Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe making a special statement on the arson attack on his private residence yesterday said comments made by him at the
Party Leaders Meeting on Saturday had been distorted by some politicians and media and this may have antagonized the people.
The Prime Minister said he had called the chief of a private TV station three times and requested him to stop distorting his statement while noting protesters upon hearing it may attack his house but the TV channel had carried their propaganda unabated.
The Prime Minister said Rauf Hakeem MP had sent a Twitter message that he will not resign from the post of Prime Minister even before the political party leaders’ meeting held on the 9th ended and this given wide coverage by the above private TV station and some other media
The Prime Minister said that he had mentioned at the meeting that he would leave after forming an All-Party Government.
The Prime Minister further said “I took over the post of Prime Minister because the country’s economy collapsed. Cost of living increased. There was no fuel. Foreign exchange reserves diminished. I had never seen such sadness before. That is why I took over the post of Prime Minister. At the same time, I worked to build our economy. It cannot be done in one or two days. It takes at least a year for the initial steps.The IMF said that four years are needed. The hardest time is the first year. Fuel queues increased. We have big questions. They are increasing in these few months. We must face them. I know the suffering of the people. I have apologized for that. We must move forward united.”
The Prime Minister said he had stayed at home in the afternoon on Saturday after postponing some meetings and by evening, the protestors passed his house and the Police had asked him to leave the house. “So my wife and I left the house. My house was set on fire while I was out,” he added.
The Prime Minister said his greatest wealth and possession was his library and there were some very rare books. Me and my wife Maithri have been talking about giving these books to libraries,” he added.
The Prime Minister said he had paintings that were about two hundred years old. “There is nothing left|” he lamented.
The Prime Minister also said he had about twenty precious Buddha statues and he was planning to give them as gifts later but only one of them remains.
by Daily News Sri Lanka
, Political, ,