Attack on religious minorities on rise: leaders

At least 24 people of religious minority communities were killed and 1,562 individuals, families and institutions were attacked in 262 incidents of human rights violation in the country in 2015, Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council said on Saturday.
The ruling Awami League and major opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party blamed each other for the violence against religious minorities while the ruling alliance partners urged the government to take immediate steps against such violence.
Unity council general secretary Rana Das Gupta published the report at a press conference at the Dhaka Reporters Unity saying that the information and data were collected from newspapers and Human Rights Congress for Bangladesh Minorities which was not actual data as so many incidents were not reported.
According to the report, 24 people were killed, 52 received death threats, 239 were injured, 25 women were raped, 10 were gang raped, 50 housed were robbed, 78 residential houses and three business entities were attacked, 10 pieces of land and 19 houses were grabbed, 60 families were evicted and 180 idols were vandalised while 31 temples were attacked.
Rana said that during the incidents the miscreants used their political power while administration did not help the victims.
He alleged that some of the incidents took place even in collaboration with administration people concerned.
Additional deputy inspector general of police (media) Nazrul Islam denied the allegation and told New Age that law enforcement agencies were providing security to the citizens irrespective of their religion, beliefs and ethnicities.
Rana mentioned that highest number of incidents took place in January 2015 as the month was the first anniversary of the January 5, 2014 general elections boycotted by all opposition parties.
In January 2015, 31 minority families were forced to leave the country being tortured by a local ruling Awami League leader, he said.
Highest numbers of idols also were also vandalised January 2015, he said.
He said that number temples were rising every year but the number worshipers as well as Hindu people were decreasing.
The report said that the state was not friendly enough to ensure the rights and security of the religious minorities and sometimes it was reported that ministers, lawmakers and their followers were involved in such attacks.
It said that there was low possibility of getting justice if any ruling party man was involved in an incident.
Rana said that there was no difference of attitude between Awami League, Bangladesh Nationalist Party and other parties’ activates when they attacked the religious minority as their principal target was looting and evicting or forcing the religious minorities to leave the country.
In reactions to the report, AL and BNP, however, blamed each other for the attacks.
Former BNP state minister Goutam Chakravarty, also the pro-BNP Hindu Buddhist Christian Kalyan Front president, said that tendency of such attacks were on the rise as the perpetrators of no such incidents were brought to justice.
He said in maximum cases ruling AL people were involved in the attacks and they [BNP] had specific information and statements of the victims.
AL presidium member Nooh-ul Alam Lenin denied that AL activists were involved in the attacks and claimed that BNP and its key ally Jamaat-e-Islami had been instigating their activists to attack religious minorities.
He said that their government had a policy of zero tolerance for attacks on religious minorities.
Ruling alliance partner Workers Party of Bangladesh general secretary Fazle Hossain Badsha said that they did not support any attack on minorities.
He expressed dissatisfaction with the role of the government and the law enforcers and their failure to control the attacks on religious minorities and said that the government should take stern actions against the attackers.
Ruling alliance partner Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal faction general secretary Sharif Nurul Ambia said that the alliance government had taken steps to check such attacks.
He called on all the democratic left and progressive political parties to take united steps to curb attacks on minorities.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net