US congressmen send letter to PM

Twenty-six congresspeople of the United States have said they are troubled by the removal of Prof Muhammad Yunus from the Grameen Bank, and urged Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to resolve the issue through a mutual compromise.
Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Supreme Court is scheduled today to hear Yunus' appeal against the High Court verdict that upheld the central bank's decision to remove him from the bank.
A full bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice ABM Khairul Haque will hear the appeal in the morning.
The hearing tops the cause list of the day's proceedings.
Bangladesh Bank removed Yunus, recipient of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize, from the post of Grameen Bank managing director allegedly for holding the position without the central bank's approval.
The microcredit pioneer challenged the decision at the High Court that on March 8 gave a verdict in the government's favour forcing Yunus to go to the Supreme Court.
CONGRESSPEOPLE'S LETTER
"We are troubled by the removal of Dr Muhammad Yunus from his position at Grameen Bank," said the congresspeople in a letter to the prime minister on March 11.
The group led by Joseph Crowley and Gary Ackerman said Bangladesh has made important strides in economic growth and by taking steps to address corruption, seeking greater cooperation with its neighbours, fighting poverty and improving the rule of law.
"Unfortunately, the situation with Dr Yunus is beginning to overshadow these concrete gains and introduce uncertainty regarding one of Bangladesh's most visible and beloved institutions," the letter said.
"Many of us have personally seen the effectiveness of Grameen programmes, and believe they and Dr Yunus have done a great deal to improve lives by providing access to credit for those without collateral."
"We have raised these concerns directly with your government over the past few months, but the situation has not changed," the congresspeople said, urging the prime minister to resolve the matter through a mutual compromise to ensure independence of the microfinance institution.
Many see Yunus' removal from Grameen as politically motivated, and they have accused the authorities of trying to take control of the country's most prestigious institution.
Yunus has already made clear that he is willing to hand over leadership to the second generation in a congenial environment.
"There should be a smooth transition of management leadership from me to the next managing director in a congenial environment," he said last week.