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Yunus worried about GB future

Admin — Thu, 26 May 2011 10:37:18 +0000

Tells The Daily Star it’s not wise to amend law to ensure govt control
Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has warned that Grameen Bank could run into deep trouble if the government amends the law to take control of the microfinance bank founded by him.
“If those amendments [proposed by the review committee] come and the government penetrates the bank, it will not survive very long,” Prof Yunus said in an exclusive interview with The Daily Star, the first after his resignation from Grameen Bank as managing director this month.
“I’m anxious about its safety,” he said.
Yunus said there should not be any attempt to amend the 1983 ordinance that governs the microfinance bank unless it is recommended by the board.
A government-appointed review committee has recently suggested amendments to the Grameen Bank ordinance, even though it found no financial irregularities in the operation of the bank.
Yunus’ comments underline a common concern that Grameen Bank would flounder without Yunus at the helm.
His resignation came after he lost final appeals in the Supreme Court against his dismissal by Bangladesh Bank citing violation of the bank’s retirement rules.
The government should listen to the demands of its 83 lakh borrowers who effectively own 96.5 percent of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning organisation if it really wants to change the ordinance, Yunus said.
During the interview, the 70-year-old banker to the poor contested a series of misconceptions about the organisation he established three decades ago.
“Some think that Prof Yunus owns this bank and is earning a lot of money out of it. I say no, I do not own a single share in the bank. I am just an employee.”
Prof Yunus rubbished the government’s claim that Grameen is a government bank.
“To call it a government bank, it has to be owned by the government as the majority shareholder. Even in private banks, the government may have some shares. It does not make a private bank a government bank,” he said.
Yunus criticised the review committee for not visiting the Grameen Bank headquarters or meeting its staff or members before making such a report.
“During the review, the committee members did not visit Grameen Bank. They did not visit branches of Grameen Bank to see what Grameen Bank is. They did not meet the borrowers of Grameen Bank. Maybe some of them individually met some borrowers in the past,” Yunus said.
“They did not talk to the staff of Grameen Bank. The committee talked to me for an hour when I went to them and answered a few questions. Additionally, they talked to the deputy managing director for a few minutes,” he said.
Yunus said the committee members had preconceived notions and perceptions about the bank.
“Based on their perceptions they made the recommendations. It was very unkind to give such a big task to them. It is extremely unkind for Grameen Bank to receive those recommendations. After all, we should not take Grameen Bank so lightly.”
The microfinance pioneer said the committee has insulted the board by branding it as a rubber-stamp body. “The nine directors sitting on the board are elected in a four-tier process. Each of them has to be an outstanding person.”

Read Exclusive Interview of Professor Yunus

Courtesy of The Daily Star

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Do not let go of GB ownership

