Gotabaya Rajapaksa to return to Sri Lanka on August 24, says his cousin

Former Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa could return to his country on August 24, his cousin Udayanga Weeratunga said, adding that the ousted president should not be re-elected for political positions

Gotabaya Rajapaksa will return to Sri Lanka on August 24, his cousin Udayanga Weeratunga said on Wednesday, over a month after the former president fled the country amid mass anti-government protests over an unprecedented economic crisis.

Sri Lanka, a country of 22 million people, is grappling with its worst economic turmoil in seven decades, leaving millions struggling to buy food, medicine, fuel and other essentials. The massive protests that began in March culminated with Mr. Rajapaksa’s resignation.

"He talked to me on the phone, I can tell you he will return to the country next week,” said Mr. Weeratunga, who was Sri Lanka's ambassador to Russia from 2006 to 2015.

Mr. Rajapaksa could return on August 24, he said, adding that the ousted president should not be re-elected for political positions.

“But he can still do some service to the country as he had done previously,” Mr. Weeratunga said of the 73-year-old former Sri Lankan president.

Mr. Rajapaksa is currently staying at a hotel in Bangkok in the heart of Thailand’s capital, where police have advised him to remain indoors for security reasons.

Mr. Rajapaksa arrived in Thailand from Singapore on August 11 on a charter flight for a temporary stay before seeking permanent asylum in another country. He arrived in Bangkok on the same day that his visa in Singapore expired.