Sri Lanka’s former president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, is expected to arrive in Thailand on Thursday. He is likely to stay temporarily in a second Southeast Asian country since fleeing his island nation last month in the midst of mass protests. On July 14, he left Sri Lanka for Singapore. Thereafter, he resigned from the office.
The resignation came after unprecedented unrest over his government’s handling of the worst economic crisis in seven decades, and days after thousands of protesters stormed the president’s official residence and office.
Rajapaksa will reportedly return to Sri Lanka in November
As per reports, Rajapaksa will return to Sri Lanka in November. It is when his 90-day visa to Thailand expires and as he runs out of options to find temporary refuge in another nation. Notably, Thai authorities said Rajapaksa had no intention of seeking political asylum and would only stay temporarily. “This is a humanitarian issue and there is an agreement that it’s a temporary stay,” said Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha.
While in Thailand, Prayuth also said Rajapaksa could not participate in any political activities. Moreover, he informed that “the Sri Lankan administration has been in contact with the governments of Singapore, the Maldives, and now Thailand.”
Crisis in the country
Sri Lanka’s economic crisis is a result of several factors including COVID-19. The pandemic battered its tourism-reliant economy and slashed remittances from workers overseas, rising oil prices, populist tax cuts, and a seven-month ban on the import of chemical fertilizers last year affected agriculture.