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Take all necessary steps to protect the minorities

19Ansar Ahmed Ullah ::

A number of organisations and individuals gathered outside the Houses of Parliament on 18 Nov to condemn barbaric attack on innocent Hindu woman in Bangladesh.
They were protesting against an attack carried out by extremist Muslims on 28th October 2015 on a Hindu village in Feni, Bangladesh. The Jihadi group kicked a heavily pregnant woman in her abdomen causing the death of her unborn baby.

The organisers said this not an isolated incidence. The religious minorities are systematically persecuted in Bangladesh. Not a single week is passing by without an incidence of atrocities committed on religious minorities. As a result they are leaving Bangladesh.

During and after the election of 5th January 2014 there were wide spread violence perpetrated on religious minorities particularly on Hindus. Following the violence during the relief and rehabilitation campaign assurance was given from the Bangladesh Government that the perpetrators would be brought to justice. So far no one has been put one trial. Not only on this occasion but it seems that no one will ever face any justice for committing atrocities on minorities.

No one has been put on trial for more than three hundred deaths in communal violence that took place following the election in 2001. Similarly not a single person was put on trial for thousands of heinous atrocities committed against minorities since 1991. The protesters demanded justice for all atrocities committed against religious minorities in Bangladesh.

Because of the large-scale persecution and systematic violence against minorities they are leaving the country in an ever-increasing number. Hindus are systematically uprooted from their ancestral home through land grabbing.  Hindus population has come down to less than 8% from 23% in 1974. There is no proper representation of minority communities in political, governmental and privately owned business organisations. The minority people in Bangladesh need legal protection for their survival.  The protesters urged the UK Government to put pressure on Bangladesh Government to set up a Minority Commission to protect the interest of the minority communities to be enacted under Minority Protection Act in line with the Race Relations Act in the UK.

The demonstration was called by Human Rights Alliance and individuals Mihir K Sarkar representing CPRMB, Pushpita Gupta representing Secular Bangladesh Movement, Samir Das representing BHBCUC – Europe, Sisir Das representing Minority Council, Mahuya Ray Choudhury representing BHBCUC –UK, Swapan Mazumdar representing  Minority Law Association UK and Suranjit Gupta representing Sree Sree Loknath Bhakta Porishad.

Lord Avebury attended the demonstration and condemned all atrocities committed on all the religious minority groups in Bangladesh. He mentioned that rise of fundamentalism is a phenomenon need to be tacked together and urged the Bangladesh Government to take all necessary steps to protect the minorities.