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.
