New Delhi:
India’s High Commission in Sri Lanka on Tuesday refuted “fake and blatantly false” speculation on local social media that former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and his relatives fled to India, a day after the patriarch of the powerful Rajapaksa family stepped down as prime minister. amid unprecedented anti-government protests.
“The High Commission has recently noticed rumors in parts of the media and social media that certain political persons and their families have fled to India. These are false and patently false reports, without any truth or substance. The High Commission strongly denies them.” , said a statement.
Mahinda Rajapaksa’s whereabouts have been speculated since his resignation on Monday. Mahinda was reported to have left his office and official residence, Temple Trees, early this morning.
In its initial response to the situation in Sri Lanka, India said on Tuesday it “fully supports” the island’s democracy, stability and economic recovery.
“India will always be guided by the interests of the people of Sri Lanka expressed through democratic processes,” said Arindam Bagchi, spokesman for the Foreign Ministry in New Delhi.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s top civil aviation official on Tuesday dismissed speculation on social media, claiming he was not involved in the “illegal transport and removal of one or more persons from Sri Lanka”. Captain Themiya Abeywickrama, director general and CEO of the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka, described the social media posts as “false allegations” in a statement. He claimed that he was “not involved in the illegal transport and removal of any person or persons from Sri Lanka”. He also made it clear that he had not threatened any licensee/pilot by interfering with the legal performance of their flying duties.
Mahinda, 76, resigned as prime minister amid unprecedented economic turmoil in the country hours after his supporters attacked anti-government protesters, prompting authorities to impose a nationwide curfew and deploy military forces in the capital. The attack sparked widespread violence against pro-Rajapaksa politicians.
A group of protesters gathered around the naval base in Trincomalee’s eastern harbor district, claiming that Mahinda had taken refuge there.
Calls for his arrest are mounting over his alleged instigation of a gang that then attacked anti-government protesters who called on the Rajapaksa family, including President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, to resign.
At least 8 people have been killed and more than 250 injured in the fighting that also set fire to many property belonging to ruling party politicians.
President Gotabaya has urged the people to stop “violence and revenge” against fellow citizens and has vowed to deal with the political and economic crisis facing Sri Lanka in the worst economic crisis since independence from Britain in 1948 .
The crisis is partly caused by a lack of foreign currency, which prevents the country from paying for imports of basic food and fuel, leading to acute shortages and very high prices.
Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets across Sri Lanka since April 9.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.)