Staff Reporter:
US Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin has expressed his support to Bangladesh’s interim government led by Nobel Peace Laureate Professor Dr. Muhammad Yunus.
On Monday, the whip took to the US Senate floor in Washington DC voiced his backing for Dr. Yunus, who faced decades of harassment by ousted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, according to a release received in Dhaka yesterday.
In his remarks, Durbin detailed Dr. Yunus’ life-long work of developing microloan programs that allow low-income families in developing countries make a living.
He began his remarks recalling his maiden trip to Bangladesh, when he first met Dr. Yunus.
“I’m going to offer him (Dr Yunus) my full support to him yesterday. I believe in him. I did 20 years ago, and I do yesterday. I urge President Biden to support him as well. I know Dr. Yunus has the best interests of the Bangladeshi people at heart and will do his utmost in this challenging time,” he said.
In August, Sheikh Hasina stepped down from prime minister and fled the country to India amid student-mass upsurge. Days after her ousting, Prof Dr. Yunus was sworn in to lead the interim government until new elections can be held.
“Imagine my surprise last month… Hasina finally resigned as Prime Minister of Bangladesh amid mas-sive public protests, and the students who were leading the protest demanded that the leader of their country be none other than Dr. Muhammad Yunus, the same economics professor I met more than 20 years ago,” Durbin said.
“I called him (Dr Yunus) on the phone when I heard his good fortune. He was upbeat and believes that the people of that country are prepared now to rise to this historic opportunity.”
In July, Durbin led three colleagues in releasing a statement denouncing the harassment against Dr. Yunus, calling on the then Bangladeshi government to end the mistreatment of Dr. Yunus, and pull down the dubious charges he is facing.
The statement was followed by a letter sent by Durbin and his colleagues calling on Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to end the harassment against Dr. Yunus.
Earlier this summer, Durbin further expressed his support for Dr. Yunus in a speech on the Senate floor.
The harassment campaign against Dr. Yunus has been denounced by more than 100 Nobel Prize winners, including former US President Obama.
Durbin led the effort in the United States Congress to award Dr. Yunus the Congressional Gold Medal in 2010, recognizing his pioneering contributions to the fight against global poverty. The Medal was later presented to Yunus in 2013.
