Ousted Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa to stay temporarily in Thailand

International

oi-PTI

Bangkok,
Aug
11:
Thailand
has
agreed
to
allow
Gotabaya
Rajapaksa
to
stay
in
the
country
temporarily
during
which
the
ousted
Sri
Lankan
president
will
search
for
a
third
nation
that
will
offer
him
permanent
refuge,
Prime
Minister
Prayut
Chan-o-cha
said
on
Wednesday.

Rajapaksa,
who
is
currently
in
Singapore
after
fleeing
Sri
Lanka
in
July
amid
mass
anti-government
protests,
is
seeking
refuge
in
Thailand
as
his
Singapore
visa
runs
out
on
Thursday.
After
flying
to
the
Maldives
on
July
13,
Rajapaksa
then
fled
to
Singapore,
where
he
announced
his
resignation
a
day
later
after
months
of
protests
over
the
country’s
economic
crisis.

The
prime
minister
of
Thailand
confirmed
a
temporary
visit
to
Thailand
by
the
73-year-old
embattled
Sri
Lankan
leader
for
humanitarian
reasons,
and
said
he
promised
not
to
conduct
political
activities
in
the
kingdom
during
his
search
for
permanent
asylum
in
another
country.

Former
Sri
Lanka
president
Gotabaya
Rajapaksa
not
accorded
any
privileges,
immunity
by
Singapore
govt

“This
is
a
humanitarian
issue.
We
have
made
a
promise
that
it’s
a
temporary
stay.
No
[political]
activities
are
allowed,
and
this
will
help
him
find
a
country
to
take
refuge
in,”
Prayut
was
quoted
as
saying
by
the
Bangkok
Post
newspaper.

Foreign
Minister
Don
Pramudwinai
said
the
ousted
president
can
stay
in
Thailand
for
90
days
as
he
is
still
a
diplomatic
passport
holder,
the
report
said.

Don
said
the
Sri
Lankan
government
did
not
oppose
the
visit
and
the
Thai
government
would
not
make
accommodation
arrangements
for
him.
The
visit
would
not
pose
conflicts
with
Colombo
as
acting
President
Ranil
Wickremesinghe
had
worked
for
him
when
he
was
in
power,
he
added.

The
minister
said
a
condition
for
Rajapaksa’s
stay
was
that
he
should
not
cause
problems
for
Thailand.

Thailand
received
a
request
from
Rajapaksa
to
enter
the
country,
CNN
quoted
Ministry
of
Foreign
Affairs
Spokesperson
Tanee
Sangrat
as
saying
on
Wednesday.

Not
right
time
for
Gotabaya
Rajapaksa
to
return:
Sri
Lankan
President
Wickremesinghe

Sangrat
said
that
as
a
holder
of
a
Sri
Lankan
diplomatic
passport,
Rajapaksa
can
enter
Thailand
without
a
visa
for
up
to
90
days,
emphasising
the
stay
is
temporary
and
he
is
not
seeking
political
asylum.

Sangrat
did
not
mention
when
Rajapaksa
intended
on
traveling
to
Thailand,
the
report
said.