Nobel winner's entry into Bangladeshi politics stirs debate
Muhammad Yunus won the Nobel Peace Prize last year. Now he's starting a political party in Bangladesh.
from the March 15, 2007 edition
Page 2 of 3
Yunus prompts talk of 'cleaner' rule
Debapriya Bhattacharya, a prominent civil-society leader and a director of the Dhaka-based economic think tank Centre for Policy Dialogue sees Yunus' entry into politics as positive.
"A positive outcome of Yunus's party is already apparent as the Awami League and the BNP are both talking about internal reforms to a party system characterized by a lack of democracy, influence of black money and muscle power, as well as a mismatch between commitments and delivery, when either were in power," Mr. Bhattacharya says.
Yet, while most Bangladeshis desperately want change in a political culture embedded with corruption and abuse of power, Yunus's Citizens' Power – which intends to field 'clean candidates' – has at best drawn mixed reactions.
"Many people who love and respect Yunus and are intellectually close to him are resisting his entry into politics because they fear it will make him a controversial figure," says Atatur Rahman, a political analyst and a professor at Dhaka University. "It is impossible to win elections in Bangladesh without spending millions [of taka] in campaigns, and if he wants to win elections, Yunus will more likely have to conform to the existing political culture rather than be able to change it radically," says Mr. Rahman.
"We love and respect Yunus very much – and he should remain above petty politics and cheap strategies to win elections. We want him to become an ombudsmanlike personality in public life," says Golam Mohammad Rana, a student at the University. Yunus was scheduled to be the main speaker at a recent convocation ceremony at the university, but the university revised its decision after student and teacher groups protested, identifying him more in his new political avatar rather than as a social entrepreneur.
Double standards?
The talk in political circles keeps returning to the timing of Yunus's move. "We are worried that Yunus is coming into politics backed by powerful groups within the Army and civil society, as well as international powers," says former lawmaker Rashed Khan Menon, who heads the Workers Party of Bangladesh. Mr. Menon believes the creation of Citizens' Power is following the pattern in which the BNP and Jatiya Party were formed to transition a military dictatorship into democracy.
"The fact that Yunus is being able to carry on political activities when all the other parties are straitjacketed by the state of emergency implies a tacit endorsement by the current regime," says Awami League politician and former public servant AMA Muhith.
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