Lankan president plans to flee by sea after airport shutdown: Report

 Gotabaya Rajapaksa announced his resignation on Wednesday and paved the way for a "peaceful transfer of power" following widespread protests against him over the country's worst economic crisis.

Colombo: Sri Lanka's president planned to use a navy patrol boat to leave the island on Tuesday after a humiliating standoff with immigration at the airport, AFP official sources told AFP. know. Gotabaya Rajapaksa announced his resignation on Wednesday and paved the way for a "peaceful transfer of power" following widespread protests against him over the country's worst economic crisis. 

 The 73-year-old leader fled his official residence in Colombo shortly before tens of thousands of protesters flooded it on Saturday. He then wants to travel to Dubai, officials said. 

 As president, Rajapaksa enjoys immunity from arrest, and  is said to want to travel abroad on business before resigning to avoid the possibility of detention. 

But immigration officers refused to go to the VIP suite to stamp his passport, while he insisted he would not go through  public facilities, fearing retaliation from the perpetrators. other passengers in the airport. 

 The President and First Lady spent the night at a military base next to the main Bandaranaike International Airport after missing four flights that would have taken them to the United Arab Emirates.

Rajapaksa's younger brother Basil, who resigned  as finance minister in April, missed his own Emirates flight to Dubai early Tuesday following a similar argument with airport staff. 

 Basil - a US citizen other than Sri Lankan - tried to use the paid concierge service for business travelers, but airport and immigration staff said he would withdraw from emergency service level effective immediately. 

 "There were  other passengers who objected to Basile's boarding," an airport official told AFP. "It was a stressful situation, so he  left the airport in a hurry."

Hasty Retreat

Basil had to get a new US passport after abandoning the presidential palace when the Rajapaksas family made a hasty retreat to avoid crowds on Saturday, a diplomatic source said. 

 Official sources say a suitcase full of documents was also  left  at the stately residence along with 17.85 million rupees in cash, which is currently in the custody of a court in Colombo. 

 There is no official word from the presidential office about his whereabouts, but he remains commander-in-chief of the armed forces with military resources at his disposal. 

 A senior defense source said the president's closest military aides were discussing the possibility of sending him and his entourage overseas aboard a naval patrol vessel. 

 On Saturday, a navy boat was used  to ferry Rajapaksa and his aides to the northeastern port town of Trincomalee, from where he was transported to the international airport on Monday. 

 "The best option now is to take the sea exit," the defense official said. "He could go to the Maldives or India and fly to Dubai." 

 Another alternative, he added, is to charter a plane to ferry him from the country's second international airport at Mattala, which opened in 2013 and is named after the president's brother, Mahinda. 

 It is  considered a white elephant, has no regular international flights and is described as possibly the least used international airport in the world. 

 Rajapaksa is accused of mismanaging the economy to the point that the country has run out of foreign exchange to finance even the most essential imports, causing severe hardship for  22 million people. 

 If he resigns as promised, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will automatically become interim president until parliament elects an MP to complete the presidency, which ends in November 2024. 

 Sri Lanka defaulted on an external debt of $51 billion in April and is in talks with the IMF for a  bailout. 

 The island has nearly exhausted its already scarce oil reserves. The government has ordered the closure of non-essential offices and schools to reduce travel and save fuel.