Admin — Wed, 18 May 2011 04:36:45 +0000

Prof Yunus writes to members
Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus yesterday urged the 83 lakh members of Grameen Bank to remain vigilant against any attempts to take away the microfinance bank from the majority shareholders.
The caution came after his resignation as the bank’s managing director amid widespread speculation that his removal was part of a coordinated government ploy to take the full control of the bank.
“Grameen Bank is a priceless wealth for you. Do not give away this to anyone. You are the owners of this bank. Do not let go of this ownership,” Dr Yunus said in a letter addressed to the bank members.
“If anyone speaks about taking away the ownership of Grameen Bank, if anyone speaks against your bank, then you must protest against it…. If you remain silent, the bank will be taken away from your possession,” he said.
In papers, the government controls 25 percent shares while 75 percent belongs to the borrowers, the majority of them are rural women. However, the government now effectively has only 3.29 percent share in terms of paid-up capital and the borrowers own the rest.
Yunus said the members of the microcredit agency are set to face tough time following his departure from the bank he founded three decades ago.
“Soon you will be put under difficult tests. You must prepare yourself from now on to come out successfully from these tests. If you are able to protect this bank, then your children and descendants will be benefited from its wealth.”
In the letter, the microfinance pioneer described how he embarked on one of the greatest economic innovations of the 20th century 35 years ago.
“Thirty-five years ago, I did not know that I would start a bank, and that I would lend to poor people, especially to poor rural women. Like many other teachers, I was busy teaching in the classroom, far from the realities on the ground. But Jobra village took my future completely into a different direction.”
“I saw, first hand, how the loan sharks enslaved the villagers; I thought that if I were to lend money to the poor, then the villagers could be free from the grasp of the loan sharks. That is what I did. I never imagined that this would become my calling in life.”
The “Banker to the Poor” thanked women members of the bank for successfully overcoming tough challenges to make the Grameen Bank a success story.
“A lot of people from the villages resisted your joining Grameen Bank. They were opposed to seeing women handle money and earn. They tried to frighten you by telling you about the horrifying outcomes of accepting money from Grameen Bank.”
“They said this was a missionary bank whose purpose was to convert you. They threatened to attack you; they threatened that they would bury you wrapped in black shroud when you died; they would not have a burial prayer for you. They threatened to chase you from your homes. And many of you were chased out of your homes and your villages.”
“But you did not get frightened. You became united… You vowed that you would bring prosperity to your families. That is why from the Grameen Bank Project, you managed to create Grameen Bank and became its owners.”
In 2006, Yunus and Grameen Bank jointly won the Nobel Peace Prize “for their efforts to create economic and social development from below”.
“Grameen Bank, in other words you, won the Nobel Peace Prize. You brought the nation a very big honour. Those who had earlier been chased out of their villages now had brought this great honour for the nation,” said Prof Yunus.
“The entire nation felt proud of you….you will always keep your heads raised high. You will never bow your heads to anyone — this pledge has become a part of each and every one of you.”
On March 2, Bangladesh Bank through a letter removed Yunus from the post of managing director, on claims that he was holding on to his post way past his retirement age.
The central bank move triggered a legal battle but Prof Yunus lost in courts.
On May 12, he resigned from the bank “to prevent undue disruption in the activities of the micro finance institution”.

