NN Online:
Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus has emphasised the need for national unity, saying that revenge should have no place in society and urging an end to the cycle of retaliation for creating the grounds for peace and harmony in the country.
He made these remarks during a meeting with US Chargé d’Affaires Tracey Ann Jacobson at the state guesthouse Jamuna on Tuesday.
The chief adviser said, “We are all children of this country. There should be no place for retribution. I have instructed law enforcement agencies to uphold human rights at any cost during their operations.”
The issues of mutual interest and the fallout of the US decision to freeze the work of USAID across the globe came up in the discussion. They also discussed the reform agenda of the interim government, the Rohingya crisis, migration and the country’s law and order situation.
Highlighting his recent moves to form a consensus commission and, under its auspices, to inaugurate dialogue with the political parties of the country, he said, “Once we have reached consensus over the reforms, the political parties will sign a July Charter to implement them.”
Prof Yunus thanked the US administration for continuing humanitarian aid to the one million Rohingya refugees now living in Bangladesh and sought continued US support for key projects and reforms.
“The US assistance is the most crucial aid to the Rohingya refugees,” he said.
He also raised concerns over the US decision to freeze aid to other key projects in Bangladesh, including the life-saving efforts of the ICDDR’B, one of the world’s renowned health research institutes.
The chief adviser highlighted the role the ICDDR’B played in reducing deaths from diarrhea and cholera to almost zero in Bangladesh and in countries like Haiti in the Caribbean.
He said whatever happens with USAID, Bangladesh needs US support during this crucial period of rebuilding, reforms and reconstruction.
“This isn’t the time to stop it,” he added.
