Calls for AL’s trial grow louder as political parties, civil society leaders condemn heckling of Prof Yunus

The heckling of former interim government chief adviser Muhammad Yunus by activists of the banned Awami League at John F Kennedy International Airport in New York on Tuesday has drawn widespread condemnation from political leaders and civil society members in Bangladesh, with renewed calls for the party to face trial.

A video circulating on Facebook shows Yunus seated in a wheelchair and accompanied by an associate when two or three men approach him. One of them, wearing a black jacket and sunglasses, appears to lead the confrontation.

Bangla Fact, a fact-checking initiative, identified the man in the black jacket as Emdad Chowdhury, general secretary of the New York Metropolitan Awami League.

Another man was identified as Mizanur Rahman Chowdhury, general secretary of the US unit of the Jubo League.

The opposition Jamaat-e-Islami described the incident as “unacceptable and highly condemnable”.

“By humiliating Dr Yunus, a Nobel laureate respected around the world, they have insulted and demeaned not only all citizens of Bangladesh but also the country itself in the eyes of the international community,” the party’s Nayeb-e-Amir, Dr Syed Abdullah Muhammed Taher, said in a statement posted on Jamaat’s official Facebook page.

He said ousted Awami League activists continued to conspire against Bangladesh and its people from abroad, while undermining the security of expatriate Bangladeshis and patriotic citizens travelling overseas.

Taher urged officials at Bangladesh’s embassies and high commissions abroad to take responsible and courageous steps in response.

The National Citizen Party (NCP) also condemned the incident, calling for fugitive Awami League and Jubo League leaders involved to be brought to justice and for the Awami League to face trial as a political party.

“The NCP considers surrounding, humiliating and harassing a former head of government and a globally renowned figure in this manner on foreign soil an act of anti-state terrorism,” a party statement sent to the media said.

The party said the ousted Awami League, unable to operate on Bangladeshi soil following a historic mass uprising, had repeatedly resorted to acts of intimidation and harassment against distinguished Bangladeshi citizens abroad.

“Through this incident, the ousted and fugitive Awami League has once again demonstrated that reconciliation with the party is impossible,” the statement said.

Prime Minister’s Adviser Dr Zahed Ur Rahman warned Awami League supporters living abroad that attempts to harass or intimidate others would not go unchallenged.

Speaking at a press briefing at the Secretariat on Tuesday, Zahed said legal proceedings had been initiated over the harassment of actress Azmeri Haque Badhon in Italy, adding that similar action would be taken over the incident involving Yunus.

NCP Secretary Akhter Hossen also condemned the incident and called for those involved to be held accountable.

“The fugitive leaders and activists of the banned Awami League involved in the attack must be brought to justice and given exemplary punishment,” he wrote in a Facebook post.

Political analyst Nayel Rahman described Yunus as a figure whose influence transcended formal political power.

“Some people can sit in a wheelchair and still be more powerful than political leaders with millions of thugs, minions, and killers,” he wrote.

Former interim government adviser Asif Nazrul described the incident as an expression of a deeply troubling mindset.

“A man sitting alone in a wheelchair. You suddenly walk up to him, shout ‘terrorist’ and ‘traitor’ at him, and somehow imagine that his dignity and honour have been taken away! What a ridiculous sense of self-satisfaction!” Asif wrote in a Facebook post.

“You cannot even begin to imagine how deeply Dr Yunus is respected around the world, or how widely his work has inspired others. Even in your beloved India! Do you remember who was honoured at a joint sitting of the two houses of the Indian Parliament?” he added.

“What happens when you throw a brick at the sun? How much of its light can you block?”

The Students Against Discrimination, an organisation associated with the July Uprising, called on the government to take exemplary legal action against the Awami League activists involved.

“The government must take exemplary legal action against the activists of the banned Awami League who behaved disrespectfully towards former interim government chief adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus,” the organisation said.

Nabila Idris, a human rights activist and former member of the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances, shared Nahid’s post and called for the Awami League to face trial.

“The trial of the Awami League as a political party must begin,” she wrote.

Poet and writer S M Rezaul Karim Monu said the incident should prompt Yunus to recognise that there was no way forward without engaging in politics and that he needed to enter the political arena.

“Yunus needs to understand that he was never an innocent caretaker. He was a political force standing against fascist Bengali nationalists and various other anti-democratic forces on both the left and right. Even at his age, his duty is not over; he will not get the chance to retire before he dies,” he added.