Sri Lanka’s ousted president seeking entry to Thailand
Former Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa has requested entry into Thailand for a temporary stay in a second Southeast Asian country after fleeing his island nation last month amid mass protests, the Thai foreign ministry said on Wednesday.
Rajapaksa fled to Singapore on July 14 following unprecedented unrest caused by Sri Lanka’s worst economic crisis in seven decades, and days after thousands of protesters stormed the president’s official residence and office.
The retired military officer then resigned from the presidency, becoming the first Sri Lankan head of state to quit midterm.
Rajapaksa is expected to leave Singapore and head to Thailand’s capital Bangkok on Thursday, two sources said, asking not to be named.
Tanee Sangrat, a Thai foreign ministry spokesman, said Rajapaksa holds a diplomatic passport that allows him entry into the country for 90 days. He did not say when Rajapaksa intended to visit.
“The entry to Thailand by the former president of Sri Lanka is for a temporary stay,” Sangrat said. “The Sri Lankan side informs us that the former president has no intention for political asylum in Thailand and will travel to another country afterwards.”
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court on Wednesday extended until September 5 the overseas travel ban on former prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and his younger brother and former finance minister Basil Rajapaksa, who are widely blamed for the current economic crisis in the island nation
Lanka introduces bill to clip presidential powers
A Sri Lankan government minister on Wednesday submitted to parliament a constitutional amendment bill that would clip the powers of the president, a key demand of protesters.
Justice minister Wijayadasa Rajapakshe presented the bill, which would transfer some presidential powers into the hands of a constitutional council comprising lawmakers and respected non-political persons.