Courtesy of The Daily Star

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Govt plans to overhaul GB

Admin — Wed, 18 May 2011 04:29:28 +0000

14-pt blueprint to raise govt stake in Grameen Bank
The government has planned to raise its stake in the Grameen Bank and establish control over its lucrative sister firms in a move that will transform the Nobel winning micro-lender into another state-owned bank.
The finance ministry has outlined the plan in a 14-point blueprint, which follows the controversial sacking of the Nobel Peace Prize winner Professor Muhammad Yunus from the micro-lender he founded in 1983.
The US-trained former economics professor was fired from the Grameen Bank on March 2 — a move he challenged futilely for the last two months in the country’s highest court.
The central bank removed Yunus, 70, citing he was illegally holding the position of the managing director, as he has crossed Grameen Bank’s mandatory retirement age of 60 years more than a decade ago.
Finance ministry officials said the blueprint has been prepared in line with the recent recommendations made by a government-appointed review committee on Grameen Bank and its sister companies.
The review body, whose findings were released last week, has said the GB under Yunus “flouted rules and laws consistently” since its inception, particularly in the creation of its sister organisations, known as social business enterprises.
“We have planned sweeping reforms for both the Grameen Bank and its sister organizations. They will be implemented in phases very soon,” a top official of the ministry of finance told the FE.
Two high-powered government committees will be formed to execute the blueprint, particularly for overhauling bank’s operational independence and establishing its ownership over the 34 sister firms, he said.
He said the creation of the sister organisations under the GB Ordinance have spawned “numerous legal loopholes and organisational weaknesses”, paving the way for massive irregularities.
The sister companies were established by the Grameen Bank created venture capital firms Grameen Kallyan and Grameen Fund. Both the firms were set up in 1996 by amending the GB Ordinance, 1983.
Yunus has said the Grameen Bank don’t own the sister organisations including the Grameenphone, whose 34 per cent stake is owned by Grameen Telecom, a social business enterprise created by GB-allied venture capital firm.
According to the review committee, that 34 per cent stake is now worth Tk80 billion or 1.25 billion dollars. Other GB sister firms like Grameen Knitwear, Grameen Shakti or Grameen Danone dairy are also rich companies.
Finance ministry officials said the government would change the existing Grameen Bank laws so as to establish Grameen Bank’s “full control” over the social business enterprises — some of which are joint ventures with top global companies.
“The 1983 Grameen Bank Ordinance has to be changed and corrected to resolve the legal, managerial, controlling and financial problems of the Grameen Bank and its sister organizations,” the first of the 14-points blueprint reads.
Under the plan — a copy of which was seen by the FE — the government would change the statutes that led to the creation of the micro-lender, which now lends some Tk10 billion a month to about eight million rural borrowers.
It said the government would establish a regulatory authority for the Grameen Bank and “actively consider” bringing the lender under the direct supervision of the Bangladesh Bank.
Under the blueprint, the government would raise its stake in GB from the current 25 per cent although Yunus has steadfastly maintained that the Bangladesh government’s stake has declined to less than 3.5 per cent.
According to Yunus, the government stake has declined gradually with the infusion of capital from growing number of borrowers. By virtue of the 1983 ordinance, a borrower becomes Grameen Bank owner automatically.
Officials said the board of directors of Grameen will be reconstituted with induction of experienced professionals with expertise in economics, banking and micro-credit operation.
The directors — both sponsor and nominated — must qualify a Bangladesh Bank formulated “fit and proper test”.
Presently, the GB board comprises 12 members including nine directors who are directly elected through votes by the Grameen Bank borrowers. The rest three including the chairman are appointed by the government.
“The similar clause of Bank Company Act, 1991, which is applicable to all commercial and state-owned banks for appointing bank directors, will be applied to GB,” a top finance ministry official said.
The paid-up and authorised capital of bank will be raised substantially from the existing Tk 3.50 billion and, Tk 547 million. “The aim is to help the bank face any liquidity or any other crisis,” said the official.
Officials said the GB Ordinance will be amended so that prior permission of BB becomes mandatory to give effect to any regulation of the micro-lender.
Presently, board of directors of Grameen, according to GB Ordinance, is empowered to formulate regulations for the bank, which does not need any prior or post approval from the central bank.
The government has also planned to impose tax at source on the income generated from the bank’s deposit, like other commercial banks. The National Board of Revenue will issue an order in this connection soon after the approval from the Prime Minister, said a source.
The Review Committee on GB submitted its report on April 25, this year. It put forward 27-point recommendation to revamp the Grameen Bank.
Yunus’s supporters at home and abroad have protested the Nobel laureate’s removal, saying the economist paid heavy price due to his brief entry into politics during the caretaker government in 2007.

Courtesy of The Financial Express

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Prof Yunus resigns

Admin — Thu, 12 May 2011 19:06:43 +0000

Prof Muhammad Yunus has stepped down as the managing director of Grameen Bank in order to prevent undue disruption in the activities of the microfinance bank, the Nobel laureate confirmed yesterday.
“I am today [yesterday] relinquishing the post of managing director of Grameen Bank on the basis that the Deputy Managing Director Nurjahan Begum would hold charge until a managing director is appointed in accordance with the procedures under section-14 of the Grameen Bank ordinance,” he said.
“Since the board of Grameen Bank is my appointing authority, it may take appropriate steps,” he said, in a statement.
Prof Yunus said he has still not received the Supreme Court Appellate Division’s full order. “I am taking this step without prejudice to the legal issues raised before the Supreme Court, and in order to prevent undue disruption in the activities of Grameen Bank and to ensure my colleagues and our 80 lakh members, and owners of the bank, are not subjected to any difficulty in discharging their responsibilities.”
The founder of the Nobel winning institution hopes the bank would continue to operate maintaining its independence and character under the Grameen Bank Ordinance and move towards even greater success.

