Sri Lanka's Wickremesinghe says Rajapaksa govt covered up facts: CNN
"By the end of next year let's start stabilising, and certainly by 2024 let's have a functioning economy which will start growing," Wickremesinghe said
Sri Lanka's acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe has told broadcaster CNN during an exclusive interview that Gotabaya Rajapaksa's government was "covering up facts", while adding that he aimed to stabilize the island nation's devastated economy by the end of 2023.
"By the end of next year let's start stabilising, and certainly by 2024 let's have a functioning economy which will start growing," Wickremesinghe said.
Ranil Wickremesinghe's interview with CNN was his first with an international media outlet since he was appointed acting president by former leader Rajapaksa, who fled the crisis-hit country last week.
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He added he that had spoken to Rajapaksa since he first fled Sri Lanka for Maldives, and then traveled to Singapore.
However, Wickremesinghe said he does not know whether the former leader is still in Singapore, or elsewhere.
Wickremesinghe is now vying to be Sri Lanka's next president, with parliament set to elect a new leader on Wednesday. He is being backed by the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna political party, will face off against at least three other candidates.
Sri Lanka has been brought to its knees by a growing economic crisis that has left the country struggling to buy essential imports, including fuel, food and medicine. Protesters have taken to the streets to demand the resignations of the country's leaders and last week appeared to have scored a victory when Rajapaksa vowed to resign, then fled the country after thousands of demonstrators stormed his residence, and some swam in his pool.
Wickremesinghe's private residence was set on fire by angry protesters shortly after.
Life for Sri Lankans remains chaotic as they navigate the country's paralyzing crisis. People continue to line up outside gas stations for hours and even days - desperately hoping to purchase fuel.
Many local businesses are shut and supermarket shelves are increasingly barren.
As anger continues to build, Wickremesinghe said people could protest "peacefully," adding "Don't obstruct the parliamentarians and the parliament from carrying out their duty."
The acting Sri Lankan president had declared a nationwide state of emergency from Monday, in a bid to quell any possible social unrest ahead of parliament's presidential vote on 20 July.
"We are trying to prevent (the police and military) from using weapons. They have been attacked on some occasions but we still told them try their best not to use weapons," he said during the interview.
Wickremesinghe said he can understand what the people of Sri Lanka are going through.
"I told them there have been three bad weeks ... And the whole system had broken down," he said.
"We were not going to have gas, we were not going to have diesel. It was bad."
