Colombo: As resentment toward the wealthy family for the country's crippling economic crisis increased, Sri Lankan immigration officials claimed on Tuesday that they had stopped the president's brother and former finance minister Basil Rajapaksa from leaving the country by plane. Rajapaksa, who is also a citizen of the United States, did not immediately make it clear where he was attempting to go.

As street demonstrations against the lack of fuel, food, and other necessities erupted in early April, he resigned as finance minister. He later left his position in parliament in June.

 After tens of thousands of protesters stormed the president and prime minister's official residences on Saturday, demanding their removal, his elder brother Gotabaya Rajapaksa will step down as president on Wednesday to make room for a unity government.

Since Friday, the president has not been spotted in public, and it is unknown where he is. According to the Sri Lanka Immigration and Emigration Officers Association, their members turned down the opportunity to serve Basil Rajapaksa in the airport's VIP departure lounge. 

According to K.A.S. Kanugala, chairman of the association, "given the unrest in Sri Lanka, immigration officials are under tremendous pressure to not allow top-level people to leave the country." "Concerned about our safety is us. The immigration officers employed by the VIP lounge have therefore decided to discontinue their services until this matter is resolved." Local media carried photos of Basil Rajapaksa at the lounge, and they were widely shared on social media. Some users expressed outrage over his attempts to flee the country. Basil Rajapaksa could not be reached for comment right away, and a close aide declined to provide more information. 

Most Sri Lankans hold the Rajapaksa family responsible for their current plight because they have long dominated politics in the 22 million-person nation, including former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. The COVID-19 pandemic, a decline in remittances from Sri Lankans living abroad, and a ban on chemical fertilisers all had a negative impact on the country's tourism-based economy. Later, the ban was lifted.

 Long lines have built up in front of stores selling cooking gas as a result of the severe rationing of gasoline. The central bank has warned that headline inflation, which reached 54.6 percent last month, could reach 70 percent in the upcoming months.  Tuesday saw new record lows for Sri Lanka's sovereign dollar bonds as recent declines continued.

According to Tradeweb data, the bonds traded between 25 and 27 cents on the dollar, with the 2025 bond suffering the largest losses, down as much as 1.125 cents. Protesters have vowed to remain in the president's and prime minister's official residences until they leave. After taking office in May, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe did not move into his official residence, Temple Trees, and was not home when protesters torched his private residence in Colombo on Saturday.

 According to police spokesman Nalin Thalduwa, seven people were taken to the hospital on Tuesday following a brawl between two groups of protesters at Temple Trees. What sparked the altercation was not immediately obvious. On July 20, the Sri Lankan parliament will choose a new leader, paving the way for a multiparty administration.

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