Whilst firecrackers were let off in Colombo to celebrate Rajapaksa’s resignation, he must not, however, be allowed to leave office without facing any consequences. The former defence secretary should be taken and tried at The Hague over his command responsibility for war crimes and genocide.

In a statement released to mark the resignation of Sri Lanka’s president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, his Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) party praised him for “ending terrorism” and blamed the COVID-19 pandemic for the current economic crisis.

In his role as defence secretary, Rajpaaksa oversaw the massacre of tens of thousands of Tamils in what is becoming increasingly recognised as a genocide. However, the statement released in Sinhala only earlier today said the accused war criminal had “played a crucial role in bringing peace to the motherland by ending the terrible terrorism of thirty years”.

“We salute you for your service as a war hero,” it added.

Lawyers for former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and former finance minister Basil Rajapaksa informed the Sri Lankan Supreme Court that they will not flee the island until the Fundamental Rights petition filed against them has been heard.

A petition has been filed seeking an order restraining several figures from the Rajapaksa regime from fleeing the island. Among those listed are Mahinda Rajapaksa, Basil Rajapaksa, former Central Bank governers Ajith Nivard Cabral and W D Lakshman, and former secretary SR Attygalle.

As the credibly accused war criminal Gotabaya Rajapaksa submitted his letter of resignation as President, the announcement triggered jubilation in Colombo, as protestors gathered outside the presidential secretariat, defying a city-wide curfew to celebrate. 

Crowds of protestors in the south set off firecrackers, shouted slogans and danced at the Gota Go Gama protest site, named in mockery of Rajapaksa's first name. 

Amidst the chaos in Colombo, Sri Lankan war criminal and army commander Sarath Fonseka has claimed he is ready to become President if supported by the majority and may be supported by the formerly Rajapaksa-aligned Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP).

The Mullaitivu court has ordered the removal of all new constructions, including an illegally built Buddhist shrine, on Kurunthurmalai, a hill-top site of an ancient Tamil temple in the district’s Thannimurippu area.

Despite an ongoing court injunction against altering the hill, Sinhala Buddhist monks with the support of the Sri Lankan military and archaeology department carried out the construction of a Buddhist shrine on the temple’s land. During the construction, Tamils were also barred from accessing the Athi Aiyanar temple for worship.

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”.

Responding to the ongoing political and economic crisis in Sri Lanka, Tamil civil society groups have issued a group statement urging all actors to seize this historic opportunity for “real change for an island plagued by decades of ethnic conflict”.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa has resigned as Sri Lanka’s President after he fled the island amidst mass protests demanding his resignation. 

The resignation letter was reportedly sent by email to the speaker of parliament. The resignation will be formally announced on Friday.

Rajapaksa has been trying to flee Sri Lanka since Saturday after tens of thousands of protesters stormed his official residence. 

The Sri Lankan army warned that troops were “legitimately empowered to exercise their force,” after it claimed two rifles were snatched from soldiers by protestors on Wednesday.