Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa Flies To Maldives With Wife, Bodyguard: Reports

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has flown out of the country, reports AFP News Agency quoting officials.

Colombo: Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has flown out of the country early Wednesday heading to the neighbouring Maldives, local officials said, reports AFP News Agency quoting officials adding that the 73-year-old leader, his wife, and a bodyguard were among four passengers on board an Antonov-32 aircraft which took off from the main international airport, according to the immigration officials. “Their passports were stamped and they boarded the special air force flight,” an immigration official involved in the process said. There was no immediate confirmation Rajapaksa had reached the Maldives.

Airport officials said the aircraft was held up for over an hour on the tarmac without being able to take off following confusion over permission to land in the Maldives. “There were some anxious moments, but in the end everything worked out OK,” an airport official said, asking not to be named.

“The aircraft is due to land at the Male international airport.”

Many of the president’s entourage did not travel with him on board the aircraft, he added.

Earlier on Tuesday, amid the worsening political crisis in Sri Lanka, embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and former finance minister Basil Rajapaksa, who were trying to flee the cash-strapped country were stopped by airport immigration staff. The duo was reportedly taking flights to United Arab Emirates (UAE) when the immigration staff blocked their exit.

An immigration officer said that the president and his younger brother were turned back at Colombo airport on Tuesday as he attempted to leave the country through the VIP terminal. The Sri Lanka Immigration and Emigration Officers Association said its members declined to serve Basil at the VIP terminal of Colombo airport.

After the airport officials halted his flying abroad, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was considering using a navy patrol craft to flee the country on Tuesday after the standoff at the airport, official sources of AFP said.

Earlier, the Sri Lanka President had announced to resign on Wednesday and clear the way for a peaceful transition of power in the country after the widespread protests against him over the country’s worst economic crisis.

Last week, the 73-year-old leader fled his official residence in Colombo just before tens of thousands of protesters overran it on Saturday. The official further told news agency AFP that he then wanted to travel to Dubai.

However, Rajapaksa at the moment enjoys immunity from arrest and is believed to want to go abroad before stepping down to avoid the possibility of being detained.

At the airport, the immigration officers refused to go to the VIP suite to stamp his passport, while he insisted he would not go through the public facilities, fearing reprisals from other airport users.

As per the report, the president and his wife spent the night at a military base next to the main Bandaranaike International airport after missing four flights that could have taken them to the United Arab Emirates.

On the other hand, Rajapaksa’s youngest brother Basil, who had resigned in April as finance minister, also missed his own Emirates flight to Dubai early Tuesday after a similar standoff with airport staff.