Blake says it again

The United States warned anew Tuesday that Bangladesh government's row with microfinance pioneer Prof Muhammad Yunus could hurt growing ties, after the Nobel laureate lost a final appeal against his dismissal.
Robert Blake, the US assistant secretary of state for South Asia, said the United States had a "strong interest in maintaining close relations" with Bangladesh, which he called "a democratic and moderate Muslim country."
But he said he raised concerns during a visit last month to Dhaka over the treatment of Yunus, who was removed from the helm of Grameen Bank after a feud with the government.
"I warned that a failure to find a compromise that respects Dr Yunus' global stature and maintains the integrity and effectiveness of Grameen could affect our bilateral relations," Blake told a congressional hearing.
Prof Yunus pioneered microfinance, in which Grameen bank has offered small loans to some 24,000 people -- the vast majority of them women living in rural villages who would rarely have access to traditional banks.