Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa escapes to the Maldives
Gotabaya Rajapaksa is expected to resign as Sri Lanka’s president today. …
Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa today (July 13) escaped to the neighbouring island nation of the Maldives four days after angry citizens, protesting against economic mismanagement, stormed his palace in Colombo.
His wife and a bodyguard are reported to have been flown, along with him, on an Antonov-32 military aircraft from Colombo to the Maldives early this morning, NDTV reported. He was received by Maldivian government officials at Male’s Velana airport, the report said.
Rajapaksa is expected to announce his resignation today. That will make him the first sitting Sri Lankan president to quit.
Immigration officials stopped Rajapaksa from fleeing
The Sri Lankan president was yesterday stopped by immigration officials from leaving the country. They “refused to go to the VIP suite to stamp his passport, while he insisted he would not go through the public facilities, fearing reprisals from other airport users,” NDTV reported.
Seventy-three-year-old Rajapakse, a former lieutenant-colonel in the Sri Lankan army, is the second of the four Rajapakse brothers who have wielded immense political power over Sri Lanka since the bloody civil war ended in 2009.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa joined the army at 21, served for two decades, retired and moved to the US.
His entry into politics came when his elder brother, Mahinda, became president in 2005.@AlasdairPal‘s profile of the war hero brought down by protests:https://t.co/3MQbzR2Sb8
— Devjyot Ghoshal (@DevjyotGhoshal) July 13, 2022
His elder brother, Mahinda Rajapaksa, the family’s political flagbearer of sorts, resigned as prime minister in May. He then fled to a naval base for security reasons. Basil Rajapaksa, the youngest of the brothers quit as Sri Lanka’s finance minister last month. Their eldest sibling, Chamal Rajapaksa, was the country’s minister of irrigation till April this year.
The Rajapaksa family’s fortunes, which had soared following the victory of the country’s defence forces against the Tamil separatists in 2009, dried up with the tanking of the country’s economy over the past few years.
Sri Lanka’s sinking economy took down the Rajapaksas
Reeling under a severe economic crisis over the past many months, Sri Lanka has witnessed large-scale unrest.
Protesters have been seeking the removal of the Rajapaksa brothers. Despite their overthrow, however, the economy could not be resuscitated. In May, the country defaulted on its external debt. Inflation hit 54.6% in June.
Prime minister Ranil Wickramasinghe, who had taken over from Mahinda Rajapaksa, declared last week that country was bankrupt.
“…inflation rising to record levels, food prices skyrocketing and government coffers running dry. While the government blamed the pandemic for the debilitating economic situation, experts have said it was caused by political mismanagement and racking up debts with China,” CNBCTV18.com reported.
Talks have been on with the International Monetary Fund for a rescue package while neighbouring India has also chipped in with considerable funds and material supplies, including fuel.
High Commission categorically denies baseless and speculative media reports that India facilitated the recent reported travel of @gotabayar @Realbrajapaksa out of Sri Lanka. It is reiterated that India will continue to support the people of Sri Lanka (1/2)
— India in Sri Lanka (@IndiainSL) July 13, 2022
On July 9, hundreds of thousands of protesters stormed the presidential palace in Colombo, hours after president Gotabaya Rajapaksa was moved to the army headquarters. By evening, Wickramasinghe’s private residence in the city was set ablaze by a section of the protesters.
President Rajapaksa’s resignation today is now expected to make way for an all-party government that will be in charge of wading the country out of this unprecedented crisis.