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It was the overthrow of Sheikh Hasina’s government last August that saw Muhammad Yunus, one of the world’s best-known Bangladeshi’s, thrust into the political spotlight.
Student-led protests saw thousands take to the streets in an uprising against her Awami league government, which was accused of election rigging, human rights abuses and jailing critics.
When Ms Hasina fled to neighbouring India, student leaders picked Muhammad Yunus to unite a divided nation. As well as promising to stamp out corruption, he’s also faced the challenges of managing a refugee crisis on his doorstep and navigating cuts to foreign aid.
So, after nearly a year in the job, BBC News presenter and correspondent Rajini Vaidyanathan sat down with him to see how he is faring.
Subscribe here: http://bit.ly/1rbfUog
For more news, analysis and features visit: www.bbc.com/news
#Bangladesh #BBCNews
#BBCNews
It was the overthrow of Sheikh Hasina’s government last August that saw Muhammad Yunus, one of the world’s best-known Bangladeshi’s, thrust into the political spotlight.
Student-led protests saw thousands take to the streets in an uprising against her Awami league government, which was accused of election rigging, human rights abuses and jailing critics.
When Ms Hasina fled to neighbouring India, student leaders picked Muhammad Yunus to unite a divided nation. As well as promising to stamp out corruption, he’s also faced the challenges of managing a refugee crisis on his doorstep and navigating cuts to foreign aid.
So, after nearly a year in the job, BBC News presenter and correspondent Rajini Vaidyanathan sat down with him to see how he is faring.
Subscribe here: http://bit.ly/1rbfUog
For more news, analysis and features visit: www.bbc.com/news
#Bangladesh #BBCNews
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NewsTranscript
00:00Muhammad Yunus, a Nobel Prize-winning economist known as the banker to the world's poor.
00:07Already one of Bangladesh's best-known names as the founder of the Grameen Microfinance Bank.
00:14But at 84 came his greatest challenge.
00:18An uprising in Bangladesh last August saw protesters overthrow the Awami League government.
00:25Thousands stormed the Prime Minister's residence, an outpouring of anger against the leader who'd been in power for 15 years.
00:34Sheikh Hasina's accused of election rigging, corruption and human rights abuses, and of jailing her opponents.
00:42Under her rule, she accused Muhammad Yunus of sucking blood from the poor.
00:46He was charged on counts, including embezzlement, all of which he denies.
00:50A voice for the opposition, the student leaders who deposed Sheikh Hasina picked Muhammad Yunus to unite a divided nation.
00:59How do you feel?
01:00I feel good. I'm back. A lot of work to be done.
01:04How's he managed that?
01:06Almost a year into his time running Bangladesh, we asked him, and about what he's done to stamp out corruption.
01:13As chief advisor, I have full confidence in our inter-corruption commission that they're doing the right thing.
01:18Muhammad Yunus.
01:19Muhammad Yunus has been in the UK to receive an award from King Charles for promoting harmony.
01:27What are his thoughts on his country's investigation into the British MP, Tulip Sadiq,
01:32who's accused of illegally receiving land from her aunt, Bangladesh's former PM, something she denies.
01:40How are Trump's tariffs impacting Bangladesh, a country which produces much of the world's clothes?
01:46And what about the Rohingya refugee crisis on his doorstep, one which has largely been forgotten?
01:54So Professor Yunus, you were saying yesterday, I hear, that your first appearance on the BBC was as a young boy.
02:05Exactly. I was participating in the 8th international jamboree of the Boy Scouts in Canada.
02:13A city of tents rises at Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, where 10,000 youths...
02:17So I was on the way back, and somebody knew me, connected with BBC, he said,
02:23Oh, we'll arrange an interview for you in the Bangla program.
02:26What did you learn from the Boy Scouts that you still use as a lesson today?
02:30Lots of it, yes.
02:31Yeah?
02:32Be prepared, that's what they say.
02:35What does getting such an honour from the British monarch mean to you?
02:39Having an honour from the king is a fantastic opportunity to highlight the kind of work we're trying to do.
02:48And the theme and the subject of the award is harmony.
02:51That's precisely what we need in Bangladesh right now.
02:54It's a freedom, freedom of speech, it's a democracy, human rights, all the great things we were always dreaming about and never had it in Bangladesh.
03:04Bangladesh is an interesting country, half the population is under the age of 26.
03:10So there's a young population, and they led the whole uprising and made it happen.
03:14So what Bangladesh is doing could be an example, globally, saying that, yes, young people can wake up and say enough is enough.
