Bangladesh asked to find a compromise to end bank crisis Skip to main content

Bangladesh asked to find a compromise to end bank crisis

Dhaka, Bangladesh (CNN) -- The Bangladeshi government has been asked to find a compromise to bring an end to the Grameen Bank crisis created by removing its founder, microcredit pioneer Muhammad Yunus.

"We remain hopeful that a compromise solution can be reached to the satisfaction of all parties," said Robert O. Blake, U.S. assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian affairs, as he was wrapping up his four-day Bangladesh visit on Tuesday.

Yunus "has brought great honor to Bangladesh, and we in the United States have been deeply troubled by the difficulties he is currently facing," Blake said at a press conference at American Club in Dhaka.

Blake said failure to achieve a compromise would have some effect on bilateral relations between the two countries.

"As a friend and partner of Bangladesh, we are concerned about the dampening effect this will have on civil society in general and on the integrity and effectiveness of Grameen Bank in particular," he said.

"We see it is a distraction and an unnecessary departure from all great work being done in Bangladesh," he said.

Blake, who arrived in Dhaka on Saturday, met with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina; Khaleda Zia, leader of the opposition in Parliament; Finance Minister AMA Muhith; senior government officials, Yunus and civil society members.

Earlier this month, the 70-year-old Yunus was removed from Grameen Bank, which he founded three decades ago. The Central Bank of Bangladesh, the regulatory authority in the South Asian nation, cited his age in explaining his removal as managing director.

The government, which has a 25% stake in Grameen, said the bank's rules required Yunus to end his service when he turned 60.

Yunus challenged the order and filed a petition with the High Court, which finally upheld the government order.

Yunus and nine directors of his Grameen Bank again filed two petitions with the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court seeking a stay of the High Court order. The petitions are now pending with the Appellate Division, and the case is expected to come up for hearing by the end of March.

Grameen's work cast a global spotlight on microcredit, a then-novel idea of making small loans to poor people who would not qualify for standard bank loans. For their efforts, Yunus and Grameen Bank won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. He also was awarded the American Presidential Medal of Freedom and a Congressional Gold Medal.

Blake said of Yunus: "His work over the past decades to lift millions of women out of poverty is internationally recognized."

As Blake met Hasina, also present was former World Bank President James D. Wolfensohn, one of the founders of Friends of Grameen, an international forum supporting Yunus and his Grameen Bank. He was in Dhaka on a private visit.

Earlier, U.S. Senator John Kerry, D-Massachusetts, said in a statement that he was "deeply concerned" about the efforts to remove Yunus as managing director of the bank.

"The international community will watch this situation closely, and I hope that both sides can reach a compromise that maintains Grameen Bank's autonomy and effectiveness," said Kerry, who is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

"Institutions like the Grameen Bank make a significant contribution to Bangladesh's development and democracy, and Professor Yunus' lifelong work to reduce poverty and empower women through microloans has deservedly received worldwide attention and respect," Kerry said.

Yunus' supporters have said the government's effort to remove him has little to do with age and much to do with opposition to microcredit and Grameen's execution of it. Critics of microcredit have charged that lenders were making big money from small loans.

Others have suggested that the actions against Yunus are politically motivated, a claim denied by the government. Yunus' supporters say he has been under fire for criticizing politicians and trying to form his own political party four years ago during an interim, unelected, military-backed government. That party was later abandoned.

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/03/22/bangladesh.bank.crisis/index.html

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Chronology of the Press in Burma

1836 – 1846 * During this period the first English-language newspaper was launched under British-ruled Tenasserim, southern  Burma . The first ethnic Karen-language and Burmese-language newspapers also appear in this period.     March 3, 1836 —The first English-language newspaper,  The Maulmain Chronicle , appears in the city of Moulmein in British-ruled Tenasserim. The paper, first published by a British official named E.A. Blundell, continued up until the 1950s. September 1842 —Tavoy’s  Hsa-tu-gaw  (the  Morning Star ), a monthly publication in the Karen-language of  Sgaw ,  is established by the Baptist mission. It is the first ethnic language newspaper. Circulation reached about three hundred until its publication ceased in 1849. January 1843 —The Baptist mission publishes a monthly newspaper, the Christian  Dhamma  Thadinsa  (the  Religious Herald ), in ...

Sri Bhaddanta Chandramani Mahathera

The Life Story of A Distinguished And Outstanding Bhikkhu The Most Venerable Saradawpharagree Sri Bhaddanta Chandramani Mahathera The Buddhist missionary Saradaw Ashin U Chandramani was endowed with great gifts and led a famous and long life. He was a very well known, distinguished and outstanding Bhikkhu Mahathera. While living in the Kushinagar Monastery, a place close to where the Lord Buddha had passed away to Nirvana, the Government of India had offered, and he had accepted, the highest, most honourable and respected title "Guru Guru MahaGuru". He became the first ever President of all Buddhists in India.A World Buddhist Conference took place in Kathmandu during the reign of King Mahindra of Nepal. The Conference was very well attended by over one hundred thousand Buddhists from various parts of the world and it was opened by King Mahindra himself. As requested by the King, Saradawpharagree blessed all the participants with the power of Triple Gems...

Thai penis whitening trend raises eyebrows

Image copyright LELUXHOSPITAL Image caption Authorities warn the procedure could be quite painful A supposed trend of penis whitening has captivated Thailand in recent days and left it asking if the country's beauty industry is taking things too far. Skin whitening is nothing new in many Asian countries, where darker skin is often associated with outdoor labour, therefore, being poorer. But even so, when a clip of a clinic's latest intriguing procedure was posted online, it quickly went viral. Thailand's health ministry has since issued a warning over the procedure. The BBC Thai service spoke to one patient who had undergone the treatment, who told them: "I wanted to feel more confident in my swimming briefs". The 30-year-old said his first session of several was two months ago, and he had since seen a definite change in the shade. 'What for?' The original Facebook post from the clinic offering the treatment, which uses lasers to break do...