Bangladesh: Yunus calls for national unity to counter 'campaign' involving 'big countries'

Dhaka: Bangladesh interim government head Muhammad Yunus on Wednesday called for national unity to counter a "campaign" involving "big countries" to discredit the uprising that installed his administration.

Addressing representatives of political parties amid tensions with India, Chief Adviser Yunus did not name any country.

He, however, sought political leaders' opinions on three issues – the ongoing "propaganda" against Bangladesh in India and other parts of the world, the attack on the Bangladesh mission in Agartala, and the allegations of attacks on minorities in recent days, sources said.

Yunus said the quarters who did not like the July-August “uprising” were trying to portray it at home and abroad that something “dangerous” had taken place with the ouster of Sheikh Hasina as prime minister.

He said the "campaign against new Bangladesh” was now not limited within the domestic sphere but was spread outside as well, involving “big countries”, without naming any country.

"Now we have to tell the entire world that we are one. We achieved together what we got. This now became the issue of our existence," Yunus was heard telling the political leaders in video footage issued by his office.

"Many are not liking our freedom, the (new) independence... desperate efforts are being made to upset it," Yunus told leaders representing several political parties, including ex-prime minister Khaleda Zia’s BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami and left-leaning groups.

He said the perpetrators of the propaganda were very powerful and possessed large amounts of money to carry on their campaign.

Yunus said his government anticipated cooked-up troubles during the recently held Durga Puja festival, but it was celebrated joyously “with the participation of all of us, which too was not liked by them”.

Officials familiar with the meeting said that at the onset of the dialogue, industries ministry adviser Adilur Rahaman spelt out the agenda. On their part, politicians said their parties would stand by the government on the issue of national unity.

"A former military officer, who is also the head of a political party, advised the government to balance the relationship between Bangladesh and India without entertaining any provocations," Amar Bangladesh Party Joint Secretary General Asaduzzaman Fuaad told the reporters after the meeting.

He said some parties also suggested establishing a public relations cell under state supervision to address the propaganda. Several political parties recommended the removal of officials from foreign embassies who were appointed during the previous regime.

They proposed the officials be replaced with individuals imbued with the spirit of the July Movement to effectively counter any propaganda.

According to Fuaad, several political parties urged Yunus to take steps to hold elections as early as possible after implementing the necessary reforms.

The meeting with politicians came a day after he exchanged views with leaders of the Anti-Discrimination Students Movement that led the July-August uprising ousting ex-premier Hasina’s Awami League 15-year regime.

"We discussed several issues, including recent tensions, Bangladesh's relations with India, communal issues, rising commodity prices, the ground reality, public sentiment, and the education reform commission," the Movement's convener Hasnat Abdullah told reporters emerging from the meeting.

BNP leader Khandker Mosharraf Hossain led a five-member delegation, while Jamaat’s ameer Shafiqur Rahman led his party in the meeting.