MOHAMMAD ALI ARAFAT

Yunus was confronted by a group of Bangladeshi expatriates at JFK Airport, where they reportedly challenged him with a series of questions expressing their anger and frustration. Unsurprisingly, many of his stooges were unhappy with the confrontation.

Now, some of them are threatening that they will make life impossible abroad for those who dared to question or protest Yunus.

But why should anyone be surprised that people are demanding answers?

Yunus must be held accountable for the deaths of children from measles, the deaths of opposition activists in prison, the reported impunity granted to those responsible for killing police officers and other crimes during the July–August 2024 unrest, the growing incidents of mob lynching, and the prolonged imprisonment of thousands of opposition leaders and activists without trial. He must also answer for the banning of one of Bangladesh’s largest political parties, the Awami League, and the exclusion of millions of voters from exercising their democratic rights through a one-sided election.

Are the people of Bangladesh no longer entitled to question those in power and demand accountability?

The Awami League’s political activities have been banned. Under the Anti-Terrorism Law, even legitimate demands for justice and accountability—whether concerning children’s deaths from measles, the deaths of political activists in prison, the killings of police officers, mob lynchings, or other serious violations—risk being treated as criminal offences when associated with the banned party.

One does not even have to be an Awami League supporter to raise these questions. Yet, under this climate of political repression, anyone who dares to speak out risks being labelled an Awami League supporter and treated accordingly.

Against this backdrop, an ordinary Bangladeshi expatriate encountered Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus abroad and dared to raise a few entirely legitimate questions and demands. Instead of engaging in those questions, Yunus’s self-proclaimed civil society champions have responded with threats, insults, and public denunciations. They have been shouting that the individual belongs to a “banned party,” as though that label alone was enough to discredit him and silence his questions.

This is the real issue: when those in power cannot—or will not—answer legitimate questions, their defenders resort to intimidation, abuse, and political labelling.

No Nobel Prize, political position, or claim to moral superiority should place anyone beyond public scrutiny. And no political ban should strip ordinary citizens of their right to demand justice, accountability, and answers from those who govern them.

(Writing from exile, Bangladeshi politician Mohammad Ali Arafat argues that the confrontation with Muhammad Yunus at JFK Airport reflects legitimate demands for accountability. Citing child deaths, prison deaths and political repression, he asks why citizens seeking answers should face intimidation and why a Nobel Prize should place a former leader beyond scrutiny.)