Gotabaya Rajapaksa, wife flee to Maldives; Sri Lanka PM declares emergency

COLOMBO: Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled to the Maldives on a military jet with his wife and two bodyguards on Wednesday, driven out after an economic collapse unleashed a popular uprising that appeared to end his family’s near two-decade dominance of the country.
His decision to leave his ally PM Ranil Wickremesinghe in charge as acting president triggered more demonstrations, with protesters storming the premier’s office on Colombo, demanding that he go too. Wickremesinghe, whose whereabouts are unknown, declared emergency and a nationwide curfew till Thursday morning in a bid to prevent further unrest.
Rajapaksa, who is said to be flying from the Maldives to Singapore, is yet to send in his resignation though he has promised to do so. The move to flee while still president grants him immunity from being detained by a new government.
Earlier in the day, defying the emergency, thousands of protesters waving Lankan flags surrounded the building of the PM’s office. Police stationed outside his office fired several rounds of tear gas, but the protesters were not deterred and surged into the compound. “It feels pretty marvellous, people were trying to take this place for about three hours,” said college student Sanchuka Kavinda, 25, standing next to a mangled, open gate of the office. “No matter what, everyone in this crowd will be here until Ranil also steps down.”
In a statement, Wickremesinghe said the protesters had no reason to storm his office. “They want to stop the parliamentary process. But we must respect the Constitution,” he said.
On the lower floor of the whitewashed colonial-era building, dozens of protesters sang Sinhala pop songs. A large group of security personnel armed with assault rifles sat in a room. Protest organisers and security personnel manned a central wooden staircase at the heart of the building, guiding sightseers to and from the upper floor where the prime minister's room is located. At an adjoining room on the top floor, the plush furniture had been hastily pushed to the corners and a line of armed security personnel ushered visitors through.
The parliament is expected to name a new full-time president next week, and a top ruling party source told Reuters Wickremesinghe was the party’s first choice, despite calls for him to step down. Any effort by Wickremesinghe to cling on would infuriate the protesters who say he is a close ally of the Rajapaksa family, which has dominated the country since Gotabaya’s older brother Mahinda became president in 2005.
Maldives media reported that Singapore was likely to give Rajapaksa asylum. An aide to Rajapaksa and the Singapore government did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Government sources and aides said the president’s brothers, former president and PM Mahinda and former finance minister Basil, were still in Sri Lanka.
Wickremesinghe had offered to resign as prime minister but did not repeat that offer after he became acting president on Wednesday. If he does go, the speaker would be acting president until a new president is elected on July 20 as scheduled.
In his first televised address after the President Rajapaksa fled, Wickremesinghe said he had ordered military commanders and the police chief to do what is necessary to restore order. “We must end this fascist threat to democracy. We can’t allow the destruction of state property. The President’s office, the President’s Secretariat and the Prime Minister’s official residence must be returned to proper custody. Those who are in my office want to stop me from discharging my responsibilities as acting president. We can’t let them tear up our Constitution. We can’t allow fascists to take over. Some mainstream politicians too seem to be supporting these extremists. That is why I declared a nation-wide emergency and a curfew,” Wickremesinghe said.
Watch Sri Lanka economic crisis: Emergency declared after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa flees