Ahmad Adil
14 July 2022•Update: 15 July 2022
NEW DELHI
Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa arrived Thursday in Singapore for "a private visit," according to the Singapore Foreign Ministry.
"It is confirmed that Mr Rajapaksa has been allowed entry into Singapore on a private visit. He has not asked for asylum and neither has he been granted any asylum. Singapore generally does not grant requests for asylum," it said.
Rajapaksa fled to the Maldives in the wake of a worsening economic crisis on the island nation. He appointed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Wednesday to "exercise, perform & discharge the powers, duties & functions of the Office of President with effect from July 13, 2022."
Sri Lanka re-imposed a curfew in the Colombo district until early Friday and the situation remained calm as of Thursday, according to police.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Thursday he continues to follow the situation very closely.
"It is important that the root causes of the conflict and protesters’ grievances are addressed. I urge all party leaders to embrace the spirit of compromise for a peaceful and democratic transition," he wrote on Twitter.
Amid mass protests, Sri Lanka's Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena said Saturday that the president would resign on July 13.
The development came after thousands of protesters stormed the presidential palace in Colombo and set fire to the prime minister's home.
Protesters have blamed Rajapaksa's political dynasty for the crisis. Mahinda Rajapaksa, a brother to the president, resigned as prime minister in May.
Crippled by a shortage of foreign exchange after the collapse of the tourism-dependent economy, the island nation of 22 million people has defaulted on all of its foreign debt.
It has been unable to pay for fuel and other essentials, resulting in anti-government protests. A lack of fuel to run power stations has in turn led to daily power cuts. Schools have been closed and state employees have been asked to work from home.
The government is negotiating with the International Monetary Fund for a bailout package.
Months of protests have demanded Rajapaksa’s resignation.
