The deposed president of Sri Lanka says he took “all conceivable means” to avert the island nation’s economic disaster as he fled abroad this week to avoid a public revolt against his administration.
Parliament accepted Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s resignation on Friday. After tens of thousands of anti-government protestors took to the streets of Colombo a week ago and overtook his official house and offices, he took a flight to the Maldives and then to Singapore.
In his letter of resignation, Rajapaksa claimed that the Covid epidemic, which significantly decreased the country’s tourist arrivals and remittances from foreign employees, and years of economic mismanagement that occurred before his administration were to blame for Sri Lanka’s economic crisis.
The next meeting of Parliament will be on Tuesday to receive presidential nominees.
