Sri Lanka declares emergency after president flees: 10 key points

The crisis in Sri Lanka deepened on Wednesday with a state of emergency declared across the country and curfew imposed across the western province. The developments came hours after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his wife fled the country and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe took over as acting president.

Here are the top 10 updates on this big story:

1. Emergency has been declared across the country and an indefinite curfew declared across the western province, including Colombo. The prime minister has ordered security forces to arrest those engaging in unruly behaviour, his office said.

2. Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets in Colombo demanding Gotabaya’s immediate resignation as reports emerged that the president has fled to Maldives. Gotabaya’s final destination is not yet known but a few days ago he was prevented from boarding a commercial flight to the UAE.

3. Hundreds of people are trying to enter the prime minister’s office urging him to resign, forcing security forces to use teargas shells and water cannons to disperse them. Wickremesinghe has already said that he will step down once an all-party government is ready to take over.

4. Rajapaksa, his wife and two bodyguards boarded a Male-bound military aircraft from Colombo International Airport on Tuesday night. His younger brother and former finance minister Basil Rajapaksa has also left the country.

5. “On government request and in terms of powers available to a president under the constitution, with complete approval from the ministry of defence, the president, his wife and two security officials were provided a Sri Lanka air force plane to depart from the Katunayake [Bandaranaike] International Airport [in Colombo] for the Maldives in the early hours of July 13,” the air force said in a statement. As president, Rajapaksa continues to be the supreme commander of the defence forces.

6. On their arrival in Male, Gotabaya and his wife were met by Maldivian officials and later taken to an undisclosed location, sources said. Rajapaksa’s escape to the Maldives was negotiated by the Maldivian Majlis (parliament) speaker and former president Mohamed Nasheed, sources in Male said.

7. The Maldivian government’s argument is that Rajapaksa is still the president of Sri Lanka, and that he hasn’t resigned or handed over his powers to a successor. Therefore, if he wanted to travel to the Maldives, the request could not have been denied, the sources said. Thirteen people accompanied Rajapaksa to the Maldives. They arrived in an AN32 aircraft, according to TV channels. Reports said that initial requests to land a military aircraft in the Maldives were refused by the country’s civil aviation authority, but later landing was authorised on the request of Nasheed.

8. The High Commission of India in Sri Lanka categorically denied “baseless and speculative” media reports that it facilitated the escape of Rajapaksa to the Maldives. “It is reiterated that India will continue to support the people of Sri Lanka as they seek to realise their aspirations for prosperity and progress through democratic means and values, established democratic institutions and constitutional framework,” the India mission tweeted.

9. 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. They were prevented from leaving by immigration officials who withdrew from desks saying their personal safety would be under threat by allowing corrupt officials to leave the country in the face of the current popular uprising.

10. Under the Sri Lankan constitution, if both the president and prime minister resign, the speaker of parliament will serve as acting president for a maximum of 30 days. The parliament will elect a new president within 30 days from one of its members, who will hold the office for the remaining two years of the current term. 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. Parties have begun campaigning for the support of possible candidates. The SJB said they will campaign for the appointment of Sajith Premadasa as the interim president. Premadasa said on Monday that his party was ready to lead the country at the presidential and prime ministerial level and develop the economy.