President Gotabaya Rajapaksa Planning to Flee Sri Lanka By Sea After Airport Standoff: Report

Sri Lanka Economic Crisis Latest Update: Last week, Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had announced to resign on Wednesday and clear the way for a peaceful transition of power in the country.

Sri Lanka Economic Crisis: 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. 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.

In the meantime, reports suggested that a fresh plea has been filed in Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court seeking an interim order restraining former prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and other influential officials of the Rajapaksa regime from fleeing the country without the prior approval of the apex court.

The case was filed in the apex court as former finance minister Basil Rajapaksa, 71, was turned back at the Colombo airport on Tuesday as he attempted to leave the country through the VIP terminal.

The petition filed by Sri Lankan swimmer and coach Julian Bolling, former Chairman of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce Chandra Jayaratne, global civil society organisation Transparency International and entrepreneur Jehan Canaga Retna came amidst mounting anger against the powerful Rajapaksa family for mishandling the worst economic crisis in the island nation.

The petitioners also sought an order to take legal action against those responsible for financial irregularities and mismanagement of the Lankan economy, news portal dailymirror.lk reported.