He was welcomed by ministers & politicians says official
After escaping the country amid the Sri Lankan economic crisis, Sri Lanka's deposed former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa returned to the country Friday, an airport official said, seven weeks after he fled amid the island's worst-ever economic crisis.
Rajapaksa was welcomed with flowers by a welcoming party of ministers and politicians as he disembarked at the main international airport, the official added -- in a sign of his enduring influence in the Indian Ocean nation critics say he led to ruin.
According to the officials told AFP, "There was a rush of government politicians to garland him as he came out of the aircraft."
Taking notes from his escape, Rajapaksa fled Sri Lanka under military escort in mid-July after unarmed crowds stormed his official residence, following months of angry demonstrations blaming him for the nation's unprecedented economic crisis.
He sent in his resignation from Singapore before flying on to Thailand, from where he had petitioned his successor Ranil Wickremesinghe to facilitate his return.
The 73-year-old leader arrived from Bangkok via Singapore on a commercial flight, ending his 52-day self-imposed exile.
"He has been living in a Thai hotel as a virtual prisoner and was keen to return," a defence official, who asked not to be named, told AFP.
"We have just created a new security division to protect him after his return," the official added.
"The unit comprises elements from the army and police commandos."
Opposition politicians have accused Wickremesinghe of shielding the once-powerful Rajapaksa family.
Sri Lanka's constitution guarantees bodyguards, a vehicle and housing for former presidents, including Gotabaya and his elder brother and fellow ex-president Mahinda.
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