Courtesy of New Age

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Let Grameen Bank flourish further

Admin — Sun, 08 May 2011 04:40:00 +0000

Appeals Prof Yunus
Grameen Bank’s future is connected with 40 million borrowers, and it should be ensured that its achievements in the last four decades are not undone, Nobel laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus said in a statement yesterday.
“Now our challenge is to create the opportunity so that the second generation of Grameen Bank borrowers can move away from poverty forever. This should now be our goal and we should strive to achieve this goal as quickly as possible,” Prof Yunus said.
“It is indeed a much wider and much more significant issue to save the future of Grameen Bank and also to protect the hopes and dreams of over 80 lakh borrowers.”
About his own course of life, the Nobel laureate hinted that he would be working with the young generation from other platforms to address the problem of poverty at home and abroad.
“Through social business, I will ensure that my initiatives continue. I am inviting all to join in and participate in helping solve the problems afflicting our country,” the microcredit pioneer said.
Prof Yunus said it has to be ensured that Grameen Bank, which created the opportunity for poor women across the country to express their latent abilities, continues to achieve more success.
“There is a growing doubt as to whether any civil society can survive and retain its character and independence in this politically-influenced environment,” the Nobel laureate said.
“There is doubt as to whether Grameen Bank or similar civil society initiatives can be continued with their own identities and autonomy in this environment. It is an important task to protect Grameen Bank’s identity and ensure that poor people remain as its owners.”
“Let us make sure that Grameen Bank, the bank, which created the opportunity for poor women all around the country to express their latent abilities, is able to continue to achieve more success. At the same time let us work to make sure that all the initiatives from the civil society can move forward without hindrance and at a fast pace,” Prof Yunus said.

Courtesy of The Daily Star

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Prof Yunus to remain MD until decision by GB board

Admin — Fri, 06 May 2011 19:53:59 +0000

Prof Muhammad Yunus is still the managing director of Grameen Bank and will continue to be so until the bank’s board of directors appoints a new MD, said Rokanuddin Mahmud, a counsel for the Nobel laureate, yesterday.
Rokanuddin’s statement came a day after the Supreme Court (SC) affirmed a High Court verdict upholding the removal of Yunus from the post of managing director of the microlender he had founded three decades ago.
Bangladesh Bank removed the Nobel laureate from the post through a letter on March 2, asking Grameen Bank’s board of directors to take steps to that end, Rokanuddin said at a media briefing in his Gulshan residence.
After the SC verdict, now the question is what will be the position of Prof Yunus in Grameen Bank, he said.
A person has to remain in an office out of necessity until a successor is appointed. It is not the case that Prof Yunus has to go right away, he has to hand over the charge to someone, Rokanuddin explained adding that the Bangladesh Bank letter also does not mention that Prof Yunus must leave right away.
He said no legal position operates in a vacuum, and therefore the post of managing director of Grameen also cannot function in a vacuum.
The next board meeting of Grameen Bank will be crucial, as the ball is in their court now, he added.
Asked whether the government has any say in who will be the next MD, Rokanuddin said as per the law there is no scope for the government to influence the process of appointing an MD.
The board of directors of the microlender may form a selection committee which may select a number of people from whom the board may finally pick one to appoint as the next MD, he said.
In reply to another question, he said the Bangladesh Bank letter does not give any deadline for appointing a new MD.
About the request of appointing Yunus as Grameen’s chairman, Rokanuddin said it is a matter for the government’s consideration, as only it has the authority to appoint a chairman.
Regarding the attorney general’s comment that Yunus has no right to remain as the MD of Grameen following the SC verdict, Rokanuddin said it is entirely a personal opinion of the attorney general.
About seeking a review of the court’s decision, he said they must look into the full text of the verdict before reaching a decision about the matter, as the text might contain many reasons for seeking a review.

