Syed Iftekhar Hossain
In 2006 Dr. Muhammad Yunus from Bangladesh received half of the Nobel Prize for Peace, and the other half was awarded to the Bangladeshi Micro-Credit Financing Bank- Grameen Bank (established by a Government Ordinance-Grameen Bank Ordinance-1983). Yunus was the government appointed CEO of the Bank. The man who received the coveted international recognition for preaching peace through financing small entrepreneurs in a conspiratorial move unconstitutionally removed an elected government in Bangladesh and seized power on 7th. of August 2024. The elected Prime Minister of the country Sheikh Hasina was compelled to take asylum in the neighbouring India. Her life was in danger. As she did not resign as per the Constitutional requirements technically she is still the Prime Minister of the country.
Yunus’s seizure of power followed a student movement for a different cause-cancelling the reservation policy in government jobs. The policy was non-existent as following a similar movement in 2018 the government unilaterally revoked the reservation policy. The students were demanding just an official circular which the government promised it will be announced in a couple days completing the technical formalities. Most of agitators were unaware that they were being used by Yunus for seizing the state power. Yunus’ seizure of the state power was not something that happened suddenly. It was a deep rooted conspiracy that began sometimes in 2018 with the backing of US government’s support and finance. The US interest lay in its demand to allow them to build a naval base in a small island, St. Martin situated in the south of Bangladesh in the Bay of Bengal. Sheikh Hasina would not agree to
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such a policy and the then US government as a part of their ‘Deep State’ policy decided that Hasina will have to be removed. Their choice was Yunus as he had a very close ties with all Democrat led US government. He even contributed few million dollars to Hilary Clinton’s election fund when she ran for US Presidency against Donald Trump in 2016. Now declassified US documents and disclosure made by important former US State Department officials testifies the entire conspiracy that led to the Yunus’s seizure of state power in Bangladesh. The disclosure even came from the present US President Donald Trump. Involved in the conspiracy were left oriented political groups, a section of cultural activists, a big group of religious militants, most of whom were students of different universities and madrassas (religious seminaries), a section of LGBT and a group of ultra-right and ultra-left academics. It is also alleged that Pakistan’s military intelligence ISI played a very important role in the entire game. This disclosure later came from key student leaders who played important role in the entire game plan. ISI was bent on taking a revenge of their loss of a part of their perceived country in 1971 now known as Bangladesh.
Noble laureate Yunus has now completed about seven months of usurping state power in Bangladesh. From the day Yunus usurped the state power he took the title of Chief Advisor of a Care Taker Government (CAG) of Bangladesh, a title non-existent in the country’s Constitution. Strangely enough he took oath under the sane Constitution. When Yunus and the Grameen Bank received the Noble Prize every person in this country including Sheikh Hasina whom he overthrew were happy of the achievement. Once when Grameen Bank was in financial trouble, Hasina provided the bank with Tk 40 million from the government treasury.
The man who could have been a highly respectable man in the country just due to his unbridled greed for power, has now become a terrible vengeful power-hungry
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man to the majority of the people of Bangladesh. He has turned Bangladesh into a ruin taking it to the brink of disaster, both economically and socially. The country once known for its tolerance and humanity now has become a cocoon of religious militancy and intolerance. The prevailing anarchy, mobocracy and gang rape in public places have become unprecedented. In the history of Bangladesh, Yunus will be known in the future as a messiah of destruction and intolerance all done to protect his own interest. The man known to the world as harbinger of peace has turned himself into founder of religious militancy in Bangladesh. This could eventually destabilize the entire South Asian region, notably North East India. Once the country known for its tolerant views now its residents have to speak in whispers.
The name of the country was the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. Yunus hired an American citizen to change the name of the country. An attempt is also being made to change the Constitution of Bangladesh and has plans to change the national flag and national anthem of Bangladesh as well. After Yunus seized power, about 150 dangerous and convicted militants were released from prison, including militants from Harkatul Jihad, Ansarullah Bangla Team, Hizbut Tahrir, ISIS, Ansarul Islam
and Jamaat. Most of these outfits are banned internationally. Hundreds of militants escaped from 18 prisons on their own. The government did not make any effort to bring them back. Now, it is easy to walk on the streets in the open with the flag of the militant organization ISIS. In Bangladesh, a country of six seasons, the traditional Spring Festival has been stopped by an official announcement and the Lalon (a revered mystic sage) festival has been banned. Even a group of unruly religious fanatics who identify themselves as the Tawheed-e Janata (a band of believers) have attacked flower shops with the excuse that selling flowers is a sinful act as young boys and girls exchange flowers on Valentine’s Day. In some parts of the country, women’s football has been forbidden. To them women playing
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outdoor games is a sinful act. A section these religious bigots went a bit further compelling pharmacies not to sell contraceptive items saying use of contraceptives is also un-Islamic.
