recent memorySri Lanka a country of 22 million people is under the grip of an unprecedented economic turmoil the worst in seven decades crippled by an acute shortage of foreign exchange that has left it struggling to pay for essential imports of fuel and other essentialsThe country with an acute foreign currency crisis that resulted in foreign debt default had announced in April that it is suspending nearly USD 7 billion foreign debt repayment due for this year out of about USD 25 billion due through 2026Sri Lankas total foreign debt stands at USD 51 billionThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever