Former Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is expected to arrive in Thailand on Thursday, temporarily staying in the second Southeast Asian country after fleeing his island nation last month amid mass protests. Rajapaksa fled to Singapore on July 14 and resigned shortly after, following unprecedented unrest over his government’s handling of the worst economic crisis in seven decades and days after thousands of protesters stormed the president’s official residence and office.
The former military officer, who is the first Sri Lankan head of state to resign mid-term, is expected to travel from Singapore to the Thai capital of Bangkok, two sources said. It was unclear when they would arrive. Thai authorities said Rajapaksa had no intention of seeking political asylum and would only stay temporarily. “This is a humanitarian issue and there is an agreement that this is a temporary stay,” Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha told on Wednesday.
Prayuth also said that Rajapaksa could not participate in any political activities in Thailand. Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai said the current Sri Lankan government supported Rajapaksa’s trip to Thailand, adding that the former president’s diplomatic passport would allow him to stay for 90 days. Rajapaksa has not made a public appearance or commented since leaving Sri Lanka and was not immediately reached. Sri Lanka’s economic crisis is the result of several factors, including COVID-19, which has damaged its tourism-dependent economy and reduced remittances from overseas workers, rising oil prices, populist tax cuts and a seven-month ban on chemical fertilizer imports last year. which devastated agriculture.
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