Maldives government officials had earlier informed that Gotabaya will be taken to Singapore and from there to Jeddah on a Saudi Airlines flight.
Colombo: Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has resigned. He sent his resignation letter to the Parliament Speaker through e-mail. Currently, Gotabaya is based in Singapore.
Rajapaksa and his wife, who fled from Sri Lanka in an army flight on Tuesday midnight, reached the Maldives on Wednesday morning. He then arrived in Singapore on a Saudi Airlines flight today. Entry to Singapore is permitted for private visits. Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs says Rajapaksa has neither sought nor been granted asylum.
Earlier, Gotabaya had said that Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe would submit his resignation as Acting President on 13th. He was widely expected to tender his resignation after arriving in Singapore yesterday. The Speaker had also announced yesterday that Gotabaya will resign yesterday as announced earlier. But there was no resignation last night either.
Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa returned to Singapore after he came to the Maldives after the agitation intensified due to the financial crisis. It is reported that he returned to Singapore on Saudi Airlines flight SV 788. From there he will go to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.
He and his wife escaped from Sri Lanka on a military plane early Wednesday morning as protesters occupied government buildings demanding Rajapaksa’s resignation. He left the country without resigning the presidency. He has informed the Speaker that he will send his resignation letter. However, the Speaker said that the President had called him on Wednesday evening and had assured him that he would send the letter of resignation yesterday.
Meanwhile, the government has imposed a curfew in Colombo. News agency Reuters reported that the curfew was imposed from 12:00 pm to 15:00 am today.
After the President left the country, protesters stormed Prime Minister Renil Wickremesinghe’s office demanding his resignation. 45 people who were injured in the conflict between the police and the protesters were admitted to the hospital. A 26-year-old man who was admitted to hospital after being hit by tear gas died of respiratory failure, Reuters reported, citing local media.
Parliament is expected to elect a new full-time president next week. A senior source in the ruling party told Reuters that Wickremesinghe was the party’s first consideration, although no decision had been made on the president.