Four leaders of three political parties, including the unregistered National Citizen Party (NCP), are accompanying Dr. Muhammad Yunus in his New York tour as stakeholders of the unconstitutional interim government, which is losing public trust and neutrality day by day.
Political observers say Yunus is trying to shift blame for his inefficiency and mismanagement to the three parties, of which NCP is his brainchild. Through this visit, he will try to create a consensus on growing US influence in Bangladesh and contentious issues, like the Rakhine Corridor, Chittagong Port handling, Boeing purchase, and deep-sea exploration.
Yunus may also try to evade protests by the Awami League leaders and activists. In reality, the presence of a top BNP leader, like Fakhrul, makes him a security guard of Yunus.
Earlier, Yunus created discontent among all the parties after holding a meeting with BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman in London.
It should be noted that Yunus has always held meetings with these parties whenever he faced any tough situation since taking the oath in August last year.
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The leaders who are part of the state visit are BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Tarique Rahman’s Foreign Affairs Adviser Humayun Kabir, Jamaat-e-Islami Nayeb-e-Amir Dr. Syed Abdullah Md. Taher and NCP Member Secretary Akhtar Hossain. Jamaat leader Taher recently said that his party led the anti-quota and anti-government movements last year, backed by the Bangladesh Army, the US, and the UN.
They will not attend the UNGA or any meeting with the US government, but may be seen joining political programmes in New York.
At the moment, these parties are at loggerheads over the process of holding the next parliamentary elections in early February. Moreover, the government is blamed for growing mob violence and extremism, extortion, corruption, arbitrary arrests and human rights violations.
Last year, Yunus took with him some student representatives and introduced his special assistant and now adviser, Mahfuj Alam, as the brain behind the โmeticulously designedโ movement, adding that it was not spontaneous.
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Over the past two days, Bangla Tribune spoke to at least 10 senior political leaders of the country about this visit. They say that there are two aspects to this visit. One is visible, the other is shrouded in mystery.
Speaking to Bangla Tribune on Friday, Fakhrul said: โChief Adviser Dr. Muhammad Yunus is trying to show neutrality. He also wants to show that he is doing his work completely neutrally. There are also two important meetings. There is a meeting with the expatriates; he probably wants us there.โ
Media reports say the government did not consult Fakhrul before adding his name.
BNP policymakers say the US is behind the plan to include the four politicians in the entourage. They raised questions about the criteria for selecting them, especially the NCP representative.
Saiful Haque, one of the leaders of the Ganatantra Moncho, said that Yunus is trying to reach an understanding over the ongoing political situation, the upcoming elections, and US influence in Bangladesh. โThey may also have the issue of the US military presence here. I have also told the government that they need to clarify these things.โ
The country’s leftist parties have already expressed deep concern over the US-Bangladesh joint exercise in Chittagong-Cox’s Bazar, the entry of US troops without immigration, secret meetings at the Cox’s Bazar air base, and inspections and tests at the air base.
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