COLOMBO: Former president of Sri Lanka Gotabaya Rajapaksa is attempting to return from exile in Thailand and has requested his successor to ensure his safety, according to his party on Friday.Following a large crowd’s invasion of his home last month, Rajapaksa left the island, ending months of raging public outrage over the island nation’s unparalleled economic disaster.
With the assistance of the military, the 73-year-old was compelled to leave his official house and ultimately announced his retirement from Singapore. Since then, he has travelled to Thailand, where police have advised him to stay inside his hotel for his own protection, effectively placing him under house arrest.
Basil Rajapaksa, the youngest brother of the ousted leader and a former finance minister, met with Wickremesinghe on Thursday and asked for security to enable his return, according to a statement released by their party.
In 2019, Rajapaksa promised “vistas of prosperity and splendour,” but as the country’s 22 million residents suffered from fuel shortages, blackouts, and skyrocketing inflation, his popularity plummeted.
