Who will stop the attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh? Two US lawmakers demand direct intervention from the Biden administration
#News Bureau August 11,2024
Two US lawmakers have written a letter demanding direct intervention from the Biden administration regarding the attacks against Hindus in Bangladesh.
Washington: Two prominent US lawmakers of Indian origin have demanded direct US intervention to stop the ‘coordinated attack’ against minority Hindus in Bangladesh. They have also underlined that instability in the region ‘motivated by religious intolerance and violence’ is not in the interest of the US or its allies. According to two Hindu organizations – Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council and Bangladesh Puja Udyapan Parishad – members of minority communities in Bangladesh have faced at least 205 incidents of attacks in 52 districts since the Sheikh Hasina-led government resigned and left the country on August 5. Thousands of Bangladeshi Hindus are trying to flee to neighboring India to escape the violence.
In a letter dated August 9 to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, US lawmaker Mr. Thanedar said that his stand against the ongoing atrocities against Hindus in Bangladesh is not his alone. He said that many people in the international community, including some from his own district, have condemned the ongoing violence against minority groups in Bangladesh.America should help the government to stop violence: Thanedar
Michigan MP Mr. Thanedar wrote to Blinken, ‘With Mohammad Yunus taking over as the interim Prime Minister of Bangladesh, it is the responsibility of the US to assist this new government in ending violence and unrest.
He said, “I urge the Biden administration to grant temporary protected status as refugees to persecuted Bangladeshi Hindus and other religious minorities.’
Nobel laureate Yunus (84) was sworn in as the head of the interim government in Bangladesh on Thursday.
Many Hindu temples and houses vandalized in Bangladesh
According to Hindu community leaders based in Dhaka, several Hindu temples, homes and businesses were vandalized, women were attacked and at least two Hindu leaders associated with Hasina’s Awami League party were killed in the violence that broke out in Bangladesh after Sheikh Hasina resigned as Prime Minister and left the country.
Mr Thanedar urged Blinken to work closely with Yunus and his government to ‘stop coordinated attacks against Bangladesh’s Hindus.’
He said Yunus has called for an end to the violence and welcomed his desire to rebuild the country.
This is a critical time for Bangladesh: Krishnamurthy
The Indian-origin US lawmaker said, ‘This is a critical time for Bangladesh and we should do everything possible to support them in their efforts to end violent actions and rhetoric against Hindus in the country.’
In a letter to Blinken on August 8, lawmaker Raja Krishnamurthy said credible eyewitness reports of anti-Hindu attacks in various media reports demonstrate the scale of the attacks. The said letter of Krishnamurthy was released to the media on Friday.
Anti-Hindu violence is not the first time in Bangladesh: Krishnamurthy
Krishnamurthy wrote in the letter, ‘I am writing this letter to you regarding the unstable situation in Bangladesh and the increase in anti-Hindu coordinated violence after the resignation of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Now that Mohammad Yunus has taken oath as the chief advisor of the interim government, it is extremely important that the US works closely with his government to end the violence and bring the perpetrators to justice.’
He said, ‘Sadly, this is not the first time that anti-government protests in Bangladesh have taken the form of anti-Hindu violence. In October 2021, nine people were killed amid the destruction of hundreds of homes, businesses and temples in anti-Hindu riots… In 2017, more than 107 Hindus were killed and 37 went ‘missing’…’
Krishnamurthy said that ‘instability driven by religious intolerance and violence in the region is clearly not in the interest of the US or our allies.”
He urged Blinken to engage ‘directly’ with the interim government and exert US influence to help it end the violence and ‘bring those responsible to justice’.
Political violence is nothing new in Bangladesh: Thanedar
Thanedar said in his letter that political violence is nothing new in Bangladesh and there have been several coups and leadership changes since the country was formed in 1971.
He said that targeting the Hindu population is also nothing new. He said Hindus constitute only eight per cent of Bangladesh’s population, leaving this minority community vulnerable to discrimination and violence.
