The Political Ambition of Dr. M. Yunus Bestowed with the Honor of Nobel Laureate in Peace by Dr. Shabbir Ahmed

The Political Ambition of Dr. M. Yunus Bestowed with the Honor of Nobel Laureate in Peace

Published on February 13, 2007

After the independence, it is for the first time the people of Bangladesh have become united to express their happiness for the winning of Nobel Prize by Dr. Yunus. Undoubtedly, he has brought name and fame not only for him but also for the country. Especially, Bangladesh was going through a huge image crisis in the last five years under the rule of the government headed by Khlaeda Zia and Matiur Nizami of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat-I-Islami (JI), respectively. So, a good number of people have become little more happy for the good image created by Dr. Yunus and his Grameen Bank.

It is true that almost all the people irrespective of their political identity became happy and congratulated Dr. Yunus for making his way into the list of the Nobel Laureates of the world. Having so much divergence in the political arena in Bangladesh, here in the case of Dr. Yunus, the people of all different opinions converged while congratulating him. So, to keep this unity, none should try to bring Dr. Yunus into controversy by advocating for him to come into politics or to takeover the charges of the caretaker government. In fact, the over-enthusiastic admirers sometime damage the good name of noble personalities in our part of the world. It is good that Dr. Yunus responded negatively on the question of taking over power as the head of the caretaker government. However, he expressed his desire for starting a new political party.

As it appears, he does not find any existing political party suitable for him to do politics by becoming a part of them. His recent remarks indicate that the leaders of the existing political parties are just a group of cantankerous people. Is the quarrelsomeness of the politicians so simple to infer without proper in-depth analysis? Is their no ideological divide among politicians? Most notable is his eagerness to look for honest people for doing politics in Bangladesh. We may observe in any country, the political parties and their leaders often disagree on issues. In Bangladesh, the differences in opinions are not coming to the level of issues related to education, economic development, technological advancement, welfare supports, and other similar matters. These are not been focused yet because there are more serious problems the country is going through under the rule of war criminals of JI and their patrons. Did the rule of JI, their godfathers, and the growth of Islamic terrorists patronized by these forces in Bangladesh cause any concern to Dr. Yunus? He appears to be silent on these core issues that may undermine the existence of Bangladesh as a modern progressive country.

Dr. Yunus considers that the politics is the problem against creating a poverty free Bangladesh. He does not specifically say the political parties or the persons doing politics are on his way against making Bangladesh a poverty-free country. It is true that the poverty cannot be eradicated with so much problems in poltics. But, how we can have a problem-free political environment without taking a clear stand against those who are creating the problems. Especially, the clear stand should be taken against the fundamentalist forces, their militant terrorist wings, and their patrons/godfathers. After all, these are the real problems Bangladesh (not only Bangladesh even the whole world) should confront bravely.

Bangladesh is not going through a peaceful condition. The political violence is creating a new recod on a daily basis. Especially, during the rule of the fundamentalist alliance government, the attacks on secular intellectuals and politicians has exceeded all the records of the past. Even the goverment allowed killings through "state-approved" crossfire. Many high-profile killings took place by the groups suspected to be aligned with the Khaleda-Nizami government. While many concious people were on the forefront to protest the incidences, Dr. Yunus surprisingly maintained his silence. For example, we did not hear his concerns on the killing of his fellow economist, former finance minister, and a former Under-Secretary General of UN, Mr. S. A. M. S. Kibria. On the silence of Dr. Yunus on the political violence, Dr. Mozammel H. Khan wrote as follows (in Mukto-Mona, October 21, 2006):

"Over the last several years the battered human right situations of our dear homeland was of grave concerns for many concious souls around the golbe. Oppression of minorities and opposition workers, custodial torture and death, the brutal techniques of custodial torture of politicians and intllectuals alike and probably the most despicable of all crimes committed by the government that has been termed by human rights organizations as "terrorism by the State" where people are being killed on daily basis in the name of so-called "crossfire," absolutely disregarding the rule of law. Ironically, Dr. Yunus has been totally mum on these reprehensible acts of a government that derived its authority from a constitutional process. Even the mini Jalliwanwala Bagh massacre of August 21, 2004 targeting the life of our former PM failed to stimulate the conscience of Dr. Yunus to express any words of concern for the drfeadful act."

The silence of Dr. Yunus after the gruesome killing of Mr. S. A. M. S. Kibria has been criticized by Dr. Mozammel H. Khan. He wrote as follows (in Mukto-Mona, October 21, 2006):

"While Dr. Yunus has his blessings on the civil society movement to elect honest and suitable candidates, he has been totally silent when one of our brightest bureaucrat-turned politicians has been killed by assassin's grenade. It was puzzling to note the indifference of our gifted sons, even before he became a Nobel Laureate vis-a-vis such a heinous crime and tragedy, who in time of the most crucial juncture of our history took only a moment to decide his course of action for the freedom of his motherland."

I agree with Dr. Mozammel H. Khan on his analysis on the unexpected silence of Dr. Yunus on the hot political issues and political crimes in Bangladesh. Dr. Yunus' support and his endeavor for searching "honest people" in Bangladesh may create some hope among a good number of gullible Bangalees of Bangladesh. Certainly, there are honest people doing politics in Bangladesh. He should know by now who are at the helm of corruption in different "Bhabans." It should not be a difficult task for him to know the neo-billionaires that amassed wealth through corruption. Did Dr. Yunus say a single "word" on the reported corruption of the prince-like individuals?

As a Nobel Prize winner in "peace," he can work for enhancing peace and stability in Bangladesh by making his position clear against the evil forces now active in politics. It is easy to blame all the politicians. Anyone can do that in Bangladesh. There are many individuals, who tactfully blame all the politicians only to conceal the acts of the party that protect the vested interests of the class they belong to. Of course, it takes courage and honesty to stand firm against the political Mafias that ruled with support from the fascist JI and their militant terrorist wings. Dr. Yunus should have the courage and firmness now with all the strengths he has gained after winning the Nobel Peace Prize. Before floating a new political party, he should prove his sincerity first in promoting peace, stability, and honesty in politics in Bangladesh using his influence in the future despite his controversial silence on the burning political issues in the past.

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Dr. Shabbir Ahmed, a research engineer and political observer, writes from Jacksonville, Florida, USA

ï¿½ Mukto-Mona