Sri Lankan president flees to Maldives, protesters storm Prime Minister’s office

COLOMBO (Reuters) – Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled to the Maldives on Wednesday after an economic meltdown triggered a popular uprising that appeared to end his family’s nearly two decades of domination of the country.

His decision to leave his ally Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as acting president sparked further demonstrations, with protesters storming the prime minister’s office demanding his departure as well.

The air force said in a statement that Rajapaksa, his wife and two bodyguards departed the main international airport near Colombo on an Air Force plane early Wednesday morning.

After arriving in the Maldives, a government source said, he is expected to head to the Singapore side.

Authorities declined to reveal the whereabouts of Wickremesinghe, who declared a nationwide curfew until Thursday morning in a bid to prevent further unrest after protesters overran his office.

Police stationed outside fired several bursts of tear gas, but were not deterred by the protesters and rushed into the compound.

“It feels so great, people have been trying to take this place for about three hours,” said university student Sanchuka Kavinda, 25, who was standing next to the gate of the Prime Minister’s office. “No matter what, everyone in this crowd will be here until Ranil steps down as well.”

Local media said a 26-year-old protester was taken to hospital after being exposed to tear gas, and died of breathing difficulties.

Wickremesinghe said in a statement that the protesters had no reason to storm his office.

“They want to stop the parliamentary process. But we have to respect the constitution,” he said.

In the basement of the whitewashed colonial-era building, dozens of protesters sang Sinhala pop songs. A large group of security men armed with assault rifles sat in a room.

Protest organizers and security personnel guarded a central wooden staircase at the heart of the building, directing onlookers to and from the upper floor where the Prime Minister’s Room was located.

In an adjoining room upstairs, plush furniture was hastily pushed into corners, and a row of armed security personnel ushered visitors.

New leader due next week

Parliament is expected to name a new full-time speaker next week, and a senior ruling party source told Reuters that Wickremesinghe was the party’s first choice although no decision was made.

Wickremesinghe’s attempt to hold on to him would anger protesters who say he is a close ally of the Rajapaksa family, which has dominated the country since Rajapaksa’s older brother Mahinda became president in 2005.

“One MP has been appointed as Prime Minister. Now the same person has been appointed as Acting President,” opposition presidential candidate Sajith Premadasa said on Twitter. “This is Rajapaksa’s style of democracy. What a farce. What a tragedy.”

Despite his flight, Rajapaksa’s resignation was not confirmed until late Wednesday. Earlier, Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abhiwardena said Rajapaksa had called him and informed him that his resignation letter would arrive later on Wednesday. None of Abiwardena’s aides received an update on the letter late in the day.

Maldives media reported that Singapore is likely to grant Rajapaksa asylum. Read more

An aide to Rajapaksa and the Singapore government did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Economic crisis

Protests against the economic crisis have escalated for months and culminated last weekend when hundreds of thousands of people took over government buildings in Colombo, blaming the Rajapaksas family and their allies for hyperinflation, shortages and corruption. Read more

Government sources and aides said the president’s two brothers, former President and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and former Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa, are still in Sri Lanka.

On Tuesday, Sri Lankan immigration officials banned Basil Rajapaksa, who in April resigned as finance minister, from traveling outside the country. Read more

Wickremesinghe, whose private residence in Colombo was set on fire on Saturday, had offered to resign as prime minister but did not repeat the offer after becoming acting president on Wednesday. In the event of his departure, the Speaker of the House will serve as acting president until a new president is elected on July 20 as scheduled.

Amid economic and political chaos, Sri Lanka’s sovereign bond prices hit record lows on Wednesday.

The US Embassy in Colombo said it will cancel consular services in the afternoon and Thursday as a precaution.

The island nation’s tourism-dependent economy took an initial hit due to the COVID-19 pandemic and then a drop in remittances from Sri Lankans abroad. A ban on chemical fertilizers hurt production, although the ban was later rescinded. Read more

The Rajapaksas implemented populist tax cuts in 2019 that hurt government finances, while shrinking foreign reserves slashed imports of fuel, food and medicine.

Gasoline was severely rationed and long queues formed in front of shops selling cooking gas. The overall inflation rate was 54.6% last month and the central bank warned that it could rise to 70% in the coming months.

Mahinda Rajapaksa, president from 2005 to 2015 and later prime minister under his brother, resigned in May after protests against the family turned violent. He remained hidden in a military base in the east of the country for several days before returning to Colombo.

Additional reporting by Kanishka Singh, Alasdair Pal, Lin Chen and Shilpa Jamkhandikar; Written by Krishna in Das and Raju Gopalakrishnan; Editing by Sam Holmes, Shree Navaratnam and Kim Coogill

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