03:23We want to have a different kind of world for ourselves.
03:25And yet, with the greatest respect, they picked an 84-year-old man to be the chief advisor.
03:31Yes, I tried to persuade them that that may not be a good choice, but somehow they kept on insisting.
03:36One of Keir Starmer's MPs, Tulip Sadiq, is the niece of Bangladesh's former Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina.
03:44Good evening.
03:44Authorities in Bangladesh, already investigating her aunt, have issued an arrest warrant for the Labour politician, accusing her of corruption, something she strongly denies.
03:55So the UK government's advisor on ministerial standards carried out an investigation into Tulip Sadiq.
04:01She was cleared.
04:03She says that your anti-corruption commission hasn't produced any evidence against her.
04:09Why is the ACC, the anti-corruption commission in Bangladesh, therefore still investigating her?
04:15Well, in a court matter, court will decide that enough materials are available to pursue the case or cancel.
04:23But you are the chief advisor in Bangladesh.
04:27You came in saying that you wanted to stamp out corruption.
04:29So I just repeat that question, really, because the head of the ACC says that this isn't an unsubstantiated investigation.
04:38I'll just take the quote here.
04:39He said the allegations are by no means targeted and baseless.
04:44And yet Sadiq's legal team say that they haven't seen any evidence.
04:48In fact, they say she hasn't even spoken to them.
04:51But the legal procedure needs the lawyers get together, exchange information with each other.
04:55Well, she's saying that hasn't happened.
04:59It's not too late yet.
05:00I mean, the procedure always takes time.
05:02Let's talk about aid.
05:04Bangladesh has been one of the top 10 recipients of UK aid.
05:09We've heard in recent weeks in the spending review that the foreign aid budget is going to be dramatically cut.
05:18How is that going to affect the people of Bangladesh?
05:20If it's not available, we still will continue to make our own efforts in doing things, increasing our own income.
05:28How much of a blow is it, Professor?
05:29It's a big blow.
05:30The British one?
05:32No, no.
05:32This is part of the life that goes on.
05:35Ups and downs.
05:35Today, reduce.
05:36Tomorrow, there will increase.
05:38Depending on situations, what you have here.
05:40But we have to deal with the situation.
05:42Like, suddenly, we hear that USAID stopped all the money completely, 100%, done, finished.
05:50And we see around what happened.
05:52Major, major things that happened in Bangladesh.
05:55Rohingya issue that we have, all the money is cut off.
05:58Zero.
05:59So the U.S. funding cuts are the biggest blow.
06:01Absolutely.
06:02Just one case.
06:04The USAID, not all the money.
06:05Just giving the case of USAID, the agency which deals with foreign aid from U.S. government.
06:13The whole Rohingya issue suddenly became a terrible news for us.
06:19And then ICDDRB, the most leading international research organization, which brought us a cure for cholera and many, many diseases globally.
06:29100% of the money cut off.
06:31They have no money to pay their salary.
06:33There's nearly 500 researchers working for that.
06:40Top-level researchers, international researchers, no money.
06:43They can't even get the salary, forget about the research money and so on.
06:46So, shocking things that happen.
06:48But we have to deal with that.
06:50Rohingyas cannot disappear just because the money disappeared.
06:54Close to a million Rohingya refugees who arrived in Bangladesh from 2017 onwards continue to live in limbo in Cox's bazaar.
07:04They fled persecution in neighbouring Myanmar.
07:07Reliant on aid, they remain stateless.
07:10It is a huge crisis, a refugee crisis that in some ways the world has forgotten.
07:16Sure.
07:17I've been to the camps in Cox's.
07:19I've seen with my own eyes how people have no freedom.
07:23They struggle for food.
07:24Food aids continuing to be cut.
07:26And children there do not really get a proper education.
07:31This is a crisis on your doorstep.
07:33Why aren't you doing more to help them?
07:36Us helping?
07:37Well, we are busy trying to solve the problem, internal problem that we have.
07:44This is a responsibility taken by the international community.
07:48But it's in Bangladesh.
07:49It's in Bangladesh.
07:50You're someone who's always, you're a Nobel Prize winner.
07:53You've always prided yourself on helping the most vulnerable.
07:56Sure.
07:56So the question again is, why aren't you doing more?
08:00I am doing my best.
08:02I just visited along with the Secretary General of the United Nations, the Rohingya camps,
08:06and met over 100,000 of them around us, discussing what needs to be done and made appeal to the world,
08:14facilitate this for them to go back.
08:18Repatriation is the only solution to that.
