Yunus, former head of the Bangla transitional government, throws insults at New York airport

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Yoo Chang-yeop = Muhammad Yunus (86), who led the transitional government immediately after the resignation of then Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in 2024, was recently subjected to abusive language at a New York airport by people who appeared to be Hasina supporters.

According to the Daily Star, a Bangladeshi daily, on the 15th, Yunus, former top advisor to the transitional government (prime minister), experienced something like this right after arriving at Terminal 8 at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, USA on a passenger flight from Doha, Qatar, on the 12th.

A video circulating on social media showed a group of people swearing at former top adviser Yunus in a wheelchair at the airport.

One man shouted, "Why did you come here, a terrorist? You have ruined democracy in our country (Bangladesh)," the Indian daily Hindustan Times reported.

Some other people even shouted, “Go back.”

Former top advisor Yunus and his associates later entered the airport and escaped the crowd under the guard of security guards.

In response to this, the Bangladesh government announced that it would raise the issue with the United States.

Deputy Foreign Minister Humayun Kobir told reporters, "We will raise the issue with the U.S. government so that necessary judicial action is taken."

Yunus, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006, took on the role of top advisor to the transitional government in August 2024, immediately after Prime Minister Hasina's resignation, to resolve political chaos, and left office immediately after the general elections held in February.

Hasina, who has been in power for over 20 years on two occasions, bloody suppressed anti-government protests by university students for several weeks starting in July 2024, then resigned from her position on August 5 of the same year and fled to India, where she had supported her government, where she still remains.

Members and supporters of Hasina's Awami League (AL) party have criticized the interim government at home and abroad. AL's activities were completely banned by the interim government in May last year.

Deputy Minister Kobir then raised the possibility of AL connections, claiming that those involved in this incident had fled Bangladesh and were staying abroad and inciting violence.

Bangladesh's Ministry of Foreign Affairs also mentioned the possibility of the people involved in the incident being linked to AL in a statement and said that the Consulate General in New York had instructed local judicial authorities to identify the people involved and take legal action.

At the same time, he asked Bangladeshi citizens living abroad to refrain from such incidents, emphasizing that this incident damaged the country's image.

Regarding this incident, the Bangladesh government will also look into whether there were any mistakes in protocol regarding former top advisor Yunus, a government official said.

The Bangladeshi opposition party also criticized AL regarding this incident and urged the authorities to quickly proceed with judicial procedures, including trials for those involved in the bloody suppression of the protests in 2024.