Efter at have overlevet et bestyrelsesmøde mandag, faldt hammeren onsdag over Nobelpristageren Muhammed Yunus, der ifølge et brev fra National-banken i Bangladesh er blevet bedt om at forlade direktørposten for Grameen Banken, som han stiftede for år tilbage med det formål at hjælpe fattige med små lån og opsparingsordninger.
Den dramatiske udvikling er kulminationen på længere tids strid mellem Yunus og den bangalske regering.
Muhammad Yunus has said that he will fight attempts to remove him from the Grameen microfinance bank, BBC online reports Wednesday.
The central bank (nationalbanken) sacked him saying he was past retirement age and had been improperly installed in his post. Grameen Bank disputes the accusations. It says it is taking legal advice and that Prof Yunus remains in office.
The dispute over Prof Yunus’ sacking is therefore likely to end up being resolved by the courts.
The government owns a 25 per cent stake in Grameen.
Bangladesh Bank, the country’s central bank, said that Prof Yunus had violated the country’s retirement laws by staying on as Grameen’s head long past the mandatory retirement age of 60. Prof Yunus is 70.
– Bangladesh Bank has relieved Yunus of his duties as managing director of the Grameen Bank, Muzammel Huq, the government-appointed chairman of Grameen Bank, said.
Mr Huq also said that Prof Yunus had not received the required approval from Bangladesh Bank when he was appointed managing director in 1999.
– Grameen Bank by-laws clearly state that the managing director should be appointed by the board with the prior approval of the Bangladesh Bank, he said.
AMERIKANSK OPSTANDELSE
In a statement to the Dhaka-based newspaper “New Age”, the United States embassy in Bangladesh said that it was “deeply troubled” by the Bangladesh Bank letter.
The US embassy added that it was “following developments closely and is waiting for clarification from the government of Bangladesh. We hope that a mutually satisfactory compromise can be achieved that will ensure the Grameen Bank’s autonomy and effectiveness”.
The United States had been strongly urging the Bangladesh government against forcing Muhammed Yunus from office.
Concern was also expressed by the newly established group, Friends of Grameen, chaired by Mary Robinson, the former president of Ireland, who denounced the “new attempt of destablisation against Professor Yunus”.
In the past, the Bangladesh Bank was not involved in the regulation of the Grameen Bank but in recent years it has been slowly taking over the supervision of the bank, according to an official.
Mozammel Huq, the chair of Grameen Bank appointed by the government, told New Age that the senior most manager of the Grameen Bank, deputy managing director Nurjahan Begum, should now take over the position of the managing director.
OGSÅ MANGE PROTESTER I BANGLADESH
Economists, rights activists and jurists saw the removal of Muhammad Yunus from Grameen Bank as a move to harass an individual instead of bringing remedy to people’s sufferings caused by the much-hyped micro credit.
Jahangirnagar University’s economics teacher Anu Muhammad said that the government’s action was not appropriate as it would not end the sufferings of the thousands of people who were caught in a cycle of debt because of micro-credit, writes “New Age”.
– There was no move to assess the functionality of micro-credit and to investigate the anomalies (uregelmæssighederne) in the bank’s corporate process. What the government is doing will create an impression that it was being done out personal vengeance (for at tage hævn), he said.
– Removing only Yunus or taking the bank under government control keeping the model and the structure intact would bring no good for the people, he stated.
Dhaka University’s development studies teacher Mahbubullah said that the way Yunus was removed was indecent. – Yunus contributed a lot to establishing Bangladesh’s image in the global arena. Such an unceremonious exit of him does not look decent, he said.
– Yes, there are so many points to criticise him such as the interest rate of the bank. But we should recognise that the bank’s activity had contributed to the empowerment of the poor too, he said, adding:
– We should also take into account the participation of a huge number of people in the Grameen network. Are all of them fools?’
The executive director of Nijera Kori, Khushi Kabir, said that the way Yunus was removed seemed to be a synchronised attempt to harass him. – I have been seriously critical of micro-credit for long and still believe that it could bring no good for the poor. But they way Yunus has been dealt with is not acceptable, she said.
One of the South Asian country’s most senior lawyers, not involved in any of the current litigation (retstvister) involving Muhammad Yunus, questioned the bona fide intention of the Bangladesh Bank’s action (om banken var i god tro).
Supreme Court lawyer M Zahir told New Age, that “After so many years, they are coming and saying this? The Bangladesh Bank knew very well that Yunus was the managing director and now they are suddenly waking up and saying that he does not have the sanction. It is not bona fide”.
– If the Bangladesh Bank allowed Yunus to continue as managing director all these years, why should he not have assumed (antaget) that it approved of his appointment. The assumption must be that the Bangladesh Bank is satisfied with Yunus’s appointment, he stated.
– Why, I ask, did the Bangladesh Bank wake up so late and why against such a person as the Nobel laureate?
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http://www.u-landsnyt.dk/nyhed/01-03-11/muhammed-yunus-overlever-fors-g-p-afs-tte-ham-st-r
