Press Release
For Immediate Release
New York
March 28, 2013
Dear Colleagues:
On March 28, 2013, a four member delegation of Bangladesh Hindu, Buddhist & Christian Unity Council, USA (BHBCUC, USA) met with Human rights Officers Mr. Nouhoum Sangare and Leonardo Costello, who is also the liaison between the office of the Assistant Secretary General for Human Rights Ivan Simonvic and the High Commissioner for Human Rights Ms Navanethem Pillay, based in Geneva. The delegation comprised of BHBCUC, USA's presidents Mr. Julius Gomez and Mr. Ranabir Barua, General Secretary Dwijen Bhattacharjya, Ph. D. and Organizing Secretary Sumon Mitra.
Upon providing piles of documentation about the rise of militant Islam in Bangladesh during the rule of the BNP- Jamaat (2001 and 2006), the two parties that have conducted relentless atrocities against Bangladesh's religious minorities, particulalry the Hindus, in recent weeks as well as in the past -- 1971, 1988, 1990, 1992, and between 2001 and 2006 in an alarmingly high intensity-- the delegates explained to the officers that the actors remain the same: BNP, Jamaat-E- Islami and its violent student wing Islamic Chhatra Shibeer (ICS), an internationally recognized terrorist organization.
The documentations included multiple news reports about every temples that have been burned down or razed and dwelling house that have been destroyed. Documentation also included visuals as well as reports about the pogroms in Hathazari and Ramu in 2012, the Logan Massacre, Baniar Char church massacre of 2001, murder of Muhuri and Gnyanjoti Mahasthabir and rape of Purniam, rita et. al.
The delegates told the officials that the BNP, Jamaat-E-Islami and Islamic Chatra Shibeer were comparable to the Nazis, Gestapo and the SS forces, respectively. This claim were adequately substantiated by documentary evidence published in International journals including the CNN, in which Johan Walker Lindh, an American Taliban, tells the reporter that in Afghanistan a Bengali speaking brigade fought for Mollah Omar alongside Al-Qaeda led by Oslma Bin Laden and the Urdu speaking Pakistani brigade (http://articles.cnn.com/2001-12-20/world/ret.walker.transcript_1_robert-young-pelton-american-taliban-fighter-john-walker?_s=PM:asiapcf. Transcript of John Walker interview, Afghanistan. December 20, 2001.), START, the Banglastan plan, and Wall Street Journal and Far Eastern Economic Review articles.
When asked what steps the government has taken to protect the minorities so far, they told the officers that, government's action has so far, like in the past, has remained limited to blaming the perpetrators - - the Prime Minister did not visit any of the affected areas or provided any relief yet. They also told them the morale of the minorities is all time low and many have already fled to or making preparations to flee to neighboring India.
For the protection of the minorities, the delegates suggested that the U.N. kindly take the following steps immediately:
(i) ask Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to deploy security forces to protect the lives and properties and the places of worship of the minorities;
(ii) ask PrimeMinister Sheikh Hasina to start prosecuting the perpetrators of crime against humanity during 2001 and 2006 (as has been identified by the Judiciary Probe Commission) as well as in recent weeks by enacting a Hate Crime & Speech law ; and
(iii) ask Begum Zia to tell her own cadres as well as her partner Jamaat-E-Islami and its violent student wing Islamic Chhatra Shibeer to stop violence against the country's minorities.
(iv) remind all the political parties as well as the army Chief of Staff and the Inspector General of Police that in order for them to be hired for peace keeping purposes they must ensure that the minorities in Babngladesh are not burtalized with them standing by.
The delegates pointed out that since the UN hires a great number of military and police officers from Bangladesh for peace keeping purposes, it, as an employer it was uniquely positioned to be heard by not only the political parties but also the army chief of staff and the Inspector general of Police.
Finally, the delegates warned the U. N. officials that unless they intervened right now then there will be no minorities left in the country (much like Pakistan) to retain the pluralistic nature of Bangladesh's population, making way for transforming the country into a monolithic Islamic state which would most probably be ruled by Sharia laws.
Sincerely,
Dwijen Bhattacharjya, Ph. D. , General Secretary
On Behalf of
Presidents: Dr. Jiten Roy Ph. D., Mr. Julius Gomes & Mr. Ranabir Barua
Treasurer: Mr. Dilip Chakraborty
Chairman/Board of Directors: Mr. Shyamal Sharma
Vice Chairman/Board of Directors: Mr. Bidyut Das
Members Secretary: Mr. Ranjit Bhaduri
Director Communications & Publications: Mr. Rup Kumar Bhowmick
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