Interview to Zeteo’s Mehdi Hassan
Violence against Hindus not increased, crime under control: Chief Adviser
Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus is currently on an official visit to New York to attend the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly. On the sidelines of the session, he gave an interview to Mehdi Hassan of the digital media outlet Zeteo. In the interview, he spoke on a wide range of issues including the July Uprising, the fall of the Awami League government, his assumption of office as Chief Adviser to the interim administration, the law and order situation in the country, and issues including minority repression. In the interview, parts of the Chief Adviser’s remarks on minority repression, India’s role in this regard, and the country’s law and order situation are presented below in a question-and-answer format for readers of Prothom Alo.
Talking about some of the other criticisms made by people from outside Bangladesh— I want to give you an opportunity to respond. Last November around 30,000 Hindus in Bangladesh gathered to protest against your government claiming there have been thousands of attacks on their community. Donald Trump even weighed in at the time calling violence in Bangladesh barbaric, I think is the word he used. What is it going to take to get that kind of violence and we can talk about how large or small it is under control or is it under control in your view?
Muhammad Yunus: First of all, these are fake news. You can’t go by those fake news. Even what…
I quoted Donald Trump and then you said fake news. Interesting!
Muhammad Yunus: Yes, yes. Wheatear Donald Trump ever said anything like that. Whether he had any knowledge of what’s happening in Bangladesh right now.
You’re saying it’s not just exaggerated. You’re saying there are, is there any violence against Hindus? Even the New York Times report reported recently about several episodes of vandalism, mob violence, police arrested a Hindu monk last November simply for raising a Hindu flag over a Bangladeshi flag. That’s the kind that is happening, right? You can’t deny it.
Muhammad Yunus: One of the specialties of India right now is fake news. A barrage of fake news.
No, no, I understand. I understand. But that’s exaggeration. But I’m saying, are you saying there’s no anti-Hindu violence?
Muhammad Yunus: It’s true. There is a normal kind of relationship that goes on. There’s some conflict sometimes, some family problem, land problem and something. You happen to be my neighbour, you are a Hindu neighbour, I am a Muslim neighbour. We have problem with our land demarcation. Just like two neighbours. So you say this is Hindu, Muslim, that’s not it. This is common.
But your position is it has increased since the revolution even though the times and other independent reporters saying it has.
Muhammad Yunus: No, it has not increased. Then I would say government is very alert on that one. Because this is the one thing the India is always pushing that we are bringing pressure on.
What is your message as the de facto prime minister leader whatever you want to call chief advisor of Bangladesh to Hindus in Bangladesh who do feel under siege. What do you say to them?
Muhammad Yunus: We just met before I came because there’s a big puja coming up, Durga puja. So, I met them.
My message to them always when I meet them as a community as a community group of community leaders that don’t go back and say I’m a Hindu so protect me. Always say I’m a citizen of this country. I’m entitled to all the protection state is supposed to give it to me. So, then you have a bigger coverage. All the people who are deprived of the rightful treatment from the state will be with you. Don’t isolate yourself. We belong to the same community, same people of this country. So, demand your rightful obligation of the state that you have to be kept safe.
On that note then, you broaden it to the wider community. The wider Bangladeshi community, not just Hindus or Muslims, but Bangladeshis as a whole are feeling a little bit insecure about violence, about crime. Dozens of police officers were obviously killed in the wake of Hasina’s departure. There have been several revenge attacks on people associated with the Awami League. I believe abductions have doubled, robbery cases have reached their highest point for six years. A lot of the police chiefs were removed obviously for, you know, allegedly being close to the Awami League. With the benefit of hindsight, obviously, there’s chaos after a revolution. You come in as a caretaker, but in with hindsight, do you think your government could have better done a better job when it comes to law and order?
Muhammad Yunus: Always anybody who have gone through your history saying you going to do better. Always happens. So to in that spirit you will say do better. Imagine this is an uprising. Everything fell apart. Government left and people who are shooting yesterday at you today they are doing the job as a peace keeper. You don’t know who is what side that guy is on actually. So you have a kind of a period where you totally in a kind of mess. You don’t know who’s which side what happened what is the reality of it. So during that period is a transition period. When it settled down…
Has it settled down?
Muhammad Yunus: Of course.
Is crime under control in Bangladesh now in your view?
Muhammad Yunus: Definitely.
Because even Bangladesh’s army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman said to the public earlier this year “If you cannot set aside your differences and work together, If you keep blaming and fighting each other, the independence and sovereignty of this country will be at risk.” Do you worry about that?
Muhammad Yunus: This is a nice word. Any person would say that if you fight sovereignty will be at risk.
This is the head of your army. He’s not saying it for no reason.
Muhammad Yunus: I said this is a common thing. Anybody could say such a thing.
Do you agree with that?
Muhammad Yunus: Anybody will agree. If you fight, this is our common goal. We say stay united.
But he (army chief) said because people are fighting with each other because things are out of control.
Muhammad Yunus: No, not in that spirit. If you fight, you say ‘You’re fighting’. If you fight.
Mehdi Hassan: We can pass the language of your army chief. People can determine what he meant by that.