In the midst of widespread protests over the island’s economic woes, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa left Sri Lanka on a military jet.
The 73-year-old, together with his wife and two security personnel, took a flight to the Maldives, according to the country’s air force.
Although the president has promised to step down by Wednesday, no formal resignation letter has been received.
He has selected Ranil Wickremesinghe, the prime minister, to serve as president in the president’s absence. As protestors stormed his office and demanded that he too quit, Mr. Wickremesinghe proclaimed a state of emergency and ordered the military to restore order.
With Mr. Rajapaksa’s departure, a political dynasty that has governed Sri Lanka for the past 20 years comes to an end.
After large crowds invaded his home on Saturday, the president fled and announced his intention to step down on Wednesday.
His landing in the Maldives, a group of islands southwest of Sri Lanka, sparked protests there as well, with some calling on the Maldivian authorities to stop offering the president a resting place.
It is said that, Mr. Rajapaksa will not stay in the Maldives and instead plans to continue on to a third nation, likely to be Singapore.
Former Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa, who is also his brother, has reportedly departed Sri Lanka and is on his way to the United States.
Thousands of people flooded Colombo’s streets as Sri Lankans awakened to the news of Mr. Rajapaksa’s departure. At Galle Face Green, the city’s primary protest location, many people gathered. On a temporary platform made up for speakers of the people to grab the mike, some people listened to ferocious speeches.
The rallying cry of the protest movement, “Victory to the struggle,” was used as a punctuation mark as speakers lashed out at a government and its officials they believed had let them down.
A number of protestors managed to raid the prime minister’s office and other governmental buildings despite police using tear gas to disperse them.
Prime Minister Wickremesinghe stated in a previous broadcast address that he has instructed the military to take “whatever is necessary to restore order”
“We can’t tear up our constitution. We can’t allow fascists to take over. We must end this fascist threat to democracy,”
PM of Sri Lanka, Wickremesinghe
Many demonstrators, however, assert that they will keep holding protests up to the resignation of both leaders from office. Some protesters were incensed by Mr. Rajapaksa’s departure because they saw a lack of responsibility.
“We don’t like it. We want to keep him. We want our money back! And we want to put all the Rajapaksas in an open prison where they can do farm work,” said protester GP Nimal.
The leader is thought to have intended to leave the country before resigning in order to escape the prospect of being arrested by the next administration as he is immune from prosecution while he is president.
image credits: Getty images
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