Gotabaya Rajapaksa gets special security, bungalow from Sri Lanka govt

International

oi-Madhuri Adnal

Colombo,
Sep
03:
Sri
Lanka’s
former
President
Gotabaya
Rajapaksa
has
been
given
special
security
and
a
state
bungalow
for
accommodation
on
his
return
here
from
Thailand
where
he
fled
amid
months-long
mass
protests
over
the
country’s
worst
economic
crisis,
officials
said
on
Saturday.

Rajapaksa,
73,
was
accorded
a
warm
welcome
as
he
returned
to
Colombo
from
Thailand
amid
tight
security
on
late
Friday.
He
was
festooned
with
flowers
by
a
welcoming
party
of
ministers
and
politicians
as
he
disembarked
at
Colombo’s
Bandaranaike
International
Airport
from
Bangkok
via
Singapore.

The
former
president
wanted
to
move
into
his
private
residence
at
Mirihana
in
Colombo’s
eastern
suburb
of
Nugegoda.
However,
security
considerations
prevented
him
from
going
to
his
private
residence
where
he
always
lived
even
after
becoming
the
president
in
2019,
officials
said.

After
being
welcomed
by
lawmakers
of
the
ruling
Sri
Lanka
Podujana
Peramuna
(SLPP)
party,
Rajapaksa
left
the
airport
in
a
motorcade
heavily
guarded
by
armed
soldiers
and
was
driven
to
the
posh
Colombo
residential
area
of
Cinnamon
Gardens
where
a
state-maintained
bungalow
was
provided
to
him,
they
said.

Rajapaksa
will
be
living
in
a
state
bungalow
close
to
Wijerama
Mawatha
area
in
Colombo
while
a
large
security
contingency
will
be
deployed
to
maintain
security
in
the
area,
the
Daily
Mirror
newspaper
reported.

Gotabaya
Rajapaksa
returns
to
Sri
Lanka
from
Thailand

Former
presidents
are
constitutionally
guaranteed
a
house,
personal
security
and
staff
after
they
leave
office.

Earlier,
the
duty
manager
of
the
airport
said
that
the
former
president
arrived
in
the
country
at
around
11.30
PM
on
Friday
aboard
a
Singapore
Airlines
flight.

“He
will
not
be
involved
in
politics
despite
many
of
the
party
members
expecting
him
to
start
politics
again,”
a
source
from
the
ruling
SLPP
told
EconomyNext
website
after
confirming
Rajapaksa’s
arrival.

“Many
core
party
members
are
also
against
the
former
president
coming
into
parliament
using
the
national
list.
They
do
not
want
him
to
become
the
leader
again.
He
has
not
committed
any
crimes.
So,
he
has
all
the
rights
to
return
to
the
country
and
all
privileges
as
the
former
president,”
the
report
quoted
the
source
as
saying.

Rajapaksa’s
return
is
a
sensitive
issue
for
the
new
government
led
by
President
Ranil
Wickremesinghe
which
does
not
want
more
protests
and
will
need
to
ensure
his
security.

”We
are
not
opposed
to
the
return
of
Mr
Rajapaksa.
Any
Sri
Lankan
citizen
can
return
to
the
country,” Father
Jeewantha
Peiris,
a
prominent
protest
leader,
told
the
BBC.

”People
came
to
the
streets
because
of
the
alleged
corruption
against
his
government.
We
don’t
have
any
personal
enmity
against
him,”
Peiris
said.

The
ousted
leader,
his
wife
Loma
Rajapaksa
and
two
bodyguards
left
the
country
on
July
13
aboard
an
air
force
plane
bound
for
the
Maldives,
before
travelling
to
Singapore,
where
he
officially
resigned
a
day
later.
He
then
flew
to
Thailand
two
weeks
later.

The
ousted
president
had
been
staying
in
Thailand
on
a
temporary
visa
and
flew
back
home
via
Singapore.
The
ex-president
travelled
from
Thailand
to
Singapore
to
take
the
flight
as
there
are
no
direct
flights
between
Bangkok
and
Colombo,
sources
said.

He
fled
Sri
Lanka
to
the
Maldives
on
a
Sri
Lanka
Airforce
plane
and
then
proceeded
to
Singapore,
from
where
he
sent
in
his
resignation
on
July
14.

Later,
he
flew
to
Thailand,
seeking
temporary
shelter.
Thailand
had
said
that
Rajapaksa
can
stay
in
the
country
for
90
days
because
he
is
still
a
diplomatic
passport
holder.

However,
Rajapaksa
was
not
allowed
to
engage
in
political
activities
in
Thailand.
He
was
confined
to
a
hotel
and
surrounded
by
security
personnel.

Local
media
reports
on
August
19
quoted
SLPP
General
Secretary
Sagara
Kariyawasam
as
saying
that
his
party
had
requested
the
president
to
facilitate
the
former
president’s
return
and
“ensure
security
and
necessary
facilities”.

After
Rajapaksa
was
ousted,
Sri
Lanka’s
parliament
elected
then-Acting
President
and
six-time
former
Prime
Minister
Wickremesinghe
as
the
new
Head
of
State.
Wickremesinghe
has
a
mandate
to
serve
out
the
rest
of
Rajapaksa’s
term,
which
ends
in
November
2024.

Rajapaksa,
an
ex-military
officer,
became
president
in
November
2019.

The
Rajapaksa
family
has
dominated
Sri
Lankan
politics
for
over
two
decades.
Mahinda
Rajapaksa,
the
76-year-old
patriarch
of
the
Rajapaksa
family
has
been
the
country’s
president
and
prime
minister.
Basil
Rajapaksa,
71,
was
earlier
finance
minister.
Chamal
Rajapaksa,
79,
was
Minister
of
Irrigation
and
Speaker
of
the
Parliament
from
2010
to
2015.
Namal
Rajapaksa,
the
eldest
son
of
Mahinda,
was
the
Minister
of
Youth
and
Sports
from
2020
to
2022.

Sri
Lanka,
a
country
of
22
million
people,
is
going
through
its
worst
economic
crisis
since
its
independence
in
1948
which
was
triggered
by
a
severe
paucity
of
foreign
exchange
reserves.

The
IMF
on
Thursday
announced
that
it
will
provide
Sri
Lanka
with
a
loan
of
about
USD
2.9
billion
over
four
years
under
a
preliminary
agreement
to
help
the
bankrupt
island
nation
tide
over
its
worst
economic
crisis
and
protect
the
livelihoods
of
the
people.

The
country
is
also
expected
to
restructure
its
debt
worth
USD
29
billion,
with
Japan
expected
to
coordinate
with
other
creditor
nations,
including
China
on
this
issue.

In
mid-April,
Sri
Lanka
declared
its
international
debt
default
due
to
the
forex
crisis.
The
country
owes
USD
51
billion
in
foreign
debt,
of
which
USD
28
billion
must
be
paid
by
2027.

There
have
been
street
protests
in
Sri
Lanka
against
the
government
since
early
April
due
to
its
mishandling
of
the
economic
crisis.

A
crippling
shortage
of
foreign
reserves
has
led
to
long
queues
for
fuel,
cooking
gas,
and
other
essentials
while
power
cuts
and
soaring
food
prices
have
heaped
misery
on
the
people.