Sri Lanka president defends IMF bailout

COLOMBO:

Sri Lanka had no option but to agree to an International Monetary Fund bailout that required tough austerity measures, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said Thursday as he launched his re-election campaign.

An unprecedented economic crisis two years ago led to months-long food and fuel shortages, triggering street protests that forced Wickremesinghe's predecessor to briefly flee the country.

The 75-year-old president said the $2.9 billion IMF rescue package he negotiated last year required reforms that the island must implement or risk a repeat of those struggles.

"The agreements with the IMF and by our bilateral lenders cannot be changed," he said at a campaign event to launch his manifesto ahead of September 21 polls.

"Some candidates think they can renegotiate, but that is only going to be a waste of time."

His main rivals, opposition leader Sajith Premadasa, 57, and Marxist leader Anura Kumara Dissanayaka, 55, have vowed to open fresh talks with the IMF to rewrite the agreement.