By IANS,
Dhaka: A top US official has asked Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to compromise on the removal of Muhammad Yunus from the Grameen Bank, saying his its micro credit system has helped many people.
“We hope this can be resolved mutually in an amicable way and a compromise will be found that will ensure the integrity and effectiveness of the Grameen Bank, because it has been an important institution for Bangladesh, particularly for ensuring empowerment of women,” Robert O. Blake, US assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia, was quoted as saying by the New Age.
Blake, who arrived here Saturday afternoon on a four-day visit, said Bangladesh’s leader of opposition and former prime minister, Khaleda Zia, who he had met Saturday, agreed with him. Blake is also scheduled to meet Yunus and Hasina during the visit.
“The US has concerns about the way the matter (removal of Yunus) has been handled,” Blake said, adding that Grameen Bank and Nobel laureate Yunus were held in high esteem in America.
“Certainly, you have already seen the statements our government has made in this regard. In addition to this, a number of senators and congressmen have sent letters to Bangladesh expressing their concerns about the issue,” he said.
Yunus was removed through an order of the Bangladesh Bank – the country’s central bank – after the government’s requests to him to step down did not work.
Yunus, 70, denies having refused, but sought time to choose a successor to ensure a smooth transition.
He lost an appeal before the high court and the matter is pending before the Supreme Court.
Former World Bank president James D. Wolfensohn is scheduled to arrive in Dhaka “in what may be a final attempt to try and negotiate a settlement in the conflict between the government and Muhammad Yunus,” the daily said.
Wolfensohn was the World Bank chief between 1995 and 2005. He is also one of the founder-members of the Friends of Grameen, a body of several global personalities formed to support Yunus.