An escape by sea? Flying out of world's least-used airport? President explores options to flee Sri Lanka

NEW DELHI: After being stopped from leaving the country by the airport immigration staff, Sri Lanka's embattled president Gotabaya Rajapaksa is now planning an escape by the sea using a navy patrol craft.
The president's desperate attempt to flee the debt-laden country, which is witnessing massive protests for weeks, symbolises the fall of the powerful Rajapaksa clan which has ruled Sri Lanka for over two decades.
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It's also a harrowing testament to the anger that has been building up among the Sri Lankans, who are at the centre of the crippling financial distress the country is currently in.
Vanishing act
President Gotabaya, who had been missing from public view since Saturday when protesters stormed his residence, finally reappeared on Tuesday as he tried to sneak out of the country.
The 73-year-old leader was stopped at the airport as immigration officers refused to go to the VIP suite to stamp his passport, while he insisted he would not go through the public facilities, fearing reprisals from other airport users.

Officials said that the President wanted to go to Dubai.
As president, Rajapaksa enjoys immunity from arrest, and he is believed to want to go abroad before stepping down to avoid the possibility of being detained.

The president and his wife had spent the night at a military base next to the main international airport after missing four flights that could have taken them to the United Arab Emirates.
No way out
Earlier today, Gotabaya's younger brother and former finance minister Basil Rajapaksa was also turned back at the Colombo airport as he attempted to leave the country through the VIP terminal.
Basil, who resigned in April as finance minister, missed his Emirates flight to Dubai after a similar standoff with airport staff.
The Sri Lanka Immigration and Emigration Officers Association said its members declined to serve Basil at the VIP terminal of the airport. Notably, Basil is also a US passport holder.

Basil, along with others from his family, is being widely held responsible for the country's worst economic crisis which has heaped misery on the people.
Dubai via Maldives or India?
With Gotabaya's Dubai escape bid dashed, the President is now exploring other ways to leave the crisis-hit island.
Official sources said that the Sri Lankan president is considering using a navy patrol craft to flee the island.

Earlier too, right before the protesters overran his official residence on Saturday, Rajapaksa had used a navy boat to flee to the northeastern port city of Trincomalee.
"The best option now is to take the sea exit," a defence official said. "He could go to the Maldives or India and get a flight to Dubai."

Another alternative, he added, would be to charter a plane to fly him from the country's second international airport at Mattala, opened in 2013 and named after the president's elder brother Mahinda.
It is widely considered a white elephant, with no scheduled international flights and described as probably the world's "least-used international airport".
(With inputs from agencies)