{"id":78557,"date":"2022-07-14T15:15:26","date_gmt":"2022-07-14T19:15:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=78557"},"modified":"2022-07-14T15:29:27","modified_gmt":"2022-07-14T19:29:27","slug":"president-gotabaya-rajapaksa-sends-resignation-letter-by-e-mail-to-speaker-from-singapore-official-announcement-on-july-15-after-verifying-authenticity-of-emailed-document","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=78557","title":{"rendered":"President Gotabaya Rajapaksa Sends Resignation Letter by E-mail to Speaker from Singapore; official announcement on July 15 after verifying authenticity of emailed document"},"content":{"rendered":"

By<\/p>\n

Meera Srinivasan<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sri Lanka\u2019s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Thursday sent his resignation letter by email from Singapore, the Parliamentary Speaker\u2019s office said, deferring an official announcement to Friday in order to verify the \u201cauthenticity and legality\u201d of the document.
\nThe development came a day after Mr. Gotabaya, who rose to power in 2019 on a thumping election win, fled the country and sought refuge on two other islands, as mass anti-government protests rapidly escalated last weekend. Early on Wednesday, he was flown to the Maldives by a Sri Lankan military aircraft. He reached Singapore on Thursday evening, the country\u2019s Foreign Ministry confirmed.<\/p>\n

Mr. Gotabaya was allowed entry into Singapore \u201con a private visit\u201d, the city-state\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. \u201cHe has not asked for asylum and neither has he been granted any asylum,\u201d the Ministry said.<\/p>\n

Parliament will not be convened on Friday as was announced, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena\u2019s office said, owing to the delay in the receipt of the President\u2019s resignation letter.<\/p>\n

Once accepted, Mr. Gotabaya\u2019s resignation would signal a resounding victory to the citizen\u2019s protests spanning months, demanding \u201cGota go home\u201d, taking responsibility for the country\u2019s worst economic downturn since Independence in 1948. The powerful leader was forced to flee and quit, after enraged protesters stormed his office and home on Saturday, as a deepening crisis left citizens scrambling for essentials, amid acute shortages and hyperinflation.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

For nearly 100 days, demonstrators have camped out in a tent city adjacent to the Presidential Secretariat, located along Colombo\u2019s seafront Galle Face. They braved extreme weather, crippling fuel scarcity, and violence unleashed by ruling party supporters on May 9.<\/p>\n

Mr. Gotabaya will be the last of the Rajapaksas to resign from office, following his brothers, including former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, who stepped down earlier in the wake of raging opposition to the ruling clan.<\/p>\n

The unprecedented resistance to the Rajapaksas, Sri Lanka\u2019s most formidable political brand for over 15 years, has decisively eliminated the first family from political prominence for the near future. Now, demonstrators continue calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was appointed Acting President on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Maldivian Speaker and ex-President Mohamed Nasheed announced Mr. Gotabaya\u2019s resignation on Twitter, minutes before the Sri Lankan Speaker announced receiving the letter. Maldivian media earlier reported that Mr. Nasheed had received Mr. Gotabaya at the airport and held talks before his departure, even as protesters in Male asked its government not to \u201csafeguard criminals\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cPresident GR has resigned. I hope Sri Lanka can now move forward. I believe the President would not have resigned if he were still in Sri Lanka, and fearful of losing his life. I commend the thoughtful actions of the Govt of Maldives. My best wishes to the people of Sri Lanka,\u201d Mr. Nasheed said in a tweet.<\/p>\n

Opposition slams delay<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sri Lanka\u2019s political opposition slammed the delay in the President\u2019s resignation. \u201cIf it is indeed true, I am amazed at the irony of what has happened,\u201d said Opposition lawmaker and Sri Lanka Muslim Congress Leader Rauff Hakeem. \u201cSomeone who came to power on a platform of national security has fled the country for his own security, fearing his own people. This fate would not have befallen him if he had had the foresight to quit at the right time. He has disgraced himself, and brought disgrace upon the whole nation,\u201d he told The Hindu.<\/p>\n

Further, it was \u201cdistressing\u201d that Mr. Gotabaya handed the reins to \u201canother person despised by the people,\u201d Mr. Hakeem said, referring to Mr. Wickremesinghe. \u201cHe is oblivious to ground realities\u2026 he too will be disgraced in the immediate future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Colombo legislator and Tamil Progressive Alliance Leader Mano Ganesan said the Speaker must \u201cimmediately act\u201d on the President\u2019s letter and set off the constitutional process to elect a new President. \u201cThe Speaker repeatedly told us [party leaders] over the last five days that he was yet to receive the President\u2019s letter. Now that it has come, he should verify it and produce it at the party leaders\u2019 meeting tomorrow [July 15], so that we can take the next steps swiftly,\u201d he told The Hindu.<\/p>\n

Courtesy:The Hindu<\/em><\/p>\n

Tweet<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Meera Srinivasan Sri Lanka\u2019s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Thursday sent his resignation letter by email from Singapore, the Parliamentary Speaker\u2019s office said, deferring an official announcement to Friday in order to verify the \u201cauthenticity and legality\u201d of the document. The development came a day after Mr. Gotabaya, who rose to power in 2019 on …<\/p>\n

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