The Sri Lankan president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, has arrived in Singapore, with his final destination reported to be Saudi Arabia, as the beleaguered leader continues his pursuit of a safe haven.
Sri Lanka has been gripped by mass protests over its economic meltdown, and tensions remained on a knife-edge on Thursday, with a curfew imposed in the commercial capital of Colombo and military tanks deployed on the roads.
Rajapaksa – who remains immune from prosecution while still president – had promised to accede to protesters’ demands to resign, but his absence has left the country in political limbo.
Sources told Reuters he had submitted a letter of resignation to the speaker of the country’s parliament late on Thursday, but the sources said it was not immediately clear if the letter, sent shortly after Rajapaksa arrived in Singapore, would be accepted in email form.
Sri Lanka remained in a state of emergency and soldiers were authorised to use necessary force to prevent destruction of property and life, the country’s army said in a statement on Thursday.
Rajapaksa first escaped to the Maldives early on Wednesday morning and then took a Saudia airline flight to Singapore on Thursday afternoon.
However, the Singapore government made it clear Rajapaksa was not staying. In a swiftly released statement, the foreign ministry said he had been given entry to Singapore “on a private visit” and that “he has not asked for asylum and neither has he been granted any asylum”.
A spokesperson for the Indian government denied reports that India had helped facilitate Rajapaksa’s escape from Sri Lanka.
It was reported earlier that the president plans to go on to Saudi Arabia, but that could not be confirmed.
On Thursday morning, the parliamentary speaker said he had spoken to Rajapaksa, who had conveyed he was “under a lot of pressure and that steps will be taken to send the resignation letter as soon as possible”.
Many believe Rajapaksa’s resignation announcement will not come until he has reached his final destination and ensured protection from prosecution, including for alleged corruption and for longstanding accusations of war crimes during Sri Lanka’s civil war, when he was the head of the armed forces.
Protesters, along with trade unions and civil society groups, issued a warning this week that their actions would escalate if Rajapaksa did not step down on Wednesday 13 July, the date he had repeatedly conveyed through parliamentarians and the prime minister he would depart.
On Thursday morning, protesters said they had handed back the government buildings they had occupied, including the president’s residential palace, and the prime minister’s offices and official residence, in order to maintain peace.
“We have asked Gotabaya Rajapaksa to resign, we have asked Ranil Wickremesinghe to resign, but for the last three days these politicians have acted as if this country is their private property,” said Swasthika Arulingam, a spokesperson for the people’s movement known as Aragalaya. “It is not their private property and they have put our country at risk, they have put our national security at risk.”
The protesters continued to occupy the president’s administrative office in the Galle Face area of Colombo, where an anti-government protest camp has been established at the gates since April. The secretariat has been turned into a public library, where people have been encouraged to donate books. Some books reclaimed from the prime minister’s official residence, Temple Trees, are among the collection.
Despite Thursday’s curfew, the library was still filled with dozens of people quietly reading. “Our protest is not just about bringing down our corrupt leaders, it is about knowledge and education and awareness; that’s why we are keeping this library here for the people,” said Pradeep Madushan, 22, who helped to set it up.
Rajapaksa, who has been president since November 2019, is held responsible for driving Sri Lanka into its worst economic crisis since independence in 1948, leading to severe shortages of fuel, food and medicines. Along with several members of his powerful family who held political posts, the Rajapaksas are accused of economic mismanagement and widespread corruption.
Rajapaksa has not directly addressed the people of Sri Lanka since he was evacuated from his home on Saturday morning, before protesters occupied the presidential palace and offices.
Officially, Rajapaksa remains president but appointed the prime minister, Wickremesinghe, to be “acting president” with full executive powers, a move rejected by protesters who want both to resign.
The UN secretary general, António Guterres, urged Sri Lankan leaders to oversee a peaceful transition of power. “I continue to follow the situation in Sri Lanka very closely. It is important that the root causes of the conflict and protesters’ grievances are addressed,” he tweeted.
