Online Desk: Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud on Thursday described Yunus Centre’s “lying” and Professor Muhammad Yunus’ receiving an award from an Israeli sculptor “very unfortunate.”

“I am very surprised…. it’s very unfortunate,” he told reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

He said there was no single word of protest from Prof Yunus when people including children and women are killed in Gaza when there are crimes against humanity.

“In this situation in Gaza, Prof Yunus received an award from an Israeli. What is this? What does it mean? Is it not supporting Israeli killings in Gaza?” Hasan asked.

He said Prof Yunus was not awarded by the UNESCO but it was lies spread by Yunus Centre.

Hasan said it is not the first time Yunus Centre did it but they did spread same falsehoods in the past.

Earlier, Education Minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury on Wednesday said the UNESCO did not confer “The Tree of Peace” award to Nobel laureate Professor Yunus.

Mohibul, who is also the Chairman of the Bangladesh UNESCO Commission, made the statement to reporters at the Bangladesh Secretariat.

He said “Dr Yunus was conferred the ‘Tree of Peace’ award by an Israeli sculptor, upon invitation from the Ganjavi Foundation in Azerbaijan.”

The minister said that Dr Yunus’ claim that he received the award from UNESCO is untrue.

“The information propagated by the Yunus Centre regarding the UNESCO award is inaccurate and misleading,” said the minister. “It is imperative that we set the record straight and ensure that such misinformation does not tarnish the reputation of our country. An explanation will be sent to the UNESCO headquarters regarding this matter as it is humiliating for Bangladesh.”

The minister also warned of legal repercussions if the Yunus Centre persisted in spreading false claims about the UNESCO award. He emphasised the need for immediate cessation of such misleading information to prevent further damage to the reputation of both Dr Yunus and Bangladesh on the international stage.

However, comments from the Yunus Centre were not immediately available.