Hillary Clinton & Other Global Leaders urge Bangladesh PM to 'protect' Prof Yunus

A global campaign has been launched to support Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus Khan. He is a celebrated Bangladesh-based economist and micro-finance guru. The campaign is seeking signatures from citizens across the globe in order to “protect” his work, life and safety.

Named as “Protect Yunus”, the global campaign has been initiated by 40 world leaders which includes former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton, former Mexican president Vicente Fox, musician Peter Gabriel, former NASA astronaut Ron Garan, former CEO, Rockefeller Foundation and International Herald Tribune Peter C Goldmark Jr, former US vice president Al Gore, Rotary International CEO John Hewko, Robert F Kennedy Human Rights Kerry Kennedy, 8th secretary general of the UN Ban Ki-moon, Infosys founder Narayana Murthy, and Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales among others.    

Asking people to write to elected representatives at the federal level (such as Congressperson and Senators if one lives in the US) and urging them to take action in support of Prof Yunus and human rights in Bangladesh, the campaign seeks individuals to write a letter to the editor of local newspapers support him on social media.

Spearheading the campaign, these 40 global leaders who hail from various fields such as the diplomacy, politics, arts, business, and academia have written an open letter to the Bangladesh Prime Minister. The letter was published as a full-page ad in the Washington Post and suggested that “positive steps” be taken to support and recognize the great contributions Prof Yunus.                                                                        

The letter is a show of support for Prof Yunus in wake of him facing a running campaign supported by the Bangladesh establishment that allegedly mars his contributions.