08:20People are busy taking care of their food and everything,
08:24but not talking about how to get them back to their own home.
08:27They are not destitute people.
08:28At the moment, Professor Yunus, it's not a solution because of what's happening in Myanmar.
08:33And I've spoken to people who would be absolutely terrified to go back because of the military junta there.
08:41So why can't you do more to ingratiate the Rohingya population and integrate them into Bangladesh?
08:49That will not be a solution.
08:51Why not?
08:52Already people are very hostile to the Rohingya people who are leaving with them around the camps.
08:59They're hostile because they see that it's international money coming to them.
09:04They're quote-unquote kind of taking it easy.
09:08Outside the camp, people have to work hard.
09:12But you've seen with your own eyes how dire the situation is.
09:16The policy for Bangladesh is not to let them come in and settle down.
09:21We have enough of problems ourselves.
09:23We can't take the whole new population coming into Bangladesh.
09:27No, they're suffering.
09:28Yes, that's why we gave them the accommodation.
09:30We didn't say, no, don't enter.
09:31We could have stopped them at the border.
09:33We said, please, we took them.
09:35And the international committee assured that they will take care of them.
09:39And they assured that they'll take them into their own countries.
09:42They divided the numbers, which country will take home.
09:46Bangladesh has a growing economy.
09:48It's the world's second largest exporter of ready-made garments after China.
09:53My fellow Americans, this is Liberation Day, waiting for a long time.
10:00On President Trump's so-called Liberation Day, the country was hit hard.
10:05Just tell me where we're at when it comes to discussions between Bangladesh and the U.S. on tariffs.
10:10We were shocked, just like any other country, trying to see what does it mean.
10:15And we have stopped 37% tax tariffs on that.
10:20So we said, what does it mean for our business?
10:22Because this is a very important item for our economy.
10:26We are the biggest exporter.
10:30Our biggest exporter is United States for the governments.
10:35So what happened to that because of the tariff and so on?
10:39Then while we were discussing, ideas came, well, this is shocking news,
10:44but it could be also an opportunity to revisit our own policies
10:47and see where we can have new opportunities doing business with the United States and so on.
10:54Let's talk about the future of your country.
10:55You've called for elections.
10:58You're the interim leader of the country.
11:02You said that the elections should be inclusive and participatory,
11:06but one criticism has been that you're excluding the Awami League,
11:11the party, of course, of the former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina,
11:14from taking part in the elections.
11:16Why are you not letting them take part?
11:18We have explained it many times.
11:20I'll explain it again.
11:21First of all, inclusiveness, whether the election will be inclusive
11:29if the Awami League is not participating.
11:32Recently, the resident coordinator of the United Nations in Dhaka,
11:36she has explained it very well.
11:38She said that inclusiveness doesn't mean a particular party.
11:41Inclusiveness means participation of all people.
11:45So as long as all people are participating, it's inclusive.
11:48There are many people in the country who still support the Awami League.
11:51We know that.
11:52Let them decide whether they want to vote or not, but they're available.
11:55They won't be able to vote for a candidate from the Awami League, though, will they?
11:59As long as they are voters, they are free to vote.
12:02But not for an Awami League candidate, unless the Awami League are allowed to take part.
12:06We have not banned Awami League yet.
12:08So there is a possibility, you're saying, that they could...
12:10No, first of all, to make it clear, the Awami League is not banned.
12:14Activities of Awami League has been banned.
12:15Which would include an election.
12:16And temporarily. And temporarily.
12:19Whether the election will be included or not, it depends on the election commission to decide.
12:24So there's a possibility, then, that they could be on the ballot in the next election?
12:28Again, it will be a decision made by the election commission.
12:31Okay.
12:32Let's talk about, since we're talking about the Awami League,
12:35Sheikh Hasina, she fled the country.
12:38Obviously, then, you took over.
12:44She's taking refuge in India.
12:46But ultimately, you want her back, don't you?
12:49You want to try her for all the crimes that she's accused of.
12:52The trial has already begun.
12:54So the trial is active, it's going on.
12:57And it will go to the legal process, looking for her to come back to face the trial and so on.
13:03Use the international system, how to get the accused person back to your country and so on.
13:09So these are, again, the legal procedures.
13:10How are you going to get her back?
13:12I mean, you meet Modi a lot.
13:12Well, use the international system.
13:15We don't have any power to grab her.
13:17But are you not frustrated with Modi for allowing her to stay there for so long?
13:21Even all that you accuse her of and all that the country has gone through,
13:26under not just her, but her associates who are also accused of crimes against humanity,
13:30of corruption, all the other things.
