Gotabaya Rajapaksa not hiding, expected to return to Sri Lanka soon

Rajapaksa escaped to the Maldives on July 13 and then to Singapore the following day.

Colombo, First Published Jul 26, 2022, 4:58 PM IST | Last Updated Jul 26, 2022, 5:00 PM IST

Former Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is not hiding and is expected to return to the nation from Singapore, Cabinet spokesperson Bandula Gunawardena said on Tuesday.

Rajapaksa (73) departed Sri Lanka following the July 9 rebellion in which protesters burst into the President's House following months of public protests against him for mismanaging the country's worst economic crisis since 1948.

Rajapaksa escaped to the Maldives on July 13 and then to Singapore the following day.

When questioned about Rajapaksa at a weekly Cabinet media conference, Cabinet Spokesman Gunawardena informed reporters that the former president was not in hiding and that he was on his way back from Singapore.

Gunawardena, the Minister of Transport and Highways and the Minister of Mass Media, stated that he does not believe the former president fled the country or is hiding.

He did not, however, provide any other information about Rajapaksa's likely return.

Singapore gave the former president a 14-day short-term travel ticket when he visited the nation on a 'private visit' on July 14.

According to a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Singapore, Rajapaksa has neither requested nor been given refugee.

The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) of Singapore has said that travellers from Sri Lanka who enter Singapore for social purposes would be awarded a short-term visit pass (STVP) valid for up to 30 days.

Those who need to prolong their stay in Singapore must apply online for an STVP extension. According to the ICA, applications will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

During his elder brother Mahinda Rajapaksa's presidency from 2005 to 2014, Gotabaya Rajapaksa served as defence secretary.

Though hailed a "war hero," his involvement in bringing the battle with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to a conclusion with the death of its supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran in 2009 is contentious since he is accused of breaching human rights, which he firmly rejects.

(With inputs from PTI)

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