New Delhi: A US lawmaker said on Tuesday that Bangladesh’s interim government should take responsibility for protecting its Hindu minority population after the departure of Sheikh Hasina’s democratically elected government earlier this year.
“Bangladesh’s interim government has the sole responsibility to protect its Hindu minority and meaningfully address the protests of thousands of minority Hindus in outrage over the recent wave of attacks and harassment.” US Congressman Brad Sherman said in a statement according to news agency PTI.
“With demands for an investigation from the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council and United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk for killings and other rights violations during the violent unrest leading up to and after the fall of former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the current administration has removed acts of violence against the Hindu community. Must show leadership in doing that,” Sherman added.
“The government of Bangladesh has a duty to protect all citizens, especially the minority Hindu community, from violence. I am outraged by the recent attacks on the Hindu community in Bangladesh and urge the government of Bangladesh to take serious action to end anti-Hindu violence,” Sherman wrote. Posted on X
Over the weekend, Bangladesh’s Hindu community gathered near the White House to protest, demanding the freedom of Chinmay Das and security measures for Bangladeshi Hindus.
HinduAction’s executive director, Utsav Chakraborty, also urged the outgoing Biden-Harris administration to implement all possible measures to prevent radical Islamists from escalating violence against Bangladeshi Hindus.
“Based on the feedback we are getting from Bangladesh, Hindu monk and civil rights activist Chinmoy Krishna Brahmachari, who is jailed by the interim government, faces serious threat to his life, is in custody,” he said.