Who is Muhammad Yunus, who Bangladeshi students want as chief adviser to the interim government?
Visit our website:
http://www.france24.com
Like us on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/FRANCE24.English
Follow us on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/France24_en
Category
đź—ž
NewsTranscript
00:00Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus has been approached by Bangladesh's Student Protest
00:05Movement to be a special advisor to the new interim government.
00:09As of yet, there's been no confirmation as to whether the economist will take the position.
00:13But speaking to France 24, Yunus was enthusiastic about the prospect for his country following
00:18the toppling of autocratic former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
00:22Interim government announced right now, the concept of interim government who will be
00:26responsible for holding elections, because we didn't have an election for many years
00:30now.
00:31So for the first time, it will be an election, fair, transparent election, so that everybody
00:35can vote and decide what kind of people they want to send to the government, what kind
00:39of people they want to the parliament.
00:41Yunus, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his pioneering work in microcredit, making
00:48bank loans accessible to poorer citizens, has maintained credibility with Bangladesh's
00:53protesters.
00:54This is largely due to the Hasina government targeting him with recurrent lawsuits, 174
01:00in total.
01:01In January this year, he was sentenced to six months in prison on labor law violations
01:05that were released on bail pending an appeal.
01:08Yunus does not mince his words about how he viewed the outgoing government.
01:14Everybody's happy that finally we're free, and corruption at every stage, massive corruption.
01:20Corruption by the head of the army, corruption by the head of police, corruption by every
01:23single institution, corrupt practices and so on.
01:26Nothing gets done.
01:27So simply say, well, we'll take care of it, we'll find a way.
01:31Now aged 84, Yunus declares he has no interest in taking on a leadership role in any future
01:36government.
01:37Mohamed Yunus, I see you as a possible leader.
01:40I don't know whether you have any ambitions along those lines.
01:42No, I don't have that ambition because I'm dedicated to the work that I do.
01:45I hopefully continue, but I was restricted by the Hasina regime.
01:51But Yunus has a clear interest in the political developments of his country, the eighth most
01:56populous in the world, with one of the fastest growing economies.