New Delhi: Even as reports emerge that Gotabaya Rajapaksa will fly to Singapore via the Maldives, the decision of the latter government to provide sanctuary to the Sri Lankan president has not gone down well with many in the country.
The spokesperson from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has refused to make any official statements to reporters, Maldivian news outlet The Edition has reported.
Early on the day when he was supposed to formally resign, Rajapaksa is understood to have arrived at Maldives with his wife and two security officials.
CNN has reported that the Rajapaksas flew on an AN32 troop transport plane from the Sri Lanka Air Force just before he was due to step down – a move which would have left him without legal immunity and security.
According to Reuters, Rajapaksa was expected to head to Singapore after fleeing to the Maldives in the early hours of Wednesday. The news agency, citing a government source in Sri Lanka, said Rajapaksa could send his resignation to the speaker of Sri Lankan parliament after landing in Singapore.
An aide to Rajapaksa and the Singapore government did not immediately respond to requests for comment, it said.
Did Maldivian president pave way for Rajapaksa’s landing?
Media outlets have claimed that the Rajapaksas are staying at the Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi in South Male Atoll. It is unknown for how long the Rajapaksas will stay in the Maldives. According to the Sri Lankan news outlet Tamil Guardian, Rajapaksa plans to fly to Singapore soon.
CNN has additionally claimed that while Maldivian air traffic control initially refused the plane’s request to land, intervention by the Speaker of the Maldivian Parliament and former President Mohamed Nasheed reportedly paved the way for it.
That Nasheed intervened has not been confirmed or denied by his office, the CNN report notes.
A lot of the public anger in the Maldives, nonetheless, appears directed at Nasheed.
An opposition party, the Progressive Party of Maldives, has said in a statement that military aircraft belonging to a foreign nation would only be permitted inside Maldivian airspace with approval from the Maldives National Defense Force, the Sun Online has reported.
“Calling on President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, Speaker Mohamed Nasheed, Mariya Ahmed Didi [defence minister], Abdulla Shamaal [chief of defence forces] and Abdulla Shahid to take responsibility for subjecting Maldivians residing at Sri Lanka to harm’s way by granting asylum for the country’s president against the wishes of Sri Lankan citizens. Also calling to expedite efforts to ensure the safety and security of Maldivians residing at Sri Lanka,” the PPM’s statement said.
Sri Lankans living in Male held protests through the day against his arrival at Maldives. These protests, however, did not last very long and were peaceful, according to reports.
The Maldives National Party (MNP) – in the opposition in the country – has tweeted that it will submit a motion to the parliament, asking the government to clarify how it came to decide to provide asylum to Rajapaksa.