Dear Sri Lankans, Singapore Ensures Gotabaya Rajapaksa Doesn't Get Privileges

Ex-President of Sri Lanka Gotabaya Rajapaksa's photo via @GotabayaR

JAKARTA - Former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is still in Singapore. Even though the Sri Lankan Supreme Court has asked their former president to come to court.

Singapore ensures that they do not provide any special services to Gotabaya Rajapaksa. There are no privileges, immunities, or hospitality of any kind by the Singapore Government, Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said Monday, August 1.

Vivian Balakrishnan said that as a written answer to a question by a member of parliament, Gerald Giam (WP-Aljunied) about Rajapaksa's arrival in Singapore.

"In general, the Singapore Government does not grant privileges, immunities, and hospitality to former heads of state or heads of state, from the government," Balakrishnan said.

"As a result, former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa was not granted any privileges, immunities or hospitality."

A Sri Lankan Cabinet spokesman said last week that the former president was not in hiding and would be treated according to his status as former president upon his return to Sri Lanka.

He stepped down as president shortly after arriving in Singapore, and former prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as president about a week later.

In a separate parliamentary question, MP Yip Hon Weng (PAP-Yio Chu Kang) asked Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam about the Government's response to concerns Singapore is becoming a 'political fugitive'.

Shanmugam said, “Foreigners who have valid travel documents and meet the entry requirements will be allowed to enter Singapore. We also of course have the right to deny entry to foreigners if we judge it to be in our national interest," he replied diplomatically.