By Uditha Jayasinghe, Alasdair Pal and Chen Lin
Colombo: Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa landed in Singapore on Thursday after fleeing mass protests over his country’s economic meltdown.
A short time later, he emailed his resignation to the speaker of parliament.
Protesters storm Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s office on Wednesday to demand he resign after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country.Credit: AP
Rajapaksa, who fled to the Maldives on Wednesday to escape a popular uprising over his family’s role in a crippling economic crisis, headed on to Singapore on a Saudi Arabian airline flight, according to a person familiar with the situation.
A passenger on the flight, who declined to be named, said Rajapaksa was met by a group of security guards and was seen leaving the airport VIP area in a convoy of black vehicles.
Airline staff on the flight said the president, dressed in black, flew business class with his wife and two bodyguards, describing him as quiet and friendly.
Singapore’s Foreign Ministry said Rajapaksa had entered the country on a private visit, and had not sought or been granted asylum.
Rajapaksa reportedly emailed a letter of resignation to Colombo shortly after landing.
The parliamentary speaker later confirmed an original version of the resignation letter had been flown back to Sri Lanka.
The speaker’s decision on Wednesday to make his ally Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe the acting president triggered more protests as demonstrators stormed the parliament and the prime minister’s office, demanding that he also resign.
“We want Ranil to go home,” Malik Perera, a 29-year-old rickshaw driver who took part in the parliament protests, said on Thursday.
“They have sold the country. We want a good person to take over – until then, we won’t stop.”
A woman takes a photograph outside the prime minister’s office in ColomboCredit: AP
Protests against the economic crisis have simmered for months and came to a head last weekend when hundreds of thousands of people took over government buildings in Colombo, blaming the powerful Rajapaksa family and allies for runaway inflation, shortages of basic goods, and corruption.
An announcement on the resignation was planned for Friday after the authenticity and legality of the letter were verified, a statement from the speaker’s office said.
As word of the resignation spread, jubilant crowds gathered near the president’s office to celebrate. Dozens of people danced and cheered and waved the national flag, and two men sang in Sinhalese on a small stage.
The mood was festive, with people hooting and swaying to music while others chanted into a microphone that they wanted better governance.
“To be validated like this is massive,” said Viraga Perera, an engineer who has been protesting since April. “On a global scale, we have led a movement that toppled a president with minimal force and violence. It’s a mix of victory and relief.”
The usual protest sites were calm and organisers handed back the president and prime minister’s residences to the government on Thursday evening.
“With the president out of the country, holding the captured places holds no symbolic value anymore,” said Chameera Dedduwage, one of the organisers.
But another organiser, Kalum Amaratunga, said a crackdown could be imminent after Wickremesinghe branded some protesters “fascists” in an address the previous evening.
The government imposed a curfew in Colombo from noon local time on Thursday until early on Friday in a bid to prevent further unrest. Local media showed armoured vehicles with soldiers atop patrolling the city’s streets.
The military said troops were empowered to use force to protect people and public property.
Police use tear gas to disperse protesters who stormed the office of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Wednesday.Credit: AP
Protester killed in clashes
Police said one person was killed and 84 injured in clashes between riot police and protesters on Wednesday.
The army said two soldiers were seriously injured when they were attacked by protesters near parliament on Wednesday evening and that their weapons and magazines were snatched.
Police said the man who died was a 26-year-old protester who injured near the premier’s office.
Rajapaksa had repeatedly assured the speaker of parliament that he would step down on Wednesday, but his resignation letter had not arrived as of Thursday, said an aide to Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena.
A planned session of parliament on Friday has been postponed. Opposition leaders due to meet then to decide the next course of action, the speaker’s office said in a statement.
Former prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and former finance minister Basil Rajapaksa, both brothers of the president, informed the Supreme Court through their lawyer that they would remain in the country until at least Friday.
They were responding to a petition filed by anti-corruption body Transparency International seeking action “against persons responsible for the current economic crisis”.
Immigration officials had stopped Basil Rajapaksa from flying out of the country on Tuesday.
Parliament is expected to name a new full-time president on July 20. A top ruling party source said that Wickremesinghe was the party’s first choice, although no decision had been taken. The opposition’s choice is their main leader, Sajith Premadasa, the son of a former president.
Reuters, AP
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