The chaos in Sri Lanka has deepened after the country’s president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, fled to the Maldives. The president and his family left Colombo on a military jet just hours before he was due to resign in the face of massive popular protests which culminated on July 9 with crowds of demonstrators storming the presidential palace.
Rajapaksa is believed to be headed for the United Arab Emirates where it is thought he will resign his office. Ranil Wickremesinghe, the country’s prime minister, has taken over as acting president and has declared a state of emergency. It is thought likely he will also resign under pressure from the Sri Lankan people who are blaming the country’s deep economic crisis on mismanagement and corruption among Sri Lanka’s political elites.
Over the past three months, the tiny Indian Ocean nation has sunk deep into economic malaise. Inflation is running at more than 50% and is expected to continue to rise. There are shortages of food and fuel and the country defaulted on its foreign debt in May.
