When Will the Troublemaker Dr. Yunus Leave?

Opinion

Golden Bengal is gripped by the terror of cremation grounds today. There is no hope of returning unharmed once you step out of your home. If you become a target of the so-called July activists, it goes without saying—survival itself is extremely dangerous. Death seems to lurk at every step, from city to village. A chilling fear has engulfed Bangladesh, from the metropolis to the countryside. Just a year ago, the world looked at this country with awe as a marvel of economic growth. But in just nine months of destruction, the occupying Dr. Yunus is steering this nation toward the fate of Afghanistan and Iraq.

The young, tender-hearted students he once misled with illusions of magic now have no dreams left in their eyes. A gray darkness is swallowing their future.

The unstoppable progress of women has come to a halt. Women now walk the streets with fear as their companion. Yunus’s associate, Debapriya Bhattacharya, has revealed that 1.8 million women have lost their jobs in the last nine months. Violence against women continues to rise. While Yunus gained global fame by speaking for poor Bangladeshi women through campaigns and advertisements, his true face was exposed once he seized power illegally. Under his patronage and with the backing of regressive political forces, the country’s women have become targets of reactionary circles. Using religion as a tool, not only women but also Hindu and other minority communities have been targeted.

After the bloodshed of July-August under Dr. Yunus’s so-called “Meticulous Plan,” the reactionary forces and anti-liberation groups reveled in the bloodbath across green Bangladesh. Under the cover of mob terrorism, these anti-liberation elements and so-called July activists have spread chaos and established their reign of terror. Along with Awami League leaders, activists, and supporters, progressive ordinary citizens have also fallen victim to their mob violence. Fundamental rights have been trampled. The spirit of the Liberation War and human rights have been pushed far away. What kind of Bangladesh are we seeing today?

The poor have no food in their stomachs, the youth have no dreams in their eyes, women’s eyes are filled with tears, farmers’ crops are dying in the fields, laborers have no jobs, and if they do, they receive no wages. Professionals are confused, and government employees are victims of mob terror. Farmers are committing suicide due to unfair prices for their produce. Factories continue to shut down, and the number of unemployed workers keeps rising. People say they had heard of the “Land of the Mugs,” but now they are witnessing the “Land of Mobs.” Scholars call this mobocracy. Where will the people go? There is no security. The police force has been rendered powerless under the constant threat of murder, lawsuits, and dismissals.

Murders, thefts, robberies, snatching, extortion, and rapes are on the rise. Militants and top terrorists have been unlawfully released. They now openly parade in the heart of the capital. Unprecedented incidents have occurred in court premises. Mob terrorists have forcibly forced the entire Appellate Division to resign. Just as terrorists and militants have been freed by flouting the law, over 150,000 Awami League leaders and activists have been imprisoned.

Mob terrorism in court premises has become a daily occurrence. To take revenge for war crimes trials, false cases are being filed en masse to execute Bangabandhu’s daughter Sheikh Hasina and other leaders. Such incidents are hard to find not only in Bangladesh but in modern world history. The militants and terrorists brought to justice by the Awami League government have been released. Even the killers of 1971, who were under trial, are being freed.

The political party that led the Liberation War and rebuilt war-torn Bangladesh—the Awami League—has been banned. Thousands of its workers are now in prison. People are being attacked in court premises. Journalists have been made accused in murder cases, teachers have been assaulted and humiliated. Police officers have been brutally killed. Now, they are undermining the dignity of the civil administration.

Without public consent, critical national assets like the Chittagong Port are being handed over to foreign powers. Under the guise of “humanitarian corridors,” Bangladesh is being dragged into global conflicts. In this way, the illegal occupier Yunus and his gang are pushing the independence and sovereignty of our motherland to the brink. They are even provoking conflicts with the patriotic armed forces.

In such unbearable and inhumane conditions, there is no alternative but to unite and fight with the spirit of the Great Liberation War. Even during the Liberation War, the bans imposed by the Pakistani rulers could not suppress the Awami League. As the political party of the people, we believe the Awami League, along with other progressive forces, has always stood and will continue to stand with the people of this country.

Amid such fragile law and order, the Yunus regime has brought foreign relations to the brink of disaster. Though allegations were raised against the Awami League regarding unequal treaties with various countries, not a single proof has been presented in nine months, nor has any treaty been canceled. In other words, Yunus and his gang have turned Bangladesh into a paradise of falsehood.

All healthy practices of Bengali culture are being obstructed and shut down, and shrines have been destroyed. The world is saying this government is on its way to becoming a champion in violating freedom of speech and human rights. Meanwhile, with all domestic and foreign investments frozen, the economy is in shambles. Development activities have come to a standstill. While the people have seen no progress in the last nine months, Yunus himself has been steadily prospering.

The lives of the people have hit a dead end. The only way out of this situation is the peaceful exit of the Nobel Peace Prize winner who has become the architect of unrest in Bangladesh—Muhammad Yunus. The people of Bangladesh now have only one option: Yunus has to go.

Bangladesh will surely be free, Insha’Allah.

-Ali Shariati Ubach