Dhaka, Bangladesh —
The Nobel laureate from Bangladesh, Muhammad Yunus, on Sunday (28/1) vowed to fight a number of lawsuits against him in order to achieve the new environmental and economic policies he initiated. “Our dream is to create a new world,” the 83-year-old told reporters outside the courthouse, after his appeal against a six-month prison sentence was formally granted by the court by granting him bail.
Human rights groups and Yunus' supporters say all the lawsuits are politically motivated
PM Hasina accuses Yunus of “sucking the blood” of the poor
Yunus was praised for successfully lifting millions of people out of poverty through the microfinance bank he pioneered. However, this angered Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who accused him of being a person who was “sucking the blood” of the poor. Hasina was sworn in for a fifth term in office this January after winning a landslide victory in elections boycotted by opposition groups. Hasina has launched a number of scathing verbal attacks on Yunus, the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner who is highly respected throughout the world.
On January 1, Yunus was found guilty of violating the Employment Law. However, his attorney said Yunus faces at least 170 other legal cases, including corruption charges that if convicted could land him in prison for years.
Yunus denied all the accusations. In a deeply emotional speech, Yunus said he had dedicated his life to supporting those most in need, and was “committed” to continuing that work.
Three Zero Plan
Yunus' initiative, dubbed the “Three Zero Plan”, is aimed at reducing carbon emissions, ending unemployment and reducing poverty.
Yunus said “we have been chasing dreams. We have upset someone because of the dream we were chasing.” He did not name the people he said were “annoyed” by his initiatives.
In the latest case, Yunus and three colleagues at Grameen Telecom, one of the companies he founded, were accused of violating the Labor Law for failing to establish a worker welfare fund at the company.
Yunus suspects that the case was filed by a department in Hasina's government. However, Transport Minister Obaidul Quader said “the lawsuit was actually filed by workers at the company.”
Hasina rejected calls to forgive Yunus, and said it was Yunus who should apologize to his workers. (em/hour)