Ranil vows to fight ‘Fascists’
Making a televised statement Acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe, yesterday, said protesters could not be allowed to occupy Temple Trees, President’s Secretariat, and President’s House.Wickremesinghe said the protesters would misplace documents in those buildings and he had instructed security forces to restore order.
“A committee comprising of the CDS, the IGP, and tri forces commanders has been established for this task. There is no political involvement. I have asked them to inform me after they have accomplished the tasks,” he said.
Wickremesinghe added that he had met party leaders on Monday and they had decided to have an election next week in Parliament and to take steps to protect MPs.
“I promised to resign when an all-party government is established. We broke off the meeting, agreeing to meet on Friday. Some parties have also started discussion with others to elect the next President. Yesterday, president left, and he said he would give his resignation letter to me and the Speaker. But intelligence agencies have warned that some groups were getting ready to capture the PM’s office. They were also getting ready to surround the residence of the Air Force Commander, the Army Commander, and the Navy Commander. They were trying to capture power and capture parliament,” he said.
Wickremesinghe said the CDS had agreed to protect parliament and thus protesters could not take it over. Following the failure, the protesters surrounded his office.
“They want to stop me from being the legitimate Acting President, working with the Speaker to elect a new president. They want their own candidate. Some people say the Constitution doesn’t matter. But the Constitution protects the mandate and sovereignty of the people. You can’t tear the Constitution. There are Fascists and they must be stopped. Some mainstream parties have joined the Fascists,” he said.
He added that it was the security forces that asked him to declare a state of Emergency and impose a curfew.
“I have imposed both now. We need to eradicate the fascist threat and protect the houses of people,” he said.
