Critics accuse Bangladesh court of not rubber-stamping decisions taken by Hasina government (File)
Dhaka, Bangladesh:
Bangladesh Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus said it was a “million-dollar question” why the prime minister hated him, but said many believed she viewed him as a political threat.
Yunus, 83, is praised for his pioneering microfinance banks that have helped lift millions out of poverty, but he has incurred the enmity of longtime Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Last month several of his companies were “forcibly” taken over, weeks after he was convicted in a criminal case that his supporters said was politically motivated.
“She called me a vampire, every dirty word she could think of,” he said.
“Why does she hate me? Some say it’s politics…she sees me as a political opponent,” he added, careful to avoid directly blaming Hasina herself.
In January, Yunus and three colleagues at Grameen Telecom, the company he founded, were sentenced to six months in prison for violating labor laws.
All four deny the charges and have been released on bail pending appeal.
“One-party state”
Yunus, who faces more than 100 other charges for labor law violations and alleged corruption, said the forced takeover of his company was linked to a lack of democracy.
“The basis for these cases is untenable,” he told AFP in an interview in the capital Dhaka last week.
“Since I don’t see any legal basis for this, it could be politically motivated.”
About 160 global figures, including former U.S. President Barack Obama and former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, issued a joint letter last year condemning Yunus’ “continued judicial harassment.”
Signatories, including more than 100 Nobel laureates, said they feared for “his safety and freedom.”
Hasina, 76, won a fourth consecutive election in January in a vote with no real opposition and a widespread boycott and harsh crackdown on her political opponents.
Critics accuse Bangladeshi courts of not rubber-stamping decisions taken by Hasina’s government.
“This is a one-party state because other parties don’t count,” he said. “We are unable to express our views and go to the polls to exercise our right to vote”.
In 2007, Yunus launched the “Nagorik Shakti” or “Citizen Power” movement, offering a third alternative to politics dominated by Hasina and her rival Khaleda Zia for decades.
But he said he quit politics after power struggles and bickering quickly wore him down.
“I’m not a political person, I wouldn’t do that,” he said. “So I announced immediately that I would not create a political party.”
“New World”
Yunus emphasized the urgent need for democratic rights.
“Without democracy, human rights disappear,” he said. “Because no one will object, because there is no one to protect you, the rule of law disappears.”
He was careful to suggest that the latest attempt to acquire his company was orchestrated by the government, but noted that there had been an apparent lack of official response.
“If there was rule of law, in situations like taking over buildings and offices, when I went to the police, the police would come immediately because their duty is to protect me,” he said.
“The police didn’t do that. They just walked away, they didn’t see any problem. That’s not the rule of law.”
He worries about the future of the “Three Zero” plan aimed at cutting carbon emissions, ending unemployment and reducing poverty.
“If I were jailed, it would be a huge blow to the entire movement around the world, where people are working day and night to create a new world,” he said.
But Yunus was determined to stay in Bangladesh, refusing to continue working in self-imposed exile in Switzerland or the United States.
“I kept saying no, no, I have to be here, and this is where it all started,” he said.
He added: “It’s not just me, it’s all people across the country who are committed to this work, who have dedicated their lives to this.”
“If I move, the whole thing falls apart. It splits the whole thing into destruction.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
