New book captures broken promises and failures of Maithri-Ranil Govt.

Hopes Shattered, a book by Senior Jour nalist Latheef Farook, impartially documents in 495 pages the promises of the Maithripala Sirisena-Ranil Wi c k r e m e s i n g h e Government, its failure to fulfil pledges and how it took the country for a ride, besides causing political and economic instability.

The failure to bring those accused of crime, corruption and plundering the nation’s wealth has led to disillusionment, with the nation fast losing confidence in the government. As a result, the Maithri-Ranil government has become an irrelevant liability.

In this gloomy scenario came the planned violence against Muslims, who overwhelmingly voted for this government. They were deeply shocked and disappointed. Their hope for peace and harmony was dashed. Many feel that the Maithri-Ranil racism is no different from that of the Rajapaksa regime.

Equally disappointed was the Tamil community whose many grievances, especially issues pertaining to those who were affected by the three decades of ethnic war, remain unaddressed.

In the midst of all this, there emerged allegations of corruption against the Government. This climaxed in the alleged involvement of Prime Minister Wickremesinghe himself in the bond scam, resulting in a no- confidence motion against him.

The country was devastated when the rift between Maithripala and Ranil became public. The abrupt sacking of Prime Minister Wickremesinghe and the resultant political crisis provoked civil society to come out on to the streets to restore Prime Minister Wickremesinghe and democracy.

Political and economic crises continue to deepen and the people accuse the UNP and the SLFP of being solely responsible for this tragic situation.

Sri Lanka, which was a shining example of political and economic stability and communal harmony in the entire Third World during the time of its independence in 1948, is today one of the most- mismanaged countries in the world. The people -- the Sinhalese, the Tamils, the Muslims and others -- do not know where the country is heading.

This book documents for record the tragedy of Good Governance ending up as disaster he question is what next?