Courtesy of The Daily Star

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Achievements in 10 ‘unlawful’ yrs

Admin — Fri, 06 May 2011 09:35:57 +0000

When a person passes a decade in a position “unlawfully” and then is suddenly removed for that “unlawful” occupation, one tends to ask what he did and how his organisation fared during that passage of time. For Prof Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank in which he served as the managing director, those ten years were the golden time of phenomenal rise and glorious shine. Bangladesh also shone bright with him and Grameen Bank.
Set aside the fact that it was the deeds during that decade that actually caught the attention of the wider world and eventually brought Nobel to the country, Grameen Bank became a model to be emulated in 40 countries — from China to America, from Bolivia to India — across the globe to set millions of impoverished people free from the yoke of poverty. Millions of faceless people suddenly got their faces back as human beings. For once, the world had a solution to help the end-of-the-line people come out of poverty.
And with the transformation of Prof Yunus, whom the international community regards as the messiah of the poor, Grameen Bank also shone in its ledgers. If the simple and traditional parameters of banking are applied to measure its progress during that ten years, its achievements were astounding.
For one, Grameen Bank’s deposits increased 20 times; its profits soared to a new height; and the number of its members tripled.
The year 2000 — when, according to Bangladesh Bank, Grameen’s founder Professor Muhammad Yunus exceeded the mandatory retirement age — saw the bank making a profit of only Tk 1.1 crore. The next year, its profits jumped six times.
Since then, there was no looking back for the microfinance bank in terms of profit.
In its history, Grameen Bank posted profits exceeding Tk 100 crore thrice after that period.
The?bank?had deposits of nearly Tk 105 billion and outstanding loans of Tk 68 billion, as of 2010.
The bank stepped into the new millennium with 23.78 lakh members across the country. Their number has tripled to 83 lakh — 97 percent of them women — at the end of the last year.
Its coverage reached great heights during that period. The microcredit institution had 68,467 centres covering 40,225 villages in 2000. It now operates in 83,458 villages with 144,106 centres, covering the whole of Bangladesh.
Grameen Bank doubled its branches in a decade to 2,562 in 2009 from 1,160 in 2000.
Since its inception, the bank has disbursed Tk 622.26 billion.
The bank charged the lowest interest rate — 20 percent — in the sector in Bangladesh, where allegations of charging a lending rate as high as 45 percent are rife.
The bank has not only provided means of livelihood to the country’s poor, but also created jobs for more than 22,000 people by doubling its staff in the last one decade. The majority of its employees are from the poorer section of the society.
The bank and its legendary founder Prof Yunus jointly won the Nobel Peace Prize “for their efforts to create economic and social development from below” in 2006.
The achievement, seen as the best prize for the country since the independence, gave the sector a strong boost at a time when critics started to question the effectiveness of microfinance programmes in Bangladesh as well as other countries across the globe.
The bank received the prestigious Gandhi Peace Prize in 2000 awarded by the Indian government and Petersberg Prize four years later by the Development Gateway Foundation of USA.
These followed the Independence Day Award in 1994 and World Habitat Award by Building and Social Housing Foundation in the UK in 1997.
US President Barack Obama conferred Prof Yunus the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honour that recognises the awardees’ contribution to the nation and the world, in August 2009.
Prof Yunus’ dedication to lift people out of poverty brought him more than 110 awards including the Bayreuth Leadership Award 2009, SolarWorld Einstein Award 2010, PICMET Award 2009, Gold Medal of Honor Award, USA 2009, Golden Biatec Award 2009, Eisenhower Medal for Leadership and Service 2009, Estoril Global Issues Distinguished Book Prize 2009, World Affairs Council Awards, California 2008, Global Humanitarian Awards 2008, and RED CROSS Gold Medal 2007.
The long list also includes Seoul Peace Prize 2006, Global Citizen of the Year Award 2006, King Hussein Humanitarian Leadership Award 2000, and Sydney Peace Prize 1998.
Yunus’ microcredit concept of giving small loans to the poorest of the poor without any collateral in an exception to conventional banking methods, has given birth to thousands of similar organisations in Bangladesh as well as other countries across the world.
The Grameen Bank model has been applied in 40 countries around the globe. It was first replicated in Malaysia in 1986.
In January 2008, Grameen America opened its doors to underserved people, who do not have access to banks and mainstream financial institutions in the world’s biggest economy.
Although a new player in the domestic microfinance industry, Grameen America saw considerable growth in the first year. It disbursed more than $350,000 in micro-loans and registered more than 165 borrowers in the first three months.
Grameen America opened a branch in Omaha, Nebraska in 2009, making it the first microfinance institution in Omaha and Grameen America’s first operational branch outside New York City.
It also opened two additional branches in the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn in January, 2010. All the branches have witnessed rapid growth in the short period of their operation, according to Grameen America that has more than 5,000 borrowers.
Washington-based Grameen Foundation supports microfinance institutions in countries including India, China, Cambodia, Nepal, Pakistan, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Bolivia, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Peru, the United States of America, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Tunisia, Yemen, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda.
The Grameen Bank model continues to be replicated around the globe, despite the fact that Bangladesh Bank relieved Yunus of the post of managing director of Grameen Bank on claims that his reappointment to the position was not done in line with the laws that govern the microcredit organisation — a decision that stunned his countless admirers across the world.