In Yunus’s Bangladesh religious bigots can disturb the local peace in the name of preaching sometimes idiotic sermons (with exceptions) but would not allow any folk festival. Any other event is either officially prohibited or a group of disorderly miscreants commonly known as ‘mob’, will not allow it to be held. If any organization dares to organize any cultural event, the law enforcement agencies come and stop it with the pretext that the law and order may deteriorate. On 8th February 84 cultural groups of Dhaka were supposed to inaugurate the Dhaka Drama Festival. A group of miscreants just would not allow it to be held. Earlier, Lalon Mela (festival, honouring a mystic poet) has to be stopped in many places in the country. In the middle of the Spring Festival in Chittagong, the organizers were forced to stop it due to the demands of these miscreants. A stall of Amar Ekushey Book Fair (an annual book fair) had to be shut down because they were allegedly selling books by an exiled writer Taslima Nasrin. The miscreants declared that this writer’s book is un-Islamic. A play was being staged at the Shilpakala Academy (a government academy created to facilitate cultural activities in the country). A group of miscreants came and said that this play should be stopped because it is written by a Hindu writer! The authorities supported the miscreants. Such an incident is rare in the history of Academy. Despite the fact that Yunus and his associates continuously keeps on dishing out anti-Indian propaganda if India stops exporting essentials food items, sometimes duty free, the low and middle income people will face tremendous food crisis. Ironically in the month of January the import of essentials from India increased by 17 percent as reported by a national daily. Hollow promises do not fill empty stomach.
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Unfortunately Yunus is now known to the common people as an ‘enemy of the people’. Yunus’s Press Secretary informed the public that Yunus is all set to bring billions of dollars in investment from the United States. Unfortunately for Yunus no sooner was the information dished out Trump administration out on hold millions of dollars in aid fund earmarked for Bangladesh. Few days ago, as mentioned, Trump himself declared that earlier such funds allocated by his predecessor was used for political purpose like regime change in countries like Bangladesh. According to official estimates, foreign investment in the country has decreased by 71 percent in the last six months. Inflation has broken an all-time record at 13 percent. Food inflation is even higher in the country. During Hasina’s rule it seldom crossed 9 percent.
The country that was on the verge of becoming a middle-income country is now waiting to be known as a collapsed state like Pakistan. There is currently no domestic or foreign investment in the country. 124 ready-made apparel factories are currently closed. Some others have been burnt to ashes. Investors are migrating to India, Pakistan or Vietnam. Thousands of workers have become unemployed since Yunus seized state power. When a business leader says, “The price of women is lower than the price of vegetables in Savar (a suburban industrial area)” it is clear how dire the country’s economic situation is. An advisor said that there is no money to pay for imported goods (rice and gas). On top of that, it is uncertain whether the fourth installment ($650 million) promised by the IMF will be received before next June. The previous three installments were received during Sheikh Hasina’s regime. There have been reports that few other European countries may stop providing financial assistance to Bangladesh at any time. Several international organizations say that if the situation does not improve in next few weeks a famine in Bangladesh may be imminent. A widely circulated news media in the country reported on
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February 17 that “the renunciation of Bangladeshi citizenship has increased since last August.” Now, whenever people get the opportunity, people are leaving their own country and take up residency in other countries.
The first phase of Yunus’s rule, which was a period of terrible chaos, anarchy and lawlessness, was a time of haunting horror. During this time, Bangladesh became known to the world as a country where religious militancy is on the rise. During this time, the house of the Founding Father of Bangladesh Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was raged to the ground with government assistance and support. The house was a national museum which was home to nation’s history. As the house was given away to the state by Sheikh Hasina and her sister, the two surviving daughters of Mujib to the government it was a state property. It was the duty of Yunus government to protect the structure and all its artifacts. Yunus thought otherwise. His idea is let the history of the country begin from the day of his seizure of state power. Even the flag of the militant organization ‘ISIS’ was hoisted on the demolished building by the militants. All the monuments of the Liberation War have been demolished in various parts of the country to make it clear that there was no Liberation War in this country and Pakistan was divided into two parts by an Indian conspiracy. Now Yunus sponsored mobs are putting it back together. One day, Yunus, the peace merchant, will be gone. But the Bangladesh he will leave behind, which was born at the cost of the blood of three million martyrs, will have to wait for several generations to fully recover. In a word, Bangladesh is now the new Afghanistan or Syria and Yunus, the man who could remain a national hero now unfortunately stands in the threshold of becoming a national traitor and treacherous villain.
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