Bangladesh crisis: BJP MP writes to Nobel Prize Committee to reassess criteria for ‘Peace Laureates’
Kolkata: In the wake of the ongoing crisis in neighbouring Bangladesh under the interim government there with Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus as the chief advisor, the BJP Lok Sabha member from West Bengal’s Purulia constituency Jyotirmay Singh Mahato, on Friday, sent a letter to the members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee to reassess criteria for future “Peace Laureates”.
In his letter, Mahato also requested the members of the committee to issue a statement denouncing the ongoing violence against minorities in Bangladesh under Yunus’s leadership as well as to incorporate mechanisms to ensure the recipients of the prestigious honour maintain the highest ethical standards throughout their lives.
In the letter, the BJP Lok Sabha member has acknowledged that since the Nobel Committee’s decision to award the Peace Prize is irrevocable he is requesting the committee to condemn the attack on minorities as well as to reassess the criteria for future “Peace Laureates”.
“If the Nobel Committee cannot acknowledge and condemn these atrocities, it risks eroding its credibility as a global moral authority. The Nobel Peace Prize should not serve as a shield to individuals whose actions perpetuate violence and discrimination,” said the letter.
In the letter, Mahato also pointed out that Yunus was not the first case where the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to individuals whose later actions or affiliations mar the legacy.
“As many as 80-mile controversy surrounds Henry Kissinger, the 1973 laureate, who actively supported the Pakistani regime during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971. Under his influence over 2,00,000 Bengalis were killed and 2,00,000 and 4,00,000 women were raped in a genocidal campaign by the Pakistani army. Kissinger and the Nixon administration ignore these atrocities, prioritising diplomatic gains over humanity. His infamous remark, calling Bangladesh a “basket case” exemplifies his disdain for its suffering,” the letter added.