Gotabaya Rajapaksa, a Sri Lankan politician and former military officer who served as the 8th president of Sri Lanka from 2019 to 2022, initiated a self-imposed exile on 13 July 2022, following widespread protests led by civilians demanding his resignation, triggered by extensive discontent over his handling of the country's economic crisis.
On 13 July 2022, following a string of mammoth protests that eventually culminated into a civilian takeover of his official residence and workplace by protestors, Rajapaksa fled the country, accompanied by his spouse and a personal security detail, to the Maldives, before further retreating to Singapore on 14 July. On 14 July, whilst in exile, Rajapaksa resigned the presidency, becoming the first Sri Lankan president to relinquish the office mid-term. His official letter of resignation, which was emailed to Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, the speaker of Sri Lanka's parliament, was announced later that day, and was consequently accepted the following day, on 15 July.
Rajapaksa's resignation triggered widespread celebrations amongst the Sri Lankan people, many of whom had long demanded the removal of the Rajapaksa family from power. Ranil Wickremesinghe, a veteran politician whom Rajapaksa had earlier appointed as the country's prime minister, succeeded Rajapaksa as interim president on 15 July and was officially elected to the presidency five days later, on 20 July.
Amidst intensifying calls for holding him accountable for the nation's socio-economic quagmire in the wake of his resignation, Rajapaksa remained in exile in Singapore, before moving to Thailand in August, where he spent the remainder of his exile discreetly. In the midst of intense debating amongst many over a possible homecoming, on 2 September 2022, Rajapaksa returned to Sri Lanka, ending 52 days of self-imposed exile.
Background
Biography
Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa (; ), a noteworthy member of the Rajapaksa political lineage, was a former lieutenant colonel in the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) who served during the initial stages of the Sri Lankan Civil War, from 1971 to 1991. Following a distinguished career in the military, Rajapaksa became a technocrat in the field of information technology, emigrating to the United States in 1998, where he acquired a dual citizenship. Returning to Sri Lanka in 2005, he was made a permanent secretary in the Ministry of Defence during the administration of Mahinda Rajapaksa, his elder brother, who had then been elected as President of Sri Lanka. Between 2005 and 2009, the Rajapaksa brothers spearheaded Sri Lanka's assault against Tamil separatists, led by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which ended in an overwhelming Sri Lankan victory in May 2009. Nonetheless, both brothers were accused of having committed numerous war crimes and human rights abuses during the war, charges which both have vehemently denied.
After retiring as Permanent Secretary following Mahinda's electoral defeat in 2015, Rajapaksa contested for the presidency in the country's 2019 presidential election as a candidate of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), which he won, securing 52.25% of the popular vote. Assuming the office in 2019, he re-instated Mahinda as prime minister, later installing several members of his family to multiple portfolios within his government, following the SLPP's thumping victory in the 2020 parliamentary elections. Confronted with an intensifying economic crisis aggravated by financial mismanagement, tax cuts, rising external debt and over-dependence on foreign remittances coupled with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the country began to face shortages of basic necessities, such as fuel, gas and electricity. Rajapaksa's government began to grow hugely unpopular amongst the Sri Lankan people. Amidst the country's intensifying economic plight, many deemed his government to be responsible for the crisis, with critics accusing him of being authoritarian, kleptocratic, nepotistic and corrupt.
Escape In the early hours of 9 July, following multiple intelligence inputs indicating that anti-government demonstrations scheduled for later that day were likely to spiral out of control, Rajapaksa and his family were hastily evacuated from the President's House by armed military units. Initially escorted to the headquarters of the Sri Lanka Army, Rajapaksa was later ushered to the Port of Colombo, boarding SLNS Gajabahu, an offshore patrol craft operated by the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN). Although Rajapaksa's whereabouts remained confidential in the immediate hours following his evacuation, amateur video footage taken at the port later that day, showing three men loading suitcases onto Gajabahu, evidently implied Rajapaksa's intent to escape.
After being escorted to safety within the country's territorial waters, Rajapaksa telephoned Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka, informing him of his intention to resign on 13 July. The following day, on 10 July, Rajapaksa and his entourage were escorted to the protection of SLN Dockyard, Trincomalee, where former prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa had fled to months earlier, following his own resignation. On 11 July, Rajapaksa and his entourage were flown back to Colombo in two Bell 412 helicopters, landing at SLAF Base Ratmalana. Following a brief meeting with the service chiefs of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces, Rajapaksa was escorted to SLAF Base Katunayake, an airbase operated by the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) adjacent to the Bandaranaike International Airport, later that evening.
