Dhaka: Groups promoting extremist Islam are attacking minorities, particularly those from Hindu and Ahmadiyya communities in Bangladesh, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has revealed in its latest report that also highlights “a disturbing pattern” of security force abuses in the country after former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s ouster last August, targetting the Awami League supporters and journalists.
The 50-page report titled ‘After the Monsoon Revolution: A Roadmap to Lasting Security Sector Reform in Bangladesh’ offers various recommendations to the Muhammad Yunus led interim government, including seeking technical assistance, monitoring, and reporting by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and other UN rights experts to ensure lasting reforms.
The report mentions growing attacks on Hindu minorities since the fall of the Hasina government that has led to international concern. Several commentators told HRW that Hindus and other religious minorities were attacked because they traditionally supported her Awami League party.
“There are repeated allegations of violent attacks against Hindus and other minorities and that the police have failed to ensure protection,” the report mentions.
It also termed the arrest of Hindu priest Chinmoy Krishna Das, a former official of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), as “another worrying indication” for freedom of expression in Bangladesh.
“Das’s arrest came at a time when there is growing concern over attacks on Hindu minorities. The interim government has confirmed that at least 88 cases of communal violence had been registered between August 5 and October 22, and that 70 persons had been arrested. Hindu groups say that there have been hundreds of incidents of vandalism targeting Hindu businesses, homes, and places of worship,” the report states.
With the Chittagong Lawyers’ Association forcing its members not to represent Das, the spiritual leader’s struggle to have a legal representation in the court is acknowledged in the report which quotes a Hindu lawyer, as saying: “Lawyers are afraid to represent Chinmoy as there were threats of mob violence. We all have our families to worry about”.
The New York based human rights organisation also suggested that the interim government should immediately ensure that no one is detained arbitrarily or otherwise unlawfully.
According to the report, between August 6 and September 25, Bangladesh police lodged cases against 92,486 people, most of them related to murder. Nearly 400 former ministers, members of parliament, and other Awami League officials have been named in over 1,170 cases, which include hundreds of unnamed individuals and over 200 cases have been filed against Sheikh Hasina.
As of November, the report highlights, authorities in Dhaka have filed murder charges against at least 140 journalists in relation to their reporting on the student revolution and scrapped more than 150 press accreditations required to attend official events.
“Yunus has insisted on his administration’s respect for free speech. However, authorities under the interim government have clamped down on journalists who were perceived to have been sympathetic to the former government,” the report said.
“The interim government should urgently prohibit filing cases against unnamed accused and mass arrest warrants, and revise laws that allow for vague and overly broad charges to target critics. Courts should act speedily to ensure that anyone detained is safely and swiftly produced before a judge. All detention centres should be made public and open to independent inspection,” it added.
The HRW advised the interim government in Bangladesh to seek a resolution at the United Nations Human Rights Council to create a mechanism to ensure lasting change.
The report, it said, is based on thorough research and documentation in Bangladesh as well as recent interviews with human rights activists, members of the interim government, and current and former law enforcement and military officials.
(IANS)