13:32It's not about hosting her in India.
13:35That probably will not bother Bangladesh very much.
13:38It is her voice which creates problems.
13:41She's always addressing people in Bangladesh, using airwaves to address that.
13:46So you think India should do more to stop her being able to make her addresses and speaking?
13:51You said it, you said it, yeah.
13:52Just on that point, since the interim government took over,
13:56hundreds of supporters or sympathisers of the Awami League have been arrested.
14:01Some people would ask, are you doing exactly what they did in silencing critics?
14:05It will be a shame to say that, because if you compare interim government with Awami League government,
14:12I don't think you understand Bangladesh.
14:13You understand the reality of Bangladesh.
14:16What is Awami League and what is the interim government?
14:18These aren't my words.
14:19No, no, somebody is saying that.
14:21I'm just saying that you have been to Bangladesh.
14:24So that's absolutely not the correct image.
14:26And just on that, the other criticism that some have had, even a Labour MP raised this in Parliament at the end of last year,
14:33is incidents of violence towards minorities, notably the Hindu minority in the country.
14:39There's been a lot of concern in India.
14:40Are you doing enough to protect Hindus?
14:42This has been answered probably a million times.
14:45We said, invite all the journalists to come identify those places where Hindus have been killed,
14:52or how they were killed, and what happened to them, and so on.
14:56This is all fake news coming up, one after another.
15:00So we said, come and count them.
15:01We're here.
15:02We are not running away.
15:03What about the Hindu monk who was attacked?
15:05Did that not happen then, for example?
15:06Well, if there's one Hindu monk who was attacked, you go and law will take care of itself.
15:12It's not about massive killing and so on.
15:14That's a completely different picture.
15:16So you don't confuse between the legal issues and the violence issues and something else.
15:21So we're trying to make people aware of the reality of it.
15:25Do you think you've done a good job as interim leader?
15:28People will judge.
15:29I don't know.
15:30I'm not a guy who runs the country.
15:33Suddenly I'm pushed into it, and I'm doing my best.
15:35That's all I can say.
15:36You've done a lot in your life.
15:38What would you say has been your greatest achievement since you've taken over running Bangladesh?
15:43Try to calm down.
15:47Enormous amount of outbursts of hatred and outbursts of anger.
15:53It's an impossible task for 180 million people, and mostly young people, as I mentioned.
16:01When the outburst comes, you burn everything.
16:04So what I would say our presence, me and my colleagues in the interim government, cool it down.
16:13They're not killing each other.
16:14They're getting back to work.
16:16They're going back to the factories.
16:17They're going back to the export.
16:18Export increased.
16:20Instead of export declining and getting to zero gradually, it's increasing from the previous level.
16:28Our empty banks are filling up again.
16:33Our foreign exchange reserves are going up and up.
16:37There has been some criticism, though, over the rise of activities of some hardline Islamist groups.
16:45What would you say to people who are concerned that your government is sympathetic to Islamists?
16:51Our government is not Islamist sympathizer or something else.
16:56We are trying to create a democratic environment.
17:00Everybody has a right to speak out.
17:02Say your thing.
17:03That's what they do.
17:05Just finally, because we have to wrap up, you talked about wanting to create a new civilization.
17:11That's right.
17:12I still do.
17:12Tell me about that.
17:14What is wrong with the current civilization and what should a new civilization look like?
17:19I've been trying to understand why we're having all these problems.
17:24And every time I look at it, I come back to the same thing.
17:28We have created over these years a wrong civilization, a self-destructive civilization.
17:36We are so proud of all the things happening in the world, the economic growth and so on,
17:43fantastic opportunities coming up, technology coming up.
17:47To do what?
17:48The process that we have created, it will be a process where all the wealth of the world will be ending up with that,
17:56owned by one person, if this system continues.
17:58I said, that's not a viable system.
18:00It's a system which will collapse by itself.
18:02All these things together, this will destroy itself.
18:06I said, before we get into that situation, why don't we create a new civilization?
18:11And that's why I described a civilization with three zeros,
18:15where it will be zero net carbon emissions, zero wealth concentration, zero unemployment.
18:18That's it.
18:20And will you stay on longer in the job?
18:23We have declared the election after the election.
18:26That's it.
18:26New government comes.
18:27And then you retire.
18:28Thank you very much.
18:29No, retire.
18:29Go back to my work.
18:31I think that's a perfect note to end the interview.
18:33Thank you very much.
18:34Thank you very much.
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