Kochi: The disgraced Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa escaped to Maldives in the wake of unrelenting protests in the country against him and other top leaders.
Accompanied by his wife Loma Gotabaya, Gotabaya left in a special Air force plane.
Gotabaya is still the chief of the armed forces.
Gotabaya, whose earlier attempts to leave the country were thwarted twice, demanded a safe exit else he would not quit from his post.
His demands were accepted and two bodyguards were sent with him.
Thousands had intruded into his palace a few days back while Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s house was set on fire.
The 76-year-old Gotabaya had taken over charge of the government run by Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna after his brother and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa quit from his post in May.
The country with a population of 22 million was having a healthy economy before the debt crisis hit it.
Foreign exchange crisis has led to a shortage of food and fuel. People are left to starve and there are long queues at the oil stations.
There are reports that too much dependence on China had rendered Sri Lanka financially sick. Sri Lanka has had very close ties with China since 1957.
China is the third major creditor to Sri Lanka after Japan and ADB. Sri Lanka suspended its debt repayment of 51 billion Dollars to China, Japan and other countries due to financial crises due to widespread corruption and mismanagement.
Photo Credit: Facebook