Courtesy of The Daily Star

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Make Yunus chairman

Admin — Fri, 06 May 2011 09:32:41 +0000

Demand Grameen Bank staff
The board members and employees of Grameen Bank have urged the government to appoint Nobel Laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus as the bank’s chairman.
Grameen Bank Karmachari Samity (employees’ association) made the call yesterday, hours after the Supreme Court refused Yunus’ petition to overturn an order that dismissed him from the bank.
The employees held a press conference at the bank’s headquarters in Mirpur and observed countrywide work abstention from 11:30am to 6:00pm protesting removal of Prof Yunus.
The Supreme Court yesterday dismissed two petitions filed in connection with Yunus’ removal from the post of managing director at Grameen Bank.
Meanwhile in a statement, nine board members of Grameen Bank said they are deeply disappointed by the decision of the apex court and worried about the fate of the bank. They urged the government to protect Grameen Bank by appointing Prof Yunus as its chairman.
Prof Yunus is now awaiting instructions of the Grameen Bank board of directors on his handing over the charges of managing director, added the statement.
Khandoker Abdus Safi Manzur, acting president of the employees’ association, read out the written statement at the press conference while the association’s General Secretary Mohsin Reza and its former president Sagirur Rashid Chowdhury, among others, addressed the conference.
Chowdhury gave two weeks’ ultimatum to the government for appointing Prof Yunus as chairman of the bank, or else the Grameen employees would go on a tough movement.
“If we see a consensus on the matter (chairmanship), we will not agitate,” he said, adding that the civil society and Grameen borrowers will join them in launching the movement.

Courtesy of The Daily Star

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Utilise Yunus’ experience in running GB

Admin — Fri, 06 May 2011 09:30:01 +0000

Suggest 3 economists
Three senior economists yesterday said the government should utilise the expertise of Nobel laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus in running Grameen Bank.
Akbar Ali Khan, formerfinance adviser to a caretaker government; Debapriya Bhattacharya, distinguished fellow of Centre for Policy Dialogue; and former central bank governor Dr Salehuddin Ahmed made their statements after the Supreme Court dismissed two petitions filed in connection with Yunus’ removal from the post of Grameen Bank managing director.
Akbar Ali Khan hopes an amicable solution to the issue is still possible. “’If the government agrees, there is scope for a peaceful solution to be accepted by all.”
He said the government could appoint the Nobel Peace Prize winner as the chairman of the bank and the Supreme Court verdict is no bar to it.
Khan mentioned of the demands by the bank’s directors and employees in this regard.
Debapriya Bhattacharya said the court verdict does not preclude the government from taking a measure to find an institutionalised role of Prof Muhammad Yunus so that Grameen Bank continues to draw upon his experience, wisdom and reputation.
Former central bank governor Dr Salehuddin Ahmed said if the government accommodate him [Yunus] in any advisory role in Grameen Bank, the transitional leadership would be benefited.
“Grameen Bank has become a world class model. His [Yunus’] sudden leave would bring any good result neither for the bank’s 83 lakh borrowers nor for the government,” said Ahmed.

