Economist and rights activist Professor Anu Muhammad has strongly criticized Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus`s recent call to "resist" those opposing the handover of a Chattogram port terminal`s management to a foreign company. Anu Muhammad termed Yunus’s remarks as "the language of authoritarianism."
Speaking at a discussion titled "Why Leasing Chattogram Port to a Foreign Company is Risky", Anu Muhammad said that despite the terminal being efficiently operated by local companies for the past 17 years, the decision to lease it to the UAE-based DP World was made during the previous Awami League government and is now being continued by the current interim administration.
He noted that the terminal currently handles 1.28 million containers annually, exceeding its projected capacity of 1 million units. He questioned the transparency of the process, pointing out that no open tender is being conducted and the decision is being pushed under the guise of G2G (government-to-government) partnership.
Anu Muhammad announced that a coalition of political groups and activists has formed an anti-imperialism platform, which plans to organize road marches on June 27 and 28 to protest the lease decision.
He also drew parallels with previous large-scale projects like Rampal and Rooppur, arguing that similar narratives were used to justify those deals without transparency or accountability. He criticized the reliance on foreign endorsements, such as statements from the US Ambassador and the World Bank, to bypass competitive procedures.
Anu Muhammad emphasized that the people of Bangladesh did not sacrifice for a system where questioning government decisions is discouraged and dissent is to be "resisted." He warned that foreign investments without accountability usually come to countries governed by irresponsible and commission-driven leaderships, unlike the more regulated investments seen in countries like China and Malaysia.
Other speakers at the event included writers and researchers Maha Mirza and Kallol Mostafa, as well as former Chattogram port labor leader Sheikh Nurullah Bahar.
