Sri Lanka’s embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Wednesday fled to the Maldives on a military jet, hours before he was supposed to step down in the face of a public revolt against him and his family for mishandling the economy that has bankrupted the country.The 73-year-old leader was received by a Maldivian government representative at the Velana airport, sources here said, quoting Maldivian officials.
Rajapaksa fled the country on a military jet, the Daily Mirror online reported.He arrived in the capital of the Maldives, Male, at around 03:00 local time (22:00 GMT), BBC reported.
However, there was no official confirmation on Rajapaksa’s departure from Sri Lanka as yet.His younger brother and former finance minister Basil Rajapaksa has also left the country, BBC said, citing sources.Basil, the 71-year-old leader who is being widely held responsible for the country’s worst economic crisis which has heaped misery on the people, is said to be heading to the US. He is a US passport holder.On Monday night, both Rajapaksa and his brother Basil were turned back at the Colombo airport as they attempted to leave the country amid mounting anger against the powerful family for mishandling the island’s worst economic crisis.Basil resigned as finance minister in early April as street protests intensified against shortages of fuel, food and other necessities and quit his seat in parliament in June.President Rajapaksa has informed both Speaker of Parliament Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe that he will resign on July 13, days after protesters stormed his official residence in rage over the island nation’s worst economic crisis.Speaker Abeywardena was expected to publicly announce President Rajapaksa’s resignation to the nation on Wednesday.Sri Lanka’s political parties have stepped up efforts to form an all-party government and subsequently elect a new President on July 20 to prevent the bankrupt nation sliding further into anarchy.A meeting was held early this week between the main opposition Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB) and former president Maithripala Sirisena’s Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP).
