Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe reiterated that he will stay on until a new government is in place because he wants to work within the constitution.

“A government has to function according to the law. I am here to protect the constitution and through it fulfill the people’s demands. What we need today is an all-party government and we will take steps to establish that,” Wickremesinghe said.

He also explained the sequence of events that led to the burning of his private residence on Saturday. He said that angry protesters gathered around his house after a lawmaker, in what Wickremesinghe said was an inaccurate tweet, said that he had refused to resign at a meeting of parliamentary party leaders.

“Police baton charged and fired tear gas. The last option was to shoot. We did not shoot but they came and burnt the house,” he said in a video statement Monday, the first since Saturday’s protests.

“My biggest treasure was my library with 2,500 books,” Wickremesinghe said, adding it contained books written during the Portuguese and Dutch colonial period from the 16th and 19th centuries. 

There were old books written on Buddhism, those signed by leaders like former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, historical paintings and Buddhist artifacts, which he had planned donating to his old school and a university after his death.

He said all but one painting had been salvaged.

Wickremesinghe said he took over as prime minister to salvage the economy, and it would take at least one year to complete the initial steps needed for a full recovery.

In an emotional statement, Wickremesinghe lamented ransacking and burning of his official residence. 

“The only house I have ever owned is now completely burnt down,” said Wickremesinghe.

“My biggest wealth and treasure were the 2500 books in my library - they have been destroyed”

He also said that arts and paintings ‘some dating back 200 years’ have been destroyed and only one has been salvaged.

-With agencies inputs