Amid Sri Lanka crisis, Wickremesinghe’s 2-month stint; was PM for 6th time
Sri Lanka crisis: Ranil Wickremesinghe took oath in May as Mahinda Rajapaksa agreed to demands of his resignation.
When Ranil Wickremesinghe took over as Sri Lanka’s prime minister two months back, he had a huge challenge to pull out the country from its worst economic crisis in seven decades.
Expectations riding on his shoulders, the 73-year-old leader acknowledged the big dilemma the island nation was facing to sail through the tough times.
In his decades-long career, this was the sixth time he was becoming Sri Lanka’s prime minister. Soon after he took oath on May 12 – as his predecessor Mahinda Rajapaksa succumbed to the calls of resignation – Wickremesinghe suggested that he was putting a plan in place.
Over the next eight weeks, he actively shared all that his government was doing to make sure that country could emerge from the crisis. “There is a lot to be done and undone. We are prioritising matters, rest assured they shall be addressed as early as possible. We have managed to get things moving in the last 48 hours,” he said in a tweet on May 16.
With debt restructuring, constitutional amendments, discussions with other countries – India, Japan, US, Australia among others – and follow-ups with the International Monetary Fund, he demonstrated constant optimism that he would help the nation survive.
He also addressed his critics about two weeks before Saturday’s unprecedented protests. “Since I was sworn in as PM, I have been updating you on the real situation and measures we have been taking every 2 weeks. Some have ridiculed this while others have welcomed it. Whichever group you belong to we need to come together to rebuild our country,” he wrote on Twitter.
“The world will only assist us if they sense a strong urge and dedication on our part. We can show them our aspiration as a nation to rebuild our country or we can display our indifference and disinterest, through committing various acts of sabotage,” another post read.
On Saturday, however, the country saw another wave of demonstrations – much bigger and stronger. Sri Lanka president Gotabaya Rajpaka’s palace was breached and reports emerged he had fled.
Hours later, Wickremesinghe announced he would step down once a new government is elected. “To ensure the continuation of the Government including the safety of all citizens I accept the best recommendation of the Party Leaders today, to make way for an All-Party Government. To facilitate this I will resign as Prime Minister,” he wrote on Twitter. Despite him standing down, his private home was set on fire by angry demonstrators.
Gotabaya too has announced his exit on Saturday, which will be formalised on July 13.
However, it’s not yet clear if the country – which has billions in debt – will be able to get a stable government that can pull it out from the challenges it’s facing.