Former president says he did ‘utmost’ for Sri Lanka

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s ousted president did his “utmost” to avoid an economic catastrophe but the coronavirus pandemic derailed his efforts, he said in his resignation letter read out to parliament.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s brief note, sent from the safety of a safe haven in Singapore, blamed Covid-19 for the financial meltdown that triggered months of protests, culminating in his humiliating escape abroad.

“I have contributed my utmost for the country and in the future too, I will contribute for the country,” Rajapaksa said in the letter, read to MPs by parliament’s Secretary-General Dhammika Dasanayake.

It was not clear whether he was signalling an intention to remain involved in politics from exile.

“It is a matter of personal satisfaction for me that I was able to protect our people from the pandemic despite the economic crisis we were already facing,” Rajapaksa insisted.

The virus claimed more than 16,500 lives and infected over 660,000 in the nation of 22 million, where Rajapaksa refused to institute a lockdown in the initial wave and told doctors: “Don’t panic.”

Rajapaksa claimed Sri Lanka’s reserves were already low when he took office in November 2019 and the subsequent pandemic devastated the economy.

Parliament is due to elect his permanent successor on Wednesday, after Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as an interim replacement.

There was no debate on Rajapaksa’s letter and the formal session ended after just 13 minutes, but political sources say horse-trading is already underway with no candidate having a guaranteed power bloc.

Wickremesinghe, 73, is a key contender and has the backing of Rajapaksa’s SLPP party, but some of its members have said they will not vote for him.

Senior SLPP dissident and former media minister Dullas Alahapperuma, 63, said he was also staking a claim, while Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa announced his candidacy on Friday night.

Former army chief Sarath Fonseka, 71, also wants to run.