Sri Lanka latest updates: President hands in resignation

Sri Lanka’s speaker of parliament has received a letter of resignation from President Gotabaya Rajapaksa through the country’s embassy in Singapore, his office said.

Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena will make a formal announcement on Friday “after checking the accuracy of the document and fulfilling all legal requirements”, the speaker’s spokesman said.

Meanwhile, Mohamed Nasheed, speaker of the Maldives parliament, said in a tweet that Rajapaksa has resigned.

Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa emailed a letter of resignation to the speaker of the country’s parliament late on Thursday, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters news agency.

It was not immediately clear if the letter, sent shortly after Rajapaksa arrived in Singapore, would be accepted in email form, the source added.

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin says Beijing hopes that all parties in the Sri Lanka crisis work together for the sake of the island nation.

“As a friend, neighbour and partner, China sincerely hopes that all sectors in Sri Lanka will bear in mind the fundamental interests of the country and people and work together in solidarity to overcome the current difficulties, strive to restore stability, revitalise the economy, and improve people’s livelihood,” Wang said.

Protesters who have occupied four government buildings say they have handed them back to authorities.

Shabeer Mohamed, a protest leader, told Al Jazeera that Temple Trees, the prime minister’s office and official residence, has already been handed over to the police.

Protesters have decided to keep a section of the presidential secretariat near the main protest site, GotaGoGama, under their control, he added.

The rest of the building has also been handed over, Mohamed said.

Protesters have gathered in front of Sri Lanka’s embassy in New Delhi, the capital of India, in solidarity with demonstrators in Sri Lanka.

Singapore’s foreign ministry has said Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had been allowed to enter the city-state on a private visit.

It said he has not asked for asylum and neither has he been granted asylum.

Parliament will not meet on Friday, the chamber’s speaker has said.

The speaker had previously said that the Sri Lankan parliament would meet to stay on schedule to accept nominations for a new president on Monday of next week, with an election to be held on Wednesday.

However, President Rajapaksa has yet to submit his official letter of resignation after reportedly relocating from the Maldives to Singapore.

A flight believed to be carrying the fleeing President Rajapaksa has landed in Singapore, according to an arrivals board.

Officials from the parliament speaker’s office had said Rajapaksa was expected to give his official resignation after he reached his final destination, which remained unclear.

Former president and prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, the 76-year-old patriarch of the powerful Rajapaksa clan, will not follow his brothers, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and former finance minister Basil Rajapaksa, in fleeing the country, an aide has told Al Jazeera.

Mahinda’s eldest son, former minister Namal, has already publicly stated that he would not leave the country as it battles its worst economic meltdown since 1948 – a crisis largely blamed on more than 20 years of Rajapaksa rule.

“They both have clearly said they would not leave Sri Lanka, but Mahinda Rajapaksa is really sad about the situation,” the aide, who wished to remain anonymous, told Al Jazeera on Thursday.

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The Sri Lanka Army has said it is empowered to use force to protect “public property, key installations, vulnerable points and human lives”.

In statement, the army condemned violence by “a certain section of the protesters” during clashes at parliament on Wednesday night, adding that two assault rifles were taken from security forces during the confrontation.

The army added that “a dozen” of its personnel were injured. Police have said one person was killed and 84 were injured in clashes near the parliament and the prime minister’s office on Wednesday.

How serious is the Sri Lanka crisis? What happens next?

What you should know about the political turmoil. Read more here.

President Rajapaksa’s letter of resignation is expected to be delivered before the end of the day on Thursday, officials at the speaker’s office have said.

The president is reported to be on his way to Singapore from the Maldives. The official at parliament speaker Abeywardena’s office said they were not informed of the president’s final destination.

“It is expected, though, that the president will send in his resignation once he reaches final destination.”

The United Kingdom has advised against “all but essential travel” to Sri Lanka, typically a prime tourist destination, citing the “current situation”.

Security forces have been deployed to reinforce Sri Lanka’s parliament, which was the site of clashes with protesters on Wednesday night.

The move comes after acting president Wickremesinghe ordered a curfew in the capital until early on Friday morning.

Protest leaders have condemned any violence by demonstrators. They have begun to leave occupied government buildings, but said demonstrations would continue.

Austin Fernando, a retired senior civil servant, has warned of calamitous consequences if no immediate solution found to the current Sir Lankan political crisis.

Fernando, who served as the secretary to former President Maithripala Sirisena, told Al Jazeera that the government, the opposition and the protest movement, known as the “aragalaya”, should be flexible in their stances and come to a compromise.

“I think we are at a very contentious stage,” he said, “therefore, it is of paramount importance that all three parties come to a compromise to create a legal mechanism to come out of this stalemate.”

“One might say the ‘aragalaya’ may not be the total public brand of Sri Lanka, but it is the brand of the frustrated youth and many educated youth with a good political knowledge are part of the ‘aragalaya’,” Mr Fernando added. “So it is important that their demands are also listened to.”

President Rajapaksa has boarded a Saudi plane in the Maldives that will take him to Singapore, a Maldives government official told the Associated Press news agency.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. Several news agency have since reported that Rajapaksa was travelling from the Maldives to Singapore, although his final destination remained unclear.

Rajapaksa fled Sri Lanka early on Wednesday as protesters were taking over government buildings to demand he resign.

A protest leader, Shabeer Mohamed, has told Al Jazeera that protesters are still considering whether to hand over the buildings they are occupying directly to the government or to the Red Cross or any other neutral organisation.

Mohamed confirmed that protest leaders are in agreement to hand over most of the occupied buildings, however, they have not decided whether they will hand over the presidential secretariat, which is next to the main protest site, known as GotaGoGama.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said he is following the continuing political crisis in Sri Lanka.

“It is important that the root causes of the conflict and protestors’ grievances are addressed,” he tweeted. “I urge all party leaders to embrace the spirit of compromise for a peaceful and democratic transition.”

A protest leader and priest, Father Jeewantha Peiris, has told media that protesters will withdraw from occupied government buildings.

Peiris said the protesters would withdraw from the prime minister’s official residence, known as Temple Trees, the president’s residence and the presidential secretariat, which they have occupied since Saturday.

The acting president has imposed a curfew in Colombo from noon local time (6:30 GMT) to 5am on Friday (23:30 GMT Thursday), according to the Department of Government Information.

A previous curfew was lifted in Colombo at dawn, and did little to stop protests across the capital late on Wednesday. More protests were expected on Thursday.