communal attacks
Quader blasts BNP for creating religious division in Bangladesh
Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader on Wednesday said that those who use religion for political gain want to create division among religious communities.
He made the remarks while speaking at a briefing at his residence this morning.
"Those who could not accept the independence of this country, development and prosperity, they want to divide the nation, weaken it and tarnish the image of the country. BNP and its allies want to create this dividing line," he said.
Describing BNP as politically communal organization Quader said BNP leaders have turned lies into an art by claiming that the government is involved in communal attacks.
Read: Stay alert against communal forces, says Quader
Referring to the BNP as an enemy of the minorities, he further said that they thought that attacking the puja mandaps would increase the distrust of the Hindu community in the government and destroy Bangladesh's existing friendship with India.
The AL leader said the BNP carried out the propaganda that mosques will turn into temples in the past as well.
Quader said BNP’s atrocities against minorities surpassed even the attacks in 1971 after it came to power in 2001. He said that BNP has not been able to quit communal politics yet.
Read: No tolerance for communal attacks: Quader
Referring to the observance of Eid-e- Miladunnabi being observed on Wednesday Quader said that the day is sacred and glorious for the Muslim Ummah.
He urged Muslims of the country to follow the ideals of Prophet Muhammad ( PBUH).
Quader also greeted the members of the Buddhist community on behalf of the Awami League on Prabarana Purnima, being celebrated on Wednesday.
Bangladesh won't bow down to