The embattled President of Sri Lanka, Gotabaya Rajapaksa has departed from the Maldives and arrived in Singapore.
The embattled President arrived in Maldives in the early hours of Wednesday. Media reports disclosed that President Rajapaksa and his wife flew to Malé, on a Sri Lankan Air Force plane, and arrived around 3 am local time.
Sri Lanka's Air Force on Wednesday confirmed Rajapaksa's departure, saying in a statement: quote , "Pursuant to the request of the government and in accordance with the powers vested in a President in the Constitution of Sri Lanka, the Sri Lanka air force provided a plane early today to fly the President, his wife and two security officials to the Maldives." unquote
According to media reports the Maldivian air traffic control refused the plane's request to land until an intervention by the Speaker of the Maldivian Parliament and former President Mohamed Nasheed. However, the Maldivian Parliament has disclosed that they have no information regarding the arrival of the embattled President.
We have yet to gain any official comment from a spokesperson for the Parliament Speaker of Maldives. The Maldivian Foreign Ministry is also refraining from commenting on the situation.
Rajapaksa departed from Maldives on Thursday Afternoon in Saudi airline, flight SV788. It is reported that the final destination of the ousted President is Saudi Arabia, Jeddah.
Rajapaksa was due to resign as president on Wednesday to make way for a unity government, after thousands of protesters stormed his and the prime minister's official residences on Saturday (July 9) demanding their ouster. However, he is yet to send his letter of resignation to the Speaker of Parliament of Sri Lanka.
The president has not been seen in public since Friday (July 8). Parliament will elect his replacement on July 20.
The Rajapaksa family, including former prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, has dominated the politics of the country of 22 million for years and most Sri Lankans blame them for current problems.
The tourism-dependent economy was hammered badly by the COVID-19 pandemic and a fall in remittances from overseas Sri Lankans, while a ban on chemical fertilizers damaged farm output. The ban was later reversed.
The political chaos could complicate efforts to pull Sri Lanka out of its worst economic crisis in seven decades, triggered by a severe shortage of foreign currency that has stalled imports of essentials such as fuel, food and medicines.
