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India on Wednesday rejected “baseless and speculative” reports that the country facilitated the travel of beleaguered Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled to the Maldives in an air force plane hours before he was to resign. Rajapaksa, his wife and two bodyguards left the country in an An-32 aircraft of the Sri Lankan Air Force and flew to Male, the capital of the Maldives. Rajapaksa, who has been in hiding since a large crowd of protestors stormed the presidential palace on Saturday, will most likely proceed to another Asian country from Male, a government source said. in a set of tweets, the Indian high commission in Colombo categorically denied “baseless and speculative media reports that India facilitated the recent reported travel” of Rajapaksa and his brother, former finance minister Basil Rajapaksa, out of Sri Lanka.
“It is reiterated that India will continue to support the people of Sri Lanka as they seek to realise their aspirations for prosperity and progress through democratic means and values, established democratic institutions and constitutional framework,” the high commission said.
The whereabouts of Basil Rajapaksa could not immediately be ascertained, though he could not board a flight to Dubai early on Tuesday because of a tense standoff with staff at the international airport in Colombo. As president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa was also commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
Sri Lanka was plunged into turmoil as public protests escalated over the weekend and thousands of protestors opposed to Rajapaksa stormed the presidential office and residence in Colombo and set fire to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s private home on Saturday. The island nation has been grappling with the worst economic crisis since independence in 1948, with people angered by a massive spike in fuel prices and a severe shortage of food.
Both Rajapaksa, 73, and Wickremesinghe, 73, had said following a meeting of all political parties that they would step down to allow the formation of an all-party government. Rajapaksa had said he would resign on July 13, a date apparently chosen because it is a full moon day, which is considered auspicious by Buddhists. The Sri Lankan Prime Minister’s Office confirmed that Rajapaksa had left the country, while the air force said in a statement that the president and his wife had been flown to the Maldives.
Sri Lanka’s president enjoys immunity from arrest, one of the reasons cited by immigration officials to explain their decision not to stop Rajapaksa leaving the country. It is understood that Rajapaksa decided to leave Sri Lanka before resigning to avert the possibility of his detention.
Television news channels beamed footage of Rajapaksa and his wife being driven in a convoy with a police escort to an undisclosed location following their arrival in Male.
Rajapaksa’s exit from Sri Lanka was initially blocked by immigration officials in Colombo. He had wanted to fly to Dubai on a commercial flight but staff at the international airport withdrew from VIP services and insisted all passengers had to go through public counters. The presidential party was reluctant to pass through regular channels fearing public reactions and missed four flights to the United Arab Emirates on Monday. Clearance for a military flight to India was not immediately secured, a security official said, and on Tuesday, the group had gone to a naval base with a view to fleeing by sea.
India has largely distanced itself from political forces in Sri Lanka, with the external affairs ministry maintaining that New Delhi “stands with the people of Sri Lanka” as they seek to find a solution through “democratic means and values”. Since the beginning of the year, India has provided aid worth more than $3.8 billion – including lines of credit for emergency purchases of fuel, food and medicines, and a currency swap – as Sri Lanka grappled with shortages and a worsening balance of payments situation.
(Except for the headline and the pictorial description, this story has not been edited by THE DEN staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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