Gotabaya Rajapaksa flees to Male, forces deployed in Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country ahead of his expected resignation and arrived in Maldives early Wednesday morning where he was received by speaker Mohamed Nasheed, according to people familiar with the development. He was accompanied by his wife and two bodyguards.
Later, the Sri Lankan Air Force said the ministry of defense of the island-nation provided necessary clearance to Gotabaya and first lady Ioma through powers vested to the president under the Sri Lankan constitution.
It also confirmed it provided the Antonov-23 which flew them to Male. The president was unwelcome in Male as air traffic controllers denied permission to land but then Maldives’ parliament speaker Majlis and former president Mohamed Nasheed intervened to make way for the embattled president.
High Commission categorically denies baseless and speculative media reports that India facilitated the recent reported travel of Gotabaya Rajapaska and Basil Rajapaksa out of Sri Lanka,” the Indian High Commission said via a tweet.
“India will continue to support the people of Sri Lanka as they seek to realize their aspirations for prosperity and progress through democratic means and values , established democratic institutions and constitutional framework,” it further added
In the meantime, the country is relying on aid from neighboring India and from China.Asked whether China was in talks with Sri Lanka about possible loans, a Chinese Foreign Ministry official gave no indication whether such discussions were happening.China will continue to offer assistance as our capability allows for Sri Lanka’s social development and economic recovery,” said the spokesman, Wang Wenbin.
The protesters accuse the president and his relatives of siphoning money from government coffers for years and Rajapaksa’s administration of hastening the country’s collapse by mismanaging the economy. The family has denied the corruption allegations, but Rajakpaksa acknowledged some of his policies contributed to the meltdown.
With Thanks Refrence: Hindustantimes(https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/gota-flees-to-male-security-forces-deployed-in-sri-lanka-101657678445151.html),indianexpress(https://indianexpress.com/article/world/sri-lanka-crisis-live-updates-protests-gotabaya-rajapaksa-resign-8021566/), CNBC(https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/13/gotabaya-rajapaksa-flees-sri-lanka.html)
