Sri Lanka crisis: How Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled to Maldives with help of former President Mohamed Nasheed

Colombo: Sri Lanka’s embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who is expected to offer his resignation today, fled to Maldivian capital of Male in the wee hours of Wednesday amid an acute economic crisis that has triggered severe shortages of food and fuel in the island nation.

News agency PTI quoted its sources saying that Rajapaksa’s escape from Sri Lanka to the Maldives was negotiated by the Maldivian Parliament Speaker and former president Mohamed Nasheed.

Rajapaksa was received by a Maldivian government representation at the Velana airport.

A report by ANI said that Rajapaksa and his wife alongwith two bodyguards travelled to Maldives after full approval of the country’s (Maldives) defence ministry. They left the island nation on a military jet.

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Sri Lankan Air Force Media Director in a statement said that an Air Force flight was given early in the morning on 13 July for them to depart.

Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister’s Office also confirmed that Rajapaksa has left the country.

As per reports, Rajapaksa’s resignation letter would be sent to Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena around 8 pm Sri Lanka time. Also, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is will be sworn in as the President of Sri Lanka for a brief period till a new Sri Lankan President is appointed on 20 July.

Maldivian Speaker Nasheed negotiated President Rajapaksa’s escape from Sri Lanka

Sources in the Maldives capital Male told PTI that Rajapaksa’s escape from Colombo was negotiated by Majlis (Parliament) Speaker Nasheed.

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They further informed that the Maldivian government in its argument said that Rajapaksa is still the Sri Lankan President and since he hasn’t resigned or handed over his powers to a successor, and wanted to travel to the Maldives, it could not have been denied.

Several local media reports said that initial requests to land a military aircraft in the Maldives were denied by the Civil Aviation Authority in Maldives, but following the request of Speaker Nasheed, the landing was authorised.

It is worth mentioning that Rajapaksa, who enjoys immunity from prosecution while he is president, fled the country before resigning to avoid any possibility of arrest by the new Sri Lankan government.

There is also a possibility that Rajapaksa is in the Maldives on transit before flying to another destination which is yet to be known.

Fresh protests in Sri Lanka

Soon after the news of Rajapaksa fleeing the country emerged on Wednesday morning, thousands of protesters took to the streets of capital Colombo, demanding the president’s immediate resignation.

Security forces were seen using teargas shells to disperse the crowd

According to a report by Bloomberg, protesters once again marched towards Colombo demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe after President Rajapaksa fled the cash-strapped country.

State of emergency in Sri Lanka

With the protest looming large and the President fleeing the country, Sri Lanka on Wednesday morning declared state of emergency.

Sri Lanka, a country of 22 million people, is under the grip of an unprecedented economic turmoil, the worst in seven decades, leaving millions struggling to buy food, medicine, fuel and other essentials.

With inputs from agencies

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