Dhaka, Jan 17 (IANS) Bangladesh interim government’s highly controversial and “unelected” Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus — a Nobel Peace Prize laureate — has faced extensive criticism, ridicule, and mockery during his 17-month tenure, often being labelled a “darling of the West”, a report has detailed.
Like Yunus, it said, in Venezuela, Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado has not secured a public mandate in her country, and critics argue that the US support for her prize reflects an effort to install a compliant government in the South American country.
“Many are drawing parallels between the events in Venezuela and the recent turmoil in Bangladesh. For them, Bangladesh’s former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been the victim of regime change orchestrated by foreign powers including the US. Accusations against the US of orchestrating a plot to remove Nicolás Maduro and establish a puppet government in Venezuela have been swirling for a long time. In this context, a new discussion has begun regarding the use of the facade of the Nobel Peace Prize,” a report in Eurasia Review detailed.
According to the report, within days of Yunus assuming office as the Chief Advisor of Bangladesh, allegations of conflict of interest emerged over the swift approvals that granted government benefits to institutions linked to Grameen Bank, which he had founded.
“The waiver of hundreds of crores of taka in taxes for his Grameen Bank, long-term tax exemptions, reduction of government shareholding, and licensing approvals for various Grameen-related institutions were made very quickly, creating the perception of bias, abuse of State power and preferential treatment,” it added.
The report stressed that as the leader of the interim government, Yunus’s primary responsibility was to ensure a credible election.
“However, it is alleged that, deviating from that goal, he prioritised foreign interests, allegedly selling out national sovereignty and strategic decisions. Initiatives to hand over profitable seaports like Chittagong Port to foreign control, or risky geopolitical plans under the guise of a humanitarian corridor, stood out among a raft of moves that led observers to call him a puppet who has been running the country not to serve countrymen, rather to appease foreign masters,” it mentioned.
“But in the wake of Machado’s brazen effort to appease the US President with offer to share her prize” following the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by American forces, the report said “many Bangladeshis putting Yunus at per with her: the tactic to serve foreign power to run the country dodging election, instead of serving the countrymen,”
–IANS
scor/as
