What Yunus said about ‘Awami League ban’ in Zeteo interview
The party cannot run for office now, but they remain valid as a party, Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus tells Zeteo’s Mehdi Hasan.
Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, in a recent interview with Zeteo's Mehdi Hasan, clarified that the Awami League has not been banned, saying its political activities have only been suspended.
In the interview on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Mehdi pointed out that critics such as Amartya Sen and others said banning the Awami League would go against democratic values.
In response, Yunus said, "It's the wrong criticism because we have not banned the Awami League. Their activities have simply been suspended. Meaning that they cannot do any political activities."
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He added that the party cannot run for office now, but they remain valid as a party.
Yunus also alleged that the Awami League was trying to disrupt the national election.
"[Awami League] is not behaving as a political party. They have not expressed remorse for killing people. They have not taken responsibility for anything that they have done. Not a word. Instead, they're always accusing somebody else."
Asked what India Prime Minister Narendra Modi told him about harbouring ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, Yunus said, "I have spoken to Modi [about sending her back]. He said two things. First, they said, they want to keep her. I said we can't tell you what to do with her. But make sure she doesn't talk about us. She doesn't talk about Bangladeshi people. He said, the social media I cannot control."
Yunus further said, "They have been supporting her all along. They're still hoping that she will come back to Bangladesh with full glory, returning as a victorious leader."
