Sylhet Bureau :
An exceptional bicycle rally was held in Sylhet demanding grant-based financing instead of loans to address the climate crisis.
The rally, which started at 9 am on Saturday (June 28) from the city’s central Shaheed Minar, was organized on the occasion of the ‘Global Day of Action’.
People from different walks of life took part in the rally holding slogans and placards like “Say no to fossil fuels”, “Climate finance should be for people, not for profit”, “No loans, we want grants”.
The programme was organized by ‘Dharitri Raksha Amara (Dhara)’, Waterkeepers Bangladesh, Surma River Waterkeepers and Sylhet Cycle Community.
As part of the international climate justice demand, the program was celebrated in various parts of the world in the context of the G-7 Summit in Canada, the UNFCCC Intersessional in Germany and the United Nations Development Conference in Spain.
The organizers said that Bangladesh is one of the countries most affected by the adverse effects of climate change. However, this disaster was mainly caused by rich countries. Therefore, they should ensure grant-based climate finance for the affected countries and relieve them from the burden of debt.
In his keynote speech, Surma River Waterkeeper Abdul Karim Kim said, “The government has imposed a tax burden on the people under the terms of the IMF loan, which has disrupted people’s lives and livelihoods. However, Bangladeshis’ money in Swiss banks is increasing, and over $240 billion has been laundered from the country in the last 15 years, which is more than the foreign debt. This laundered money must be brought back to the country.”
The rally was inaugurated by expatriate writer and journalist Mahbubur Rahman, chaired by Sylhet convener Dr. Mostafa Shahjahan Chowdhury Bahar. He said,
“The United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, the UAE, Switzerland and Belgium—these rich countries should stop receiving laundered money from Bangladesh and send that money back.”
Mahmudur Rahman Chowdhury (WES), one of the organizers and engineers of the Dharitri Raksha Amra Dhara (Sylhet) branch, said, “Development partners should ensure grant-based financing, not loans, for country-based adaptation measures.”
Advocate Golam Sobhan Chowdhury, lawyer of Waterkeepers Bangladesh, Sudipto Arjun, trustee of the Environment and Heritage Conservation Trust, organizers Arup Shyam Bappi, Sohag Tajul Amin and MNA Zia of Sylhet Cycle Community also spoke at the rally.
