Rajapaksa Returns to Sri Lanka Weeks After Losing Power, AP Says

(Bloomberg) -- Former Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa returned to the island on Friday, the Associated Press reported, weeks after fleeing anti-government protests and handing in his resignation.

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He was met by ministers and politicians at the main international airport, the report said. The former leader is expected to stay in a house provided by the government in Colombo, according to people with knowledge of the matter, asking not to be named because the information isn’t public.

Rajapaksa, who was seen as a strongman leader, fled in July after angry demonstrators stormed his official residence in Colombo. It was the culmination of months of protests as Sri Lanka buckled under dwindling foreign exchange reserves, crippling shortages of essential items and surging inflation.

His return suggests successor President Ranil Wickremesinghe is confident of maintaining order after cracking down on the protest movement that blamed Rajapaksa for policy missteps which set off the country’s worst economic crisis since independence.

Rajapaksa formally resigned as president on July 14 after arriving in Singapore. Sri Lankan media had been speculating for weeks on his intended return and government officials said he wanted to come back and serve the country while being accorded the security and perks due to a former president.

Wickremesinghe, elected as the new president by the country’s parliament in July, is seen as a Rajapaksa ally. He won the election with the support of lawmakers from Rajapaksa’s party, and the politicians later requested Wickremesinghe ensure the safe return of their former leader, local media reported.

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