Sri Lanka, in the grip of a severe economic and political crisis, declared a state of emergency on Wednesday, July 13, hours after the flight of its President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the office of Prime Minister Dinook Kolambake.
Police have declared an indefinite curfew in the capital Colombo and Western Province to control the protests. Thousands of people gathered outside the prime minister’s office, and security forces fired tear gas to prevent them from entering the building.
President Rajapaksa, Energized by a strong people’s movement, landed in the Maldives early Wednesday morning after leaving his country on a military plane. The 73-year-old leader, He promised to resign and tried unsuccessfully to leave Sri Lanka on Tuesday, leaving Colombo International Airport in an Antonov-32 with his wife and a bodyguard, immigration officials said.
According to Sri Lanka Airport sources, the plane was held up on the airport tarmac for over an hour for permission to land in the Maldives.
On Tuesday, Mr Rajapaksa was turned away from Colombo airport by immigration officials and some of his advisers were trying to get him and his relatives on board a patrol boat to escape, a senior security source said.
A naval vessel was used on Saturday to transfer the head of state from the presidential palace, which was besieged by protesters, to the port of Trincomalee in the country’s northeast. Later, Mr Rajapakse arrived at the Colombo International Airport by helicopter on Monday.
The suitcase was filled with Rs 17.85 million
As he has not yet resigned, he promised to do so on Wednesday “Peaceful Transition of Power”Mr. Rajapaksa is still exempt from the presidency.
In the leak, the Sri Lankan president left behind a suitcase full of documents and 17.85 million rupees (49,000 euros) in cash, now sealed.
If the head of state resigns as he has promised, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will automatically become interim president until the election by parliament of a member of parliament who will hold power until the end of the current mandate, i.e. November 2024.
He was appointed by the President of Sri Lanka in May to replace his own brother, Mahinda Rajapaksa. However Mr. Wickramasinghe is also contesting By demonstrators who have camped in front of the Presidential Secretariat for more than three months demanding the President’s resignation The country is facing an unprecedented economic crisis.
Mr. Rajapaksa has been accused of mismanaging the economy, leading to the country’s inability, starved of foreign currency, to finance the most essential imports for a population of 22 million. Colombo defaulted on its $51 billion foreign debt in April and is in talks with the International Monetary Fund for a possible bailout.
Sri Lanka has also almost exhausted its petrol reserves. The government has ordered the closure of non-essential offices and schools to reduce travel and save fuel.
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