This past week, in advance of the latest hearing related to Professor Yunus’ bogus conviction on labor law violations and his efforts to extend his bail as the appeals process plays out, Senator Richard Durbin and three other prominent U.S. Senators released a strong statement in support of Professor Yunus. (Bail was in fact extended until August 14, as reported here.)
The statement was part of a press release that included these words, “The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk and human rights organizations such as Amnesty International have noted irregularities in proceedings against Professor Yunus… The United States values its longstanding relationship with Bangladesh, however, a failure to end this seemingly personal vendetta against Muhammad Yunus will negatively impact that partnership. We again call for the immediate end to the harassment of Professor Yunus and urge the government to respect democratic values and institutions.”
The statement was released on Twitter/X and other social media platforms. It was covered in the Bangladeshi press, including in the Daily Star, the most widely read English language daily newspaper. This follows earlier statements by Senator Durbin, including this one in January.
Perhaps stung by this criticism, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina unleashed a new string of lies in a recent public event, claiming against all evidence that Professor Yunus was not the founder of the Grameen Bank and that he lobbied then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to successfully urge the World Bank to cancel its funding for building the Padma Bridge. The mountain of historical evidence that Professor Yunus did establish the Grameen Bank is too large to even start to compile. We won’t attempt to dignify the PM’s claim with a formal refutation.
In the case of the World Bank funding, the Bank itself issued a clear statement in 2012 clarifying that the funding was canceled due to corruption in Sheikh Hasina’s government and her unwillingness to address it. The statement included, “The World Bank has credible evidence corroborated by a variety of sources which points to a high-level corruption conspiracy among Bangladeshi government officials, SNC Lavalin executives, and private individuals in connection with the Padma Multipurpose Bridge Project… In light of the inadequate response by the Government of Bangladesh [to address the corruption], the World Bank has decided to cancel its $1.2 billion IDA credit in support of the Padma Multipurpose Bridge project, effective immediately.” Perhaps the government’s Anti-Corruption Commission should study this episode and drop its meritless case against Professor Yunus.