No objection to AL contesting polls: Yunus tells The Hindu

The interim government has no objection to Awami League contesting the polls, Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus told The Hindu in an interview today

Asked if AL will be allowed in polls, he said, "We didn't want to take decisions about the political party, and the BNP has done that, saying that all political parties must contest elections. So they already made the verdict, and we cannot defy the opinion of a major party of the country."

When asked if he had an objection to the Awami League contesting, Yunus said, "I'm not a politician to choose one party or another party. I am facilitating the politicians' wishes."

He also addressed Indian media's reports over the rise of radicalism in Bangladesh and lack of safety for minorities, terming it "propaganda", and highlighted his views on bilateral ties with India.  

On Hasina's return, he said Bangladesh will continue to pursue the extradition of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina from India.

Asked on Hasina's presence in India, Yunus said her living there "... at least for the time being, is not a problem."

"Talking to Bangladesh is the problem. She is talking to Bangladeshi people, and it is political. She is continuing her political activities, which is the problem," he said. 

He said Hasina in an audio clip was asking people to come and demonstrate in the streets of different cities and "telling them to hold pictures of [US President-elect] Donald Trump [as shields], so that if the police stop them, they will say the Bangladesh government is against the US. This is interfering with the internal and external matters of another country."

When asked why Bangladesh had not sought an extradition yet despite there being a treaty on the issue between the two countries (Bangladesh and India), he said, "I think there are legal steps which we are taking towards, but we have not come to that stage yet."

Asked what would happen if India did not accept a treaty request, Yunus responded, "Are you saying India would violate the treaty? Yes, there are such clauses, but if the Indian government were to use them to keep [Hasina] there, that will not make a very happy relationship between us."

He cautioned that although the interim government was short-lived, India's refusal would not be "forgiven by any government that comes after us."

Propaganda being spread

Yunus said the Indian government's numerous statements expressing concern about how Hindus are being targeted were already discussed between him and Indian PM Narendra Modi.

"In my first phone call with Prime Minister Modi [on 16 August], that's precisely what he said, that minorities are being treated badly in Bangladesh and so on. I told him, very clearly, that it's propaganda. After many reporters came here, there were some reports about some tensions, but not in the way that's been built up in the media," he said.

He also highlighted that every single member of the cabinet was either a human rights activist who had suffered themselves, or an environmental activist, or a gender activist or other activist. 

On latest figures released by human rights group Odhikar, which said 841 people were injured in political violence, and eight died in extra-judicial killings just in September, he said the people would judge what the government has done.

"Let people judge, and compare what this government has done, and what the other government has done. I'm not going to debate. We have ensured press freedom. There's no doubt about it." 

On why the Yunus government had failed to convince some others that it was a victim of propaganda, he said, "Maybe we don't have that kind of clout or money power to convince the world otherwise." "

Asked about Trump's comments on minorities in Bangladesh, he said Trump may not have been well-informed…But when he comes to the reality of dealing with Bangladesh, Trump will be surprised at how different Bangladesh is from the impression he has been given.

On bilateral ties

Yunus emphasised that Saarc must go on.

Referring to India-Pakistan ties, he said, "It shouldn't be that the whole group disappears only because of one relationship between two countries. We can pass a resolution, suspend any India-Pakistan issues from the agenda, but we can't end Saarc."

On Bangladesh-India ties, he said, "Our dream is imagining a relationship like the European Union [with freedom of movement and trade]. That's the direction we want to go." 

Yunus's interview with Al Jazeera on next elections

Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus has said the interim government will proceed with election preparations without implementing any reforms, should political parties want it.

"It is all a question of what people want, the political parties want. If the political parties say forget about it [state reforms], hold the election – we will do it," he said during a recent interview with Al Jazeera on the sidelines of COP29 in Azerbaijan.

"We are an interim government, not a perpetual one. A regular government lasts five years. The new constitution may say four years, probably because people want it to be faster. So, it [interim govt] should be under four years, that's for sure. It may be less," he said in reply to a question regarding the interim government's tenure.

Following his answer, the host of the "Talk to Al Jazeera" show, Nick Clark, said that as per the estimated tenure, Yunus would be the head of the government for "pretty much an electoral term".

Yunus in response said, "I did not say that I will be [head of the government] for four years. I am saying this is the maximum we can go, but that is not our intention.

"Our intention is to get it done as quickly as possible."

Clark then asked Yunus if he would stand for election. "No, I am not a politician. I enjoy my role, and what I have been doing at the last stage of my life. I am not going to change that," Yunus said.

During the interview, Yunus also talked about state reforms, bringing back Sheikh Hasina from India, minority rights, climate change and other issues.