DHAKA: Bangladeshi Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus urged the international community on Monday to stop the deadly violence that has wracked his country since students started protesting against civil service hiring rules.
"I urgently call on world leaders and the United Nations to do everything within their powers to end the violence against those who are exercising their rights to protest," the 83-year-old said in a statement.
"There must be investigations into the killings that have taken place already," he added in his first public comments since the unrest began.
The respected economist is credited with lifting millions out of poverty with his pioneering microfinance bank but has earned the enmity of longtime Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who has accused him of "sucking blood" from the poor.
Yunus was last month indicted in a corruption case, the latest charges to proceed against him that supporters say are politically motivated.
"Bangladesh has been engulfed in a crisis that only seems to get worse with each passing day," he said. "High school students have been among the victims."