Sri Lankan Prime Minister Gotabaya Rajapaksa flees to Singapore

New Prime Minister to be appointed on 20^th July

Colombo (Sri Lanka) – Gotabaya Rajapaksa, President of Sri Lanka, which is in an economic crisis, flew to Singapore from the Maldives on 7^th July. Sri Lanka is also in a political crisis. Thousands of citizens are taking to the streets of the capital Colombo to protest. Public anger took a violent form and a few days ago protesters stormed directly into the President’s official residence forcing Rajapaksa to flee.

Sri Lankan president hands in resignation after fleeing to Singapore https://t.co/xubNrjnfzr pic.twitter.com/61Xe8cr0A3

— Reuters World (@ReutersWorld) July 14, 2022

Sri Lankan Government sources told Reuters that Rajapaksa will be staying in Singapore. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is taking responsibility as interim president.

Political affairs in unstable Sri Lanka

1. An indefinite state of emergency has been declared in western Sri Lanka, including Colombo, as violent protests continue to grow in Sri Lanka. Wickremesinghe has ordered the security forces to arrest the rioters.

2. Gotabaya Rajapaksa is immune from arrest as he is still in office. Therefore, he decided to leave Sri Lanka before resigning from the post, so that he would not be embarrassed to be stationed in the country.

3. Rajapaksa, while in the Maldives on 13^th July, gave his resignation and approved the peaceful transfer of power.

4. Ranil Wickremesinghe said, now that ‘governments of all parties have come to power’ Rajapaksa will step down.

5. All parties of Sri Lanka have decided to come forward and form an all-party Government and elect a new president on 20^th July.