Prof Comments on Latest Developments - I

Yunus’ removal from his post and the reaction of the international community echoed very differently for many in Bangladesh particularly the media and the pro-government groups. Bangladeshi society and the international community have been closely following the developments surrounding Yunus’ removal. People have different views on this matter and the increasing pressure coming from the States; one thing that I was really wondering lately was how people in academia in Bangladesh approach the recent debate. Well, I asked an academic and he answered. Here is what I asked a young academic, Sajedur Rahman Sajib and his take on the matter.

Q1 Bangladesh is a very dynamic society. Every day new things happen. However, GB has been working quietly for some time and all of a sudden an earthquake hit GB and things never got back to normal for the last a couple of months. How can we make sense of these developments?

Q2 Can you tell me about the reaction you feel or observe in Bangladeshi society (rural and urban) and in the academia and particularly Jahangirnagar U about the recent allegations and Central Bank's decision?

Q3 What the current government's gain could be by doing all these in Yunus matter? also now US' intervention into the matter? What to say about that?

Sajedur Rahman Sajib, Department of Government and Politics from Jahangirnagar University:

I am not happy with the Govt decision on GB. Dr. Yunus and GB are synonymous in Bangladesh and Dr.Yunus contributed a lot for making a positive image of Bangladesh. I think, the withdrawal of Dr. Yunus will definitely hamper the relationship with friend countries of the nation. I think, alternative solution can be reached by mutual understanding as there may be some legal boundaries .

The game behind the curtain is unclear but it seems that there may be a political motives and personal clash behind it. It is alleged that there is a role of Dr. Yunus in making the military back caretaker Govt and at that time current chief of the govt Sheikh Hasina faced political suppression and house arrest.

The reaction of people here is mixed. In Jahangirnagar University, most of my colleagues are not happy with the matter. But other people’s reactions in village and town are mixed. Some people take it a positive move of the govt as GB has a bad reputation as a blood sucker in a good portion of people. But it is true that it is impossible to make happy all portion of the people at a time.

The current Government is playing zero-some game on the issue. Dr Yunus deserves a honorable departure for his huge contribution. The Govt policy certainly hampers the nation’s relation with western world which is very important for her development goal. The US intervention in internal affairs of a third world country is very common in this unipolar current world order but this time it seems that the US carefully watching the development here.

I would like to thank Sajedur Rahman Sajib for his time and for sharing his insights through this blog.

**Sajedur Rahman Sajib is working as an assistant professor at the Department of Government and Politics in Jahangirnagar University, Bangladesh. He has taught Political sociology. Oriental Political Thought, Political History of Modern World and other courses. His areas of interest are Public policy, Conflict management and Governance issues. Now he is on education leave for pursuing higher studies in Germany under DAAD scholarship program.

Losers and Winners in Dirty Politics

With the intervention of international community, Yunus’ matter is now getting a different shape, which gives Yunus’ opponents the opportunity to pursue the discussion on a different level, which might trigger anti-American feelings on a larger scale. It is not hard to anticipate that this may find some common ground with anti-Yunus groups and create a larger block despite the verdict of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh unless the issue is settled down earlier. US implied its first interventionist approach in the early comments, which finalized with Blake’s and others’ visits to Dhaka. The pressure from the States is increasing also because of an upcoming national screening of a documentary about Grameen America. Grameen Bank is the heart of Bangladesh. Everyone knows about that. But, same goes for America because of Grameen America. The handling of the matter affected both Government and Yunus’ side as I wrote earlier. And, Grameen is becoming a part of dirty politics at home and outside. Some wonder what the government has gained from this whole thing. Maybe, it is not that hard to see. Some like to play dirty and they are very good at it.

Who is more Pro-American?

After meeting with PM Hasina, US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Robert Blake yesterday said “there is still room for compromise” in resolving the issue arising from the removal of Nobel laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus as the Managing Director of Grameen Bank he founded. “Such a compromise will also allow us to continue very good progress that we made in our bilateral relations”. Although the finance minister says the relations with America are better then ever, the requested compromise is definitely was asked for from the government. Everyone knew the handling of Yunus’ matter would put the government in a difficult situation. PM Hasina and some others had accused Yunus of implementing greedy capitalist model in the name of helping poor. It gets very ironic to hear such comments when one sees the current government’s hard work, day and night, to turn whole Bangladesh into a free trade zone in the name of helping poor. Who knows maybe, Yunus’ matter will give the Minister of Finance some sort of leverage in bilateral economic agreements. . Politics is sometimes a really dirty job.

Incapability of Politics: Grameen Bank, Independence and Sovereignty

In the aftermath of Yunus’ removal from his post as managing director by the government, the first reaction and support had come from the States. As the recipient of presidential freedom medal and Congressional Gold Medal, Yunus is an important figure for America. More importantly, Grameen Bank has four branches in the States. Any lost of reputation at home will definitely affect Grameen America too. Though the arrival of Blake, US assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian affairs has some other purposes, his meeting with the opposition party leader Khaleda is important for the supporters of GB as this is the first time a diplomat directly meeting with the political party leaders. Blake is also expected to meet with the PM Hasina within the next couple of days. The former World Bank president Wolfensohn, who is also one of the founder members of the Friends of Grameen is also in Dhaka to talk to PM about the Yunus’ removal from the bank.

The Friends of Grameen, a voluntary organization based in France has been campaigning against the allegations towards Yunus and the recent developments. The purpose of the association is the promotion and development of microcredit and social business, in particular the microcredit activities of Grameen Bank and its affiliates. In their statement lately, the Friends of Grameen stated that ‘continued attacks against the Grameen Bank and Professor Yunus have been carried out for political reasons.’

The overlap of these visits and the recent statements from the States add more tension on the government side as the matter is already in the hand of Supreme Court. The last obvious indication of this is that Friends of Bangladesh, recently established informal group, is starting to show the controversial Norwegian documentary at Star Cineplex in Bashundhara City this Monday. The group states their objective is to counter increasing pressure on Supreme Court and to protect any outside intervention coming from the West on the sovereignty of Bangladeshi parliament.

The recent reaction from the West has wakened up nationalist feelings in Bangladesh. The tension between Friends of Grameen and Friends of Bangladesh is the result of the incapability of current government in solving this matter and handling the recent allegations towards Yunus. One thing that politicians often forget is that if suitable conditions are created there are always big guys out there who like doing politics differently. And, this kind of politics does not necessarily have to be a militarist one and it might affect all sides in Bangladesh. GB is no exception to this.