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Seven weeks after fleeing, the former president of Sri Lanka returns

Written by

Abigail Ampofo

in

In the early hours of Saturday, Gotabaya Rajapaksa returned home after fleeing the nation in July due to its catastrophic economic position.

He had gotten aboard an air force plane with his wife, two bodyguards, and a destination of the Maldives before continuing on to Singapore, where he formally resigned, and Thailand.

It was believed that he planned to depart the nation before quitting because presidents in Sri Lanka are only shielded from arrest while in office, not after they leave.

Mr Rajapaksa returned to Colombo’s Bandaranaike international airport on Saturday from Bangkok.

The economic crisis has seen shortages of staples such as cooking oil, fuel, and medicine for months; while foreign debt amounts to more than £44bn, of which £24bn has to be repaid by 2027.

 

The COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have been among the factors, but many blame the once-powerful Rajapaksa family for mismanaging the economy and tipping it into crisis.
Around the time that Mr Rajapaksa departed, his brother resigned as prime minister, and three other family members stepped down as cabinet members.
On Tuesday, Ranil Wickremesinghe, who took over as president, reached a preliminary agreement with the International Monetary Fund for a £2.5bn bailout over four years.
The package is aimed at helping Sri Lanka recover from the economic meltdown.

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