Gotabaya Rajapaksa

2022 - 7 - 13

Lanka Declares Emergency After President Flees, Huge Protests: 10 ... (NDTV)

Sri Lanka declared a state of emergency today as massive protests engulfed Colombo after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa flew to the Maldives following months ...

Earlier, both Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Basil Rajapaksa failed to leave the country as immigration officials did not clear their journey and other fliers protested. Reports claim the President's younger brother and former finance minister Basil Rajapaksa has also left the country. Defence officials of the island nation have told NDTV that Mr Rajapaksa requested a plane last night and insisted they were "obligated" to provide him with one.

Sri Lanka declares state of emergency after president flees country (Axios)

Sri Lanka declares state of emergency after president flees country · Protesters have occupied the presidential palace for days. · The demonstrators have said ...

The big picture: The island country of 22 million is bankrupt. Although Wickremesinghe is now acting president, he has agreed to resign at a date yet to be announced, per the BBC. Security forces deployed tear gas as thousands of demonstrators rallied outside Wickremesinghe's office.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa plans to fly to Singapore after fleeing Sri Lanka ... (Tamil Guardian)

Reports have emerged that Gotabaya Rajapaksa who landed in the Maldives yesterday, will now board a flight to Singapore this evening after claiming asylum.

Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. The 73-year-old former defence secretary was reportedly trying to flee the country before he is scheduled to step down and lose immunity as a head of state that protects him from prosecution for a range of crimes. The resort owner is alleged to have a close relationship with the Maldives foreign minister Abdullah Shahid.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa: How Sri Lanka's runaway President went from ... (CNN)

They were once seen as heroes of the nation, the almost mythical warrior-king leaders who defeated the separatists in a bloody civil war.

And it is the Rajapaksas they blame. For weeks Gotabaya clung on, apparently unwilling to let the dynasty fall. Ratings agencies then downgraded Sri Lanka to near default levels, meaning the country lost access to overseas markets. people in a string of bombings at churches and luxury hotels. It's a complete fall from grace." That victory gave Mahinda Rajapaksa an almost inexhaustible well of political capital to draw on and he would go on to enjoy a 10-year grip on power during which he was venerated by Sri Lanka's Sinhalese Buddhist majority. Sri Lanka then had to use its foreign exchange reserves to pay off government debt. The country saw years of growth, fueled by the government's vast borrowing from overseas to fund public services. "This combination of (nepotism) and mismanaging the economy... , government troops were responsible for abuses including the intentional shelling of civilians, summary executions, rape, and blocking food and medicine from reaching affected communities. people were upset they elected these people." His brother Mahinda Rajapaksa

Try, try, and fly away: How Gotabaya Rajapaksa escaped from Sri ... (Business Standard)

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa managed to flee Sri Lanka in the early hours of July 13 and soon the government announced the imposition of an ...

However, Rajapksa finally succeeded in his bid to flee the nation as the president left Lanka on Wednesday morning. As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. “He sought a safe passage to the U.S. after the recent events, but it was denied,” a Colombo-based official told The Hindu on Tuesday. Soon after the announcement, Rajapaksa, who was moved out of his official residence on Friday, went incommunicado as reports said that his whereabouts were unknown. After months of protests over the economic crisis in Lanka, thousands of demonstrators stormed the president's and prime minister's residences on July 9. On July 13, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was expected to resign.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa Flees Sri Lanka (The Diplomat)

Public ire turns against Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who has been appointed acting president.

Police initially used tear gas to try to disperse the protesters outside his office but failed, and more and more marched down the lane toward the compound. Sri Lankan presidents are protected from arrest while in power, and it is likely Rajapaksa planned his escape while he still had constitutional immunity. “We need both … to go home,” said Supun Eranga, a 28-year-old civil servant in the crowd outside Wickremesinghe’s office. Rajapaksa has yet to resign, but Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena said the president assured him he would later in the day. That brought little relief to the island nation gripped for months by an economic disaster that has triggered severe shortages of food and fuel — and now is beset by political chaos. Some could later be seen inside the building and standing on a rooftop terrace waving Sri Lanka’s flag.