Issued on: 12/07/2022 – 08:15
The embattled Sri Lankan president was stuck in his own country on Tuesday in a humiliating standoff with airport immigration staff blocking his exit to foreign countries, official sources said on Tuesday.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa has pledged to resign on Wednesday and pave the way for a “peaceful transfer of power” after widespread protests against him over the country’s unprecedented economic crisis.
The 73-year-old leader fled his official residence in Colombo just before tens of thousands of protesters flooded it on Saturday and planned to travel to Dubai, officials said.
As president, Rajapaksa enjoys immunity from arrest, and is believed to want to go abroad before stepping down to avoid being detained.
But immigration officials refused to go into the VIP suite to stamp his passport, insisting that he not go through public facilities for fear of reprisals from other airport users.
The president and his wife spent the night at a military base next to the main international airport after missing four flights that could have taken them to the United Arab Emirates.
Rajapaksa’s youngest brother Basil, who stepped down as finance minister in April, missed his own Emirates flight to Dubai on Tuesday after a similar standoff with airport staff.
Basil tried to use the paid concierge service for business travelers, but airport and immigration officials said they were immediately withdrawing from the fast track service.
“There were some other passengers who protested against Basil boarding,” an airport official told AFP. “It was a tense situation, so he hurriedly left the airport.”
Basil, a US dual citizen, had to be given a new passport after being left behind in the presidential palace when the Rajapaksas withdrew on Saturday to avoid crowds, a diplomatic source said.
Hasty retreat
Official sources said a briefcase full of documents was also left in the stately mansion, along with rupees 17.85 million in cash, now in custody at a court in Colombo.
There was no official statement from the President’s office as to his whereabouts, but he remained Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces with military resources at his disposal.
One option still open to him would be to bring a naval vessel to India or the Maldives, a defense source said.
If Rajapaksa resigns as promised, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will automatically become acting president until parliament elects an MP to serve the presidential term, which ends in November 2024.
Rajapaksa is accused of having managed the economy so badly that the country has run out of foreign currency to finance even the most essential imports, causing severe hardship for its 22 million inhabitants.
Sri Lanka defaulted on its $51 billion foreign debt in April and is in talks with the IMF about a possible bailout.
The island has almost used up its already scarce gas supply. The government has ordered the closure of non-essential offices and schools to reduce commuting and save fuel.
(AFP)