First modification:
Sri Lanka’s ousted President Gotabaya Rajapaksa returned to Colombo on Friday, ending his exile in Thailand seven weeks after he was forced to flee the country amid protests blaming him for the country’s economic collapse.
His escape lasted seven weeks. Sri Lanka’s deposed President Gotabaya Rajapaksa returned to Colombo on Friday, ending his exile in Thailand.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa, 73, was greeted at Colombo’s main airport by ministers with flower garlands, an airport official said, seven weeks after he was forced to flee the country amid protests blaming him for the economic collapse of the country.
He fled Sri Lanka in July, first to the Maldives and then to Singapore, where he announced his resignation.
His 28-day visa had expired without renewal and he had been in Thailand ever since, where the local authorities had asked him not to leave his hotel for security reasons, keeping him in virtual detention.
“He has been living in a Thai hotel as a virtual prisoner and was eager to return,” the defense official, who requested anonymity, told AFP.
“We have just created a new security division to protect him after his return,” the official continued, “the unit is made up of elements from the army and police commandos.”
problems with the law
Gotayaba Rajapaksa had a 90-day visa to stay in Thailand but chose to return with his wife, a bodyguard and another assistant, the official said.
The Sri Lankan Constitution guarantees bodyguards, a vehicle and accommodation for former presidents.
Human rights activists welcomed his return and assured that they would work for his arrest “for the crimes he committed.”
“We will be able to bring him to justice,” Tharindu Jayawardhana, spokesman for the Sri Lanka Young Journalists Association, told the AFP news agency.
“We have already asked the inspector general to reopen criminal investigations that were dropped” when he became president, the spokesman added. “We have listed 21 cases against him.”
By resigning midway through his five-year term, Gotayaba Rajapaksa, 73, lost the immunity that guaranteed him his position. As a result, he could be prosecuted.
Gotayaba Rajapaksa, who renounced his US citizenship to run in the 2019 presidential election, is also on trial in California for his alleged role in the murder of journalist Lasantha Wickrematunge and the torture of Tamil prisoners.
Police have deployed plainclothes officers, as well as armed guards, to a government residence in Colombo assigned to them. Security has also been tightened at his private home, according to authorities.
historical economic crisis
This country of 22 million people has been plagued for months by a historic economic crisis, marked by serious shortages of food, fuel and medicine due to the lack of foreign currency to finance imports.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who was elected in 2019 on the promise of “horizons of prosperity and splendor”, saw his popularity ratings plummet as the crisis deepened.
He fled the island on July 13, four days after tens of thousands of protesters exasperated by months of deprivation stormed his official residence.
Ranil Wickremesinghe, who succeeded him, declared a state of emergency and promised to crack down on rioters.
In mid-August, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, through his younger brother Basil, a former Finance Minister, asked President Wickremesinghe to make arrangements for his safe return to the island.
The South Asian island nation defaulted on its $51 billion foreign debt in mid-April.
The International Monetary Fund announced Thursday a conditional $2.9 billion bailout to put its finances in order. The IMF’s board has yet to ratify the deal.
“This is an important step in the history of our country,” said President Wickremesinghe.
“The beginning will be difficult,” he added, “only our commitment matters now, because we must not only meet the objectives set, but also exceed them.”
*With AFP; adapted from its original French version
#Sri #Lanka #Deposed #President #Gotabaya #Rajapaksa #returned #exile