Politicians, civil society members, lawyers, journalists and Grameen Bank borrowers have urged the prime minister not to give in to the influence of the people around her and allow Prof Muhammad Yunus to run his microfinance bank.
The plea came from a solidarity rally yesterday at the Jatiya Press Club, where papers with signatures of 37 lakh Grameen borrowers defending the Nobel laureate were put on display.
The event was organised by "The Citizens' Committee to Protect the Honour of Nobel Laureate Professor Yunus," a national support platform for the Grameen founder.
The committee was formed after Bangladesh Bank relieved the microfinance pioneer of the post of managing director at Grameen. The committee includes politicians, lawyers, civil society members, rights activists and professionals.
Politician ASM Abdur Rob said no civilised people in the world can perceive the so-called demand that the Nobel Peace Prize must be returned to the Nobel Committee.
The politician urged Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to fathom the impact of Dr Yunus' removal from the bank and make the right move to redress it.
Senior journalist ABM Musa said only a few had controlled wealth in the country in the past. "But it is Yunus who has given people an opportunity to lift themselves from poverty and become better-off than before. He has helped women get out of the confines of home."
Zafarullah Chowdhury, founder of Gono Shasthya Kendra, said people around the prime minister are plotting to disgrace Yunus, eventually leading her towards a crisis.
Asif Nazrul, professor of law at Dhaka University, said the ongoing struggle is a fight between a section of deviant politicians, journalists and civil society, and the rest. "This is a fight between the powerless, and the dirty and power-hungry people."
Former lawmaker Humayun Kabir said the Yunus issue is a political matter, not a legal one. "The issue cannot be resolved in court. It has to be settled politically, out of court."
He urged the government to cancel the central bank order to remove Yunus from Grameen and allow the microfinance bank to work independently.
ABM Mostafa Ameen, the committee convenor, said the Bangladesh Bank order is unacceptable, unjust and unwanted.
Political activist Abdul Maleq Ratan said, "Yunus has shown people a way to get out of poverty. For those, poverty was almost inevitable."
Rights activist Shirin Huq said: "It is unprecedented that 37 lakh people have signed up for a cause."
Al-Amin, a postgraduate student of Jagannath University, who has taken an education loan from Grameen Bank to pursue higher education, narrated how the microcredit organisation helped him continue education.
"My rickshaw-puller father could not afford my educational expenses when I passed the higher secondary certificate exams. I did not receive any support from the government or banks. Grameen Bank stepped in to help me," he said.
Ratna Begum, a Grameen Bank borrower from Sylhet, said she used to do menial jobs to make a living. A loan from the microcredit bank has changed her life.
Grameen has 83 lakh borrowers across the country. The microfinance bank is currently providing scholarships and education loans to 54,000 students to help them pursue higher education.
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