Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksha, who fled from his residence last week and the country on Wednesday, faced protests from his compariots residing in the Maldives after reaching the island nation.
The protesting Sri Lankans demanded the Maldivian government to not grant the politician an asylum in the country. According to reports in the Maldives, Rajapaksha is staying in an ‘exclusive resort’ after fleeing from Sri Lanka early on Wednesday amidst a financial crisis that has seen an uprising which had forced him to flee the presidential palace last week.
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The Sri Lankan community residing in the Maldives, staged protests denouncing Gotabaya Rajapaksha on Wednesday carrying flags and placards.
“Dear Maldivian friends, please urge your government not to safeguard criminals,” one such placard held by a protester in Male, the capital of the Maldives said.
Non verified videos of Sri Lankan residents in the country, who were hurling insults and abuses at Rajapaksha, was carried on air by the local television channels. The videos showed the 73-year-old exiting the Velana International Airport early on Wednesday, where he arrived on a military aircraft.
Special Operations police had to disperse protesting Sri Lankans at a beach in Male and confiscate placards, witnesses revealed.
It is being reported that Rajapaksha is set to leave for either the United Arab Emirates (UAE) or Singapore later.
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“He is going into exile in either of the two locations,” a Sri Lankan security source revealed to AFP.
“Ensuring security would be a challenge because there are Sri Lankan communities in both,” the source added.
Progressive Party of Maldives, the opposition, resisted the idea of granting passage to Rajapaksha, who is currently facing a number of court cases including alleged war crimes.
“We are betraying our friends in Sri Lanka by accepting Rajapaksa, a hated figure in that country,” an opposition leader said to AFP.
