Sri Lanka's Ex President Rajapaksa returns home
Sri Lanka s deposed President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has returned home weeks after fleeing the crisis-hit country_ officials said.
The 73-year-old former President landed in the capital_ Colombo_ on a Singapore Airlines flight from Thailand in the early hours of Saturday_ local media reports said.
Rajapaksa resigned in July after tens of thousands of protesters angered by a debilitating economic crisis stormed his office and residence.
He fled to the Maldives on July 9_ went to Singapore from there and spent the past few weeks in Thailand on a diplomatic visa.
Mr Rajapaksa's return is a sensitive issue for the new government which does not want more protests and will need to ensure his security.
'We are not opposed to the return of Mr Rajapaksa. Any Sri Lankan citizen can return to the country_' Father Jeewantha Peiris_ a prominent protest leader_ told that.
Other protesters say they will oppose any attempt by Mr Rajapaksa to rejoin politics or the government.
'After he returns_ we need to take legal action against him for the mistakes he committed as president and also file cases against his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa_' another activist Rajeev Kanth told that.
Sri Lankan media reports say the government has identified a house in central Colombo for Gotabaya Rajapaksa but it's not clear whether he will go straight there or to a secure military facility first.
A defence ministry spokesman told that Mr Rajapaksa 'would be given security as a former president'.
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