Courtesy of The Daily Star

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Hillary backs Grameen independence

Admin — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 09:35:26 +0000

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton backed Grameen Bank’s independence in a telephone call to Prof Muhammad Yunus, her spokesman said.
“Secretary Clinton spoke yesterday with Dr Muhammad Yunus and expressed support for the independence of the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh,” Clinton spokesman Philip Crowley said on the microblogging website Twitter.
Hillary ended up making the telephone call Tuesday to Prof Yunus after he canceled a scheduled trip to Washington because of the legal challenge he filed in Bangladeshi courts, Crowley said earlier, AFP reports.
However, the state department officials gave no details on what was said during the call, news agency AP said.
“We continue to follow developments closely and await clarification from the government of Bangladesh and Grameen Bank,” Crowley told reporters at a briefing.
“We hope that a mutually satisfactory compromise can be achieved that will ensure Grameen Bank’s autonomy and effectiveness,” he said.
STATE DEPARTMENT BRIEFING
The issue of Prof Yunus figured prominently at the US State Department’s daily press briefing Tuesday. The briefing was held before Hillary Clinton made the phone call.
Following is the transcript of the question-answer session on Prof Yunus:
CROWLEY: Good afternoon and welcome to the Department of State.
This afternoon, the Secretary will call Dr Muhammad Yunus in Bangladesh.
Dr Yunus was scheduled to be here at the State Department and meet with the Secretary this afternoon. However, he decided to cancel his trip because of the legal challenge he filed in the Bangladeshi courts regarding his position at the Grameen Bank. We are troubled by the letter that the Bangladesh Bank sent to the Grameen Bank concerning Dr Yunus’ status as managing director of the Grameen Bank. We continue to follow developments closely and await clarification from the government of Bangladesh and Grameen Bank. We hope that a mutually satisfactory compromise can be achieved that will ensure Grameen Bank’s autonomy and effectiveness.
QUESTION: Can I follow up on that real quick? Can you just explain the reason for her calls? Is it to show solidarity with him in the face of all this, or is there something else on the agenda?
CROWLEY: I mean, he’s a Nobel Prize winner, Medal of Freedom winner, Congressional Gold Medal winner. His public service is widely recognised and respected, and civil society organisations such as the bank play an important role in Bangladesh’s development and democracy. So it is both to show support for his ongoing efforts and the efforts of the Grameen Bank and also to express our concern about developments in Bangladesh.
QUESTION: Sorry. Just one more on that. What specifically…she’s expressing concern about this letter; you’re troubled by it. What troubles you?
CROWLEY: Well, there’s an ongoing court case regarding his dismissal from Grameen Bank, and we are following that court case closely. It is, I believe…the matter is still under appeal.
QUESTION: But the letter…I’m sorry, but the letter itself…
CROWLEY: It regards…
QUESTION: What is troubling about the letter?
CROWLEY: It regards Dr Yunus’ status as managing director of the Grameen Bank.
QUESTION: PJ [Philip J], when Mr Muhammad Yunus applied for a visa, how much in advance did you know about this? Or did the Bangladesh government advise you about this–his visitor case?
CROWLEY: I don’t know, Goyal, how to answer that question. He was due to be here at the State Department this afternoon for a meeting with the secretary of state. He chose to stay not because of a visa issue with us, but because of the ongoing legal case that he is involved in.
QUESTION: Did the secretary call or try to reach anybody in Bangladesh?
CROWLEY: She has talked to the prime minister about this case in the…in recent weeks.
QUESTION: Just a follow-up on this. Isn’t this–your concern about the issue–will be considered something interfering with the internal affairs of Bangladesh?
CROWLEY: Well, it’s really about the future and the autonomy and effectiveness of the bank.
[The Daily Star ran a report yesterday headlined: “Justice is delivered” where a source claimed that Foreign Minister Dipu Moni had talked to Hillary Clinton. However, upon further investigation The Daily Star found out it was not the case.]

Courtesy of The Daily Star

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