The current speaker of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed announced that Sri Lanka’s embattled president “has resigned” just moments after he landed in Singapore as he fled the island.
In a tweet sent out today, Nasheed said Gotabaya Rajapaksa “would not have resigned if he were still in Sri Lanka,” adding that the former defence secretary was “fearful of losing his life”.
Under pressure from mass protests in the South, Rajapaksa had unsuccessfully attempted to flee the island earlier this week, before getting on a military flight to the Maldives. Though the move caused outrage in Colombo, where protestors went on to storm the prime minister’s office Nasheed commended the “thoughtful actions of the Govt of Maldives”.
73-year-old Rajapaksa was reportedly trying to flee Sri Lankan before he is scheduled to step down and lose immunity as a head of state that protects him from prosecution for a range of crimes. He reportedly fears being arrested and placed on trial where he could face prosecution for his financial crimes, as well as his genocide of Tamils.
After arriving at the Maldives and staying at a luxury hotel, he fled to Singapore earlier today.
Rajapaksa has not yet put out any official statement, but there are reports he has sent a letter of resignation to the Speaker of Sri Lanka’s parliament.
The role of Mohamed Nasheed
As he landed in the Maldives this week, there were reports that Naseed helped broker a deal that allowed Rajapaksa to escape Sri Lanka.
Nasheed has held close ties to Sri Lanka, and particularly with former prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, after he was allowed to enter the country and set up base in Colombo after fleeing the Maldives in 2016. He continued to serve as a Maldivian opposition symbol from the Sri Lankan capital, before being allowed to return to the Maldives in 2018. He has maintained close ties with Colombo ever since, and recently condemned the burning of Wickremesinghe’s personal residence by Sri Lanka’s anti-government protestors.
Earlier this year, Nasheed publicly denounced a story in The Maldives Journal that reported on how the Speaker was brokering a safe passage for Gotabaya’s brother, Mahinda Rajapaksa and his family.
“A complete fabrication,” tweeted Nasheed in response.