Former Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, family leaves for Dubai

Colombo: Former Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who was ousted from power earlier this year over his government’s mishandling of the country’s economy, on Monday left for Dubai with his family, his first foreign trip since returning to the country more than three months ago. Rajapaksa and his family members, including wife Ioma, daughter-in-law Sevvandi, son Manoj and grandchild left for Dubai from the Bandaranaike International Airport here on Monday morning, sources said. Rajapaksa,73, fled Sri Lanka to the Maldives on a Sri Lankan Airforce plane in July, as the country plunged into its worst economic and humanitarian crisis since its independence from Great Britain in 1948. He then proceeded to Singapore, from where he submitted his resignation on July 14. Weeks later, he flew to Thailand, seeking temporary shelter. Thailand had said that Rajapaksa can stay in the country for 90 days because he is still a diplomatic passport holder. However, Rajapaksa was not allowed to engage in political activities in Thailand. He was confined to a hotel and surrounded by security personnel. In September, he was given special security and a state bungalow upon his return here from Thailand. Rajapaksa, an ex-military officer, became president in November 2019. Rajapaksa, formerly a dual citizen of both Sri Lanka and the US, had to give up his US citizenship ahead of the 2019 presidential elections. His wife, son, daughter-in-law and grandchild are, however, all US citizens. A corruption case against him when he was a top defence official was withdrawn soon after he was elected in 2019. The Rajapaksa family has dominated Sri Lankan politics for over two decades. Mahinda Rajapaksa, the 76-year-old patriarch of the Rajapaksa family has been the country’s president and prime minister. Basil Rajapaksa, 71, was earlier finance minister. Chamal Rajapaksa, 79, was Minister of Irrigation and Speaker of the Parliament from 2010 to 2015. Namal Rajapaksa, the eldest son of Mahinda, was the Minister of Youth and Sports from 2020 to 2022. Sri Lanka, a country of 22 million people, is going through its worst economic crisis since its independence in 1948 which was triggered by a severe paucity of foreign exchange reserves. In September, the IMF announced that it will provide Sri Lanka with a loan of about USD 2.9 billion over four years under a preliminary agreement to help the bankrupt island nation tide over its worst economic crisis and protect the livelihoods of the people. The country is also expected to restructure its debt worth USD 29 billion, with Japan expected to coordinate with other creditor nations, including China on this issue. In mid-April, Sri Lanka declared its international debt default due to the forex crisis. The country owes USD 51 billion in foreign debt, of which USD 28 billion must be paid by 2027. There have been street protests in Sri Lanka against the government since early April due to its mishandling of the economic crisis. A crippling shortage of foreign reserves has led to long queues for fuel, cooking gas, and other essentials while power cuts and soaring food prices have heaped misery on the people.