The former finance minister had attempted to enter through a VIP entrance, where security workers blocked him, saying he was not a VIP, the people familiar with the incident said. He then went to a commercial fast-track entrance called the “Silk Route,” where immigration officials declined to authorize his departure.
The incident reflected the national mood against the former minister and his disgraced family. He had the option to attempt to go through the general customs area, the people said, but there was a commotion there, with passengers shouting, so he left the airport.
Rajapaksa was forced to step down as finance minister in April as anti-government protests over economic despair gathered momentum. Those tensions have now boiled over to a total collapse of the country’s economy amid extreme fuel and food shortages.
On Saturday, protesters stormed the president’s residence, cooking in his kitchens, leaping into the swimming pool and jumping on his bed. The president had moved out the day before.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa reiterated on Monday that he would resign from the presidency effective Wednesday. The Post was not able to immediately reach Basil Rajapaksa for comment.
Since protesters stormed the president’s home, there has been intense speculation about his whereabouts, which remain unknown. Rumors that he left the country spread after the Parliament speaker, Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, said in an interview with the BBC that he had departed and intended to return for his resignation. He later retracted his claim to another news outlet.
“This was a failed president and a failed government,” said Faiszer Musthapha, a member of an opposition party that previously allied with Rajapaksa.
He said the long-suffering people of the country had taken control. “It was the might of the people on show,” he said.
“It is a historic moment,” said Harini Amarasuriya, an opposition member of Parliament, “where a true citizens struggle ended the rule of an unpopular and untrustworthy government.”
Masih reported from New Delhi and Pietsch from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
