Earlier, members of the immigration service had humiliatingly searched Rajapaksa at Colombo airport. Some of his associates had tried to flee the Sri Lankan president in a Navy ship
Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa arrived today, Wednesday July 13, in the Maldives after leaving his country on a military aircraft.
The 73-year-old president, who has vowed to step down and tried unsuccessfully to flee the country on Tuesday, took off from Colombo International Airport early today with his wife and a bodyguard in an Antonov-32, officials said. the immigration service.
An official at the Malé airport, the capital of the Maldives, said at around 01:30 this morning (Greece time) that the aircraft landed and the three passengers were taken under police escort to a currently unknown location.
According to Colombo airport sources, the aircraft remained on the runway for more than an hour, waiting to be cleared to land in the Maldives.
“There were tense moments, but in the end everything ended well“, said the official who wished to remain anonymous.
Earlier, members of the immigration service had humiliatingly searched Rajapaksa at Colombo airport. Some of his associates had tried to flee the Sri Lankan president in a Navy ship, according to a security source.
That ship had carried Rajapaksa on Saturday from the presidential palace, which has been occupied by protesters, to the port of Trincomalee, in the south-east of Sri Lanka.
VIP lounge
Rajapaksa then arrived at the international airport by helicopter.
But on Tuesday immigration officials denied him access to the VIP lounge, while the president wished to avoid being in the departure hall for fear of public reaction.
As he has yet to resign, which he has promised to do today with the aim of a “peaceful transfer of power”, Rajapaksa still enjoys presidential immunity.
The president and his wife spent the night of Monday into Tuesday at a military base near the international airport after they were prevented from boarding four flights to the United Arab Emirates.
His younger brother Basil, who resigned as finance minister in April and is also a US citizen, was also prevented from leaving the country on Tuesday by immigration officials who worried about public backlash if they let him go. .
The Sri Lankan president left behind a suitcase full of documents and 17.85 million rupees (€49,000) in cash when he fled.
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