The former president of Sri Lanka, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, arrived on Thursday in the Thai capital, Bangkok, from Singapore, where he had fled the demonstrations that have shaken the island in recent months, affected by serious economic problems.
Rajapaksa landed on a private plane at Don Mueang International Airport around 8 p.m. (2 p.m. in Lisbon), leaving the airport’s VIP section about 40 minutes later with his wife, a senior Thai official said. , quoted by the local press.
As a holder of a diplomatic passport from Sri Lanka, the former president can enter Thailand without a visa for a period of 90 days (…). The stay will be temporary to continue the trip. Political asylum was not requested,” the Thai Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
For four months, protesters have taken to the streets of Sri Lanka. protesting the shortage of essential goods, protests that culminated in the invasion of Rajapaksa’s official residence and office in early July, precipitating the ex-president’s flight.
Rajapaksa fled Sri Lanka on July 9 and, after a stopover in the Maldives, arrived in Singapore on July 14, where he resigned. Local authorities have extended the 14-day visa once, until August 11.
He asked for a further extension but got no response on Wednesday morning,” a close friend of the former Sri Lankan head of state told Agence France-Presse news from the Sri Lankan capital Colombo.
Rajapaksa’s plan is to return to Singapore after a short stay in Thailand, according to the same source.
In July, a human rights group filed a criminal complaint with Singapore’s attorney general, seeking Rajapaksa’s arrest for alleged war crimes during Sri Lanka’s civil war.
The former president was defense minister during the conflict, which ended in 2009.
The government of Rajapaksa’s successor, Ranil Wickremesinghe, submitted a proposed constitutional amendment to parliament on Wednesday that would limit the powers of the presidency, in response to protesters’ demands.
Sri Lanka is currently facing the worst economic crisis in its history, deeply in debt and unable to import essential goods such as medicine, fuel, food and gas.
In response, the island nation last week resumed negotiations with the International Monetary Fund for a loan to deal with the crisis.
Source: Observadora
