The ousted president of Sri Lanka Gobataya Rajapaksa will reportedly return to his home country on Wednesday 24 August. If so, his temporary stay in Thailand will amount to only two weeks although the Thai government gave permission of 90 days.  

Udayanga Weeratunga, a businessman and former Sri Lankan Ambassador to Russia, revealed Rajapaksa's plan to return to Sri Lanka to reporters on Wednesday 17 August after talking with him on the phone, the local outlet Newsfirst reported. 

Weeratunga, who is also a relative of Rajapaksa's, added that the former president could still "do some service to the country as he had done previously" even though he should not be re-elected or return to any political position.  

Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Ali Sabry said that the Sri Lanka government has been notified of his return through diplomatic channels. While the Sri Lanka government "has no role in his return", the Minister said that Rajapaksa "is a citizen of Sri Lanka and can travel as he wishes." 

Ranil Wickremesinghe, the new President of Sri Lanka, has been asked by the ruling party, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), to provide safety and facilities for his predecessor.  He said on Thursday (16 Aug) he was still not aware of Rajapaksa's return. 

“We requested the president to facilitate and provide the necessary security and facilities for former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa to return to the country,” said SLPP General Secretary Sagara Kariyawasam. 

Founded in 2016, the SLPP remains under the leadership of Mahinda Rajapaksa, a brother of the former president. He remains an MP even after his resignation as prime minister in May while Sri Lanka suffered its worst economic crisis in decades. 

After fleeing Sri Lanka on a military plane to the Maldives, Gotabaya Rajapaksa spent weeks in Singapore from where he sent a letter of resignation from the presidency on 14 July. After his Singapore visa expired, he arrived in Thailand at Don Mueang airport on 11 August.

90-day permission too long for Rajapaksa, said former Thai Ambassador. 

In light of his record on war crimes and crimes against humanity, and the fact that he fled mass protests against his government over the country's economic crisis, it is not unexpected that his arrival in Thailand has caused controversy. 

The authorities have confirmed that he will not seek permanent asylum in Thailand and he has been given permission to stay for 90 days. However, concerns have been raised that the Thai government is showing favouritism for a government leader accused of war crimes rather than refugees who are in much more need of help, such as Rohingyas, Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities.

Among those expressing concern are former National Human Rights Commissioner Angkhana Neelapaijit and opposition Move Forward Party MP Rangsiman Rome, who said on Facebook that letting Rajapaksa enter Thailand could damage Thailand's international image.  

Russ Jalichandra, a former Thai ambassador to Mozambique and Kazakhstan and author of the Facebook page “The Alternative Ambassador Returns,” added his perspective to the discussion, describing the Thai government’s decision as "obtuse as always". Russ said that while letting Rajapaksa stay in Thailand was okay, 90 days was too long given the circumstances.

Russ said that it was "understandable" that Thailand accepted Rajapaksa, considering that Thailand has enjoyed friendly relations with Sri Lanka and it was also the Sri Lanka government's request that Thailand provide him temporary shelter. Russ also believed that similarities between Thailand and Sri Lanka are possible reasons that Rajakapaksa chose Thailand. 

"Rajapaksa’s choice to come to Thailand instead of many other countries, apart from the good relations and the fact that both are Buddhist countries, may have been because he saw that the current Thai government is not a government that cares much about the voices or needs of its people, and he’s right about that," said Russ. 

"In fact, Thailand did not gain anything much from this," said Russ, "especially if we take into consideration that any day there may be a power shift in Sri Lanka, where everyone is now angry with the Rajapaksa family."

Russ said that it was "reasonable" that Thailand claimed humanitarian reasons for accepting Rajapaksa (as Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha mentioned when talking to reporters on 10 Aug). However, he called "absurd" the Thai authorities’ explanation that Rajapaksa can enter Thailand because he holds a diplomatic passport.

"With regard to immigration, every country has the right and the authority whether to allow in anyone at all, no matter what kind of passport they hold. Even if they hold a diplomatic passport, we can refuse them if we consider that there would be more harm than good from allowing them the entry. This kind of explanation should not come from someone who is responsible for foreign affairs; it is very unwise." 

Several reports said that Don Pramudwinai and Tanee Sangrat, the Minister and the Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, did mention that Rajapaksa holds a diplomatic passport so he can stay for 90 days without a visa according to Thai regulations. However, BBC Thai also reported Don as saying that Thailand could lawfully "deny [him entry] as the owners of the country." But as long as he does not cause trouble for Thailand, it was okay for him to stay. 

Russ said that 90 days was too long for Rajapaksa to stay in Thailand because "the Thai authorities should care about the feelings of the Thai people, none of whom welcome this person." The Thai authorities should also "care about the feelings of the Sri Lankan people," as they have been holding protests over the economic crisis and acute shortage of necessities. 

Russ also said that it was a waste of the Thai people's taxes for the Thai government to provide Rajapaksa with a security detail since his safety could not be left to chance. Thailand's international image would be damaged if something happened to him. Russ claimed that according to security intelligence, it is believed that members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) remain in hiding in Thailand. Their presence could put Rajapaksa at risk. 

Thai authorities said that they did not give any privileges to Rajapaksa, claiming that they used existing protocols and implied that the government did not provide him with accommodation. However, several reporters spotted a group of people believed to be plainclothes officers because of their hairstyle accompanying Rajapaksa to a car before leaving Don Mueang airport. A photo of him with a person believed to be an official was taken by Voice TV. 

Rajapaksa's alleged responsibility for war crimes will not redound to the benefit of any country where he is allowed to stay. Allowing him to stay will not help Thailand much with its image considering its record on forcibly deporting vulnerable groups of political and ethnic refugees. Russ opined that a week or two was enough for Rajapaksa to find somewhere else to go. 

"If coming to stay is good and does not cause any trouble, why did Mr. Gotabaya need to leave Singapore?" asked Russ. 

Russ was among former government employees who supported the anti-government protests from 2020 and posted criticisms of the government on his Facebook page. The National Security Council secretly requested the police to investigate him for using his position to publish negative information about the government. 

In the last part of his Facebook post, Russ praised the Sri Lankan army for having enough discipline and professionalism to let the law and democracy function, no matter how bad the country's leader was, unlike "a country around here" whose army intervenes and stages coups. By one count, Thailand has had 13 military coups since 1932.