Noman Sabit: Intense tensions have erupted in New York as both BNP and Awami League announced counter programs centering on the visit of Interim Government Chief Adviser Professor Dr. Muhammad Yunus to attend the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly.
On Saturday evening (September 20), separate gatherings of BNP and Awami League were held in Jackson Heights, New York, where leaders and activists of both parties announced protest and peace programs. The announcement of these counter activities has fueled significant unrest among expatriates.
Professor Yunus is scheduled to arrive in New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport on Monday night (September 22) to attend the UNGA session.
In anticipation of his arrival, U.S. BNP and Awami League activists have announced both welcoming rallies and protest programs at JFK Airport.
During a meeting at Diversity Plaza on Saturday evening, leaders of the U.S. Awami League declared that Professor Muhammad Yunus had been declared “unwanted” by the party in the United States, branding him a “killer-fascist chief adviser.” They insisted that an illegitimate government has no right to participate in the UN General Assembly.
They further stated that it would be inappropriate for any top BNP leader to attend the UNGA alongside “killer-fascist Yunus,” and asserted that wherever Yunus is present, the U.S. Awami League will also be there in protest.
Meanwhile, BNP leaders and activists held an impromptu rally and procession in Jackson Heights on Saturday evening to welcome Professor Yunus, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Tareq Rahman’s Foreign Affairs Committee member Humayun Kabir, and other delegates. They vowed to resist any threats from what they called remnants of the fallen dictatorship.
A BNP source confirmed that the party plans to hold peace rallies at JFK Airport and near the Chief Adviser’s residence to avoid any untoward incidents.
Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus will arrive in New York on September 22 and deliver his speech at the General Assembly on September 26. He is expected to return to Bangladesh on October 2.
Accompanying him on the trip are BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Jamaat-e-Islami’s Naib-e-Ameer Syed Abdullah Muhammad Taher, National Citizens’ Party (NCP) Member-Secretary Akhtar Hossain, Tareq Rahman’s foreign affairs adviser Humayun Kabir, former Jamaat leader Motiur Rahman Nizami’s son Dr. Nakibur Rahman, and NCP’s Tasnim Zarah.
During his UN engagements, the Chief Adviser is expected to highlight the reforms carried out in Bangladesh over the past year and reaffirm the commitment to establish a truly democratic system through the upcoming national election.
He will also participate on September 30 in a high-level conference titled “High Level Conference on the Situation of Rohingya Muslims and Other Minorities in Myanmar” under the presidency of the UNGA President.
What Happened at JFK Last Year
On September 23, 2024, both the BNP and Awami League organized demonstrations at JFK International Airport in New York ahead of the Chief Adviser’s arrival.
A Qatar Airways commercial flight carrying Yunus and his delegation landed at JFK at 10:10 p.m. local time. Even before the plane landed at Terminal 8, the area was filled with slogans both in favor and against him.
BNP leaders and activists, along with various affiliated organizations, had gathered in the evening to welcome Yunus with slogans and chants, while on the other side, the Awami League and its affiliates staged protests and demonstrations.
After being received at the airport by Bangladesh’s Permanent Representative to the UN Muhammad Abdul Muhith and Acting Ambassador to the U.S. D.M. Salauddin Mahmud, Professor Yunus was escorted in a motorcade to a Manhattan hotel.
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