Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus Appears Before Bangladesh Anti-Corruption Commission in Dhaka
By
Nava Thakuria, New Age Islam
5 October
2023
Bangladesh’s
lone Nobel laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus, who is serving as the chairman of
Grameen Telecom, appeared before the anti-corruption commission (ACC) in Dhaka
on Thursday (5 October 2023) during the morning hours as he was summoned a few
days back over the alleged misappropriation of funds meant for the workers’
benefit. A few others close to Prof Yunus were also summoned to appear before
the commission. Needless to mention that it was one of the latest attempts by
highest level individuals in the Bangla government to malign the image of the soft-spoken
gentleman, who is today globally recognised as the pioneer of microfinance and
social business enterprises.
Nobel laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus
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Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina, who will seek the mandate of 130 million Bangladeshi
voters in the forthcoming national elections for her fourth consecutive term in
office, was recently urged by more than 175 global leaders including Nobel
laureates, elected officials, business & civil society leaders to suspend
all legal proceedings against Prof Yunus. It was preceded by another letter,
endorsed by 40 global personalities, to Hasina regarding her government’s ill
treatment of him. Even 34 eminent Bangladeshi nationals also came forward
raising voices for Prof Yunus asserting that Hasina continued using hostilities
against the most awarded Bangladeshi gentleman and thus she was earning a negative
impression for Bangladesh.
Recently,
the United Nations human rights office also issued a statement supporting Prof
Yunus saying that it was worried over smear campaigns against him. It was
followed by a statement from Amnesty International, where they asserted that
Hasina was ‘weaponizing labour laws’ to harass and intimidate Prof Yunus. The
international body argued that Prof Yunus, being the chairman of Grameen
Telecom management authority, has been falsely accused of employment-related
violations. He along with three board members (Ashraful Hasan, Nur Jahan Begum
and Mohammad Shahjahan) are facing a criminal case under the country's labour
laws.
“The
ongoing trial is just one of more than 150 cases filed against Prof Yunus after
the ruling Awami League party came into power in 2008. Amnesty International
believes that initiating criminal proceedings against Prof Yunus and his
colleagues for issues that belong to the civil and administrative arena is a
blatant abuse of labour laws and the justice system and a form of political
retaliation for his work and dissent. His case is emblematic of the beleaguered
state of human rights in Bangladesh, where the authorities have eroded freedoms
and bulldozed critics into submission,” said a statement.
It is time
for the Bangladesh government to put an end to this travesty of justice, said
Agnes Callamard, secretary general of Amnesty International, adding that the
government’s relentless smear campaign against Prof Yunus shows the desperate
lengths the current regime is willing to go to set an example through the
hounding of an 83-year-old Nobel laureate. Those violating labour rights must
undoubtedly be held accountable, however rather than misusing labour laws and
criminal justice to harass Prof Yunus, the authorities should focus on
combatting extensive threats to labour rights such as unsafe factories which
continue to claim the lives of thousands of Bangladeshi workers, she added.
The
question that arises here is, why Hasina is so aggressive against the global
campaigner for a poverty free world. First assumption was that Hasina herself
wants recognition (preferably with a Nobel award) for her ‘excellent’ works
since 2008. Lately, the civil society embraces speculation that the combined
opposition parties (led by Bangladesh Nationalist Party) may project Prof Yunus
as their leader in the forthcoming polls. Needless to mention that Prof Yunus
tried to form a political party (Nagarik Shakti) in 2007, but abandoned the
idea quickly. However, Hasina and her supporters still assume Prof Yunus as a
powerful rival to her political career. So she continues maligning Prof Yunus
on every possible occasion.
As the
country goes to general elections in the next few months, the apprehension of
erupting violence continues, as the opposition alliance is still demanding
Hasina’s resignation for the sake of a free & fair election in Bangladesh.
They are demanding for a neutral caretaker administration in Dhaka to conduct
the forthcoming elections, so that the ruling Awami League cannot rig the
polls. Otherwise, they may boycott the national election, as they did in 2014
and 2018. Hasina has already made it clear that she will not resign, thus
paving the way for a series of street protests (often turning violent) by the
opposition parties across Bangladesh in the coming days.
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Nava
Thakuria is a northeast India-based professional journalist who is an
engineering graduate.
URL: https://newageislam.com/current-affairs/nobel-yunus-bangladesh-corruption-commission-dhaka/d/130831
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