Departure Airport stand-off
On 12 July, Rajapaksa, still in his capacity as the president, attempted to make a breakout from Colombo, intending to escape to the United Arab Emirates. His attempt at a premature escape while in office was interpreted as an intention to avoid being detained, as only serving functionaries of the presidency were entitled to legal immunity.
However, at the Bandaranaike International Airport, Rajapaksa and his 14-member entourage, which had intended to board SriLankan Airlines UL225 on an 18:25 SLST flight to Dubai, were blocked by immigration officials refusing to process their passports given to them by presidential aides. Rajapaksa, who had barricaded himself inside the airport's VIP suite, refused to join a public immigration queue for procedural cross-checks, afraid of violent disruptions from other travellers. Further efforts by Rajapaksa's aides to persuade the airport's immigration staff failed; the plane eventually left Colombo without him nor his delegation on board. Rajapaksa later attempted to board Etihad Airways EY267 on a 21:20 SLST flight to Abu Dhabi; however, this attempt was also thwarted for similar reasons. Forced with no other alternative, Rajapaksa's delegation retreated to the protection of SLAF Base Katunayake, for an overnight stay.
In total, Rajapaksa missed four flights leaving Colombo, as a result of his refusal to personally appear for immigration checks, in fear of reprisals from other civilians present at the airport. In the aftermath of the incident, multiple reports indicated that Rajapaksa may have considered possible alternatives of escaping – including the use of a naval patrol craft to escape to either the Maldives or to India, to take a connecting flight to Dubai, or to fly on a private charter from Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport.
Evacuation from Sri Lanka
Maldives (13–14 July)
On the morning of 13 July, a small delegation consisting of Rajapaksa, his wife, and two security officials were evacuated by an Antonov An-32 military transport aircraft operated by the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) to the Maldives. Amidst intensifying outrage over his escape, the SLAF later clarified that the evacuation was conducted on the request of the Sri Lankan government in accordance with the president's constitutional powers, with the support of the Ministry of Defense.
Reportedly, Rajapaksa's escape was negotiated by Mohamed Nasheed, the speaker of the Maldivian parliament, who is believed to have shared close ties with Sri Lanka. According to several reports, the aircraft carrying Rajapaksa's delegation was initially barred from landing in Maldivian territory by the Maldives Civil Aviation Authority; however, the aircraft was later permitted to land, after Nasheed intervened on Rajapaksa's behalf. Accordingly, Rajapaksa's aircraft landed at the Velana International Airport at approximately 03:00 MVT on 13 July. While initially escorted by Maldivian police authorities to an undisclosed location, Rajapaksa was later sheltered at the Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi resort, a luxury resort hotel located in the South Malé Atoll.
Nasheed's role in facilitating Rajapaksa's escape created an uproar in the Maldives, with critics accusing him of having brokered an escape strategy for the Rajapaksa family. The Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), the principal opposition party in the Maldivian parliament, opposed Rajapaksa's entry into the country, arguing that a military aircraft of foreign-origin could only be permitted inside Maldivian airspace subject to approval by the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF).
Responding to intensifying criticism, the Maldivian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a clarification, stating:
On the night of 13 July, Rajapaksa, who was originally scheduled to depart the Maldives on Singapore Airlines SQ 437 on a 23:25 MVT flight to Singapore, deferred from boarding the flight, citing security concerns of reprisals from other civilian passengers on board.
Singapore (14 July – 11 August)
On 14 July, Rajapaksa's delegation boarded Saudia flight SV788 on a 11:30 MVT flight to Singapore, landing at Changi Airport at 19:17 SST. According to Maldivian government officials, Rajapaksa was reportedly scheduled to travel on the same plane on a connecting flight to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; however, he and his accompanying entourage briskly left the airport soon after landing, which indicated no further objective of continuing on to the Middle East, as was claimed by multiple reports.
In a statement confirming Rajapaksa's presence in the country, Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) issued a statement, clarifying:
In addition to the MFA's clarification, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) on 20 July acknowledged that Rajapaksa had been issued a 14-day short-term visit pass (STVP), asserting that visitors from Sri Lanka on the grounds of social visits would generally be granted an STVP of a duration of up to 30 days, with the ability to apply for an extension online. Subsequently, on 27 July, the ICA granted another 14-day extension to Rajapaksa's visa, allowing him to remain in Singapore till 11 August. Notably, Rajapaksa's choice to retreat to Singapore was attributed to the fact that he, along with his elder brother Mahinda, had frequently travelled to the city-state multiple times prior for their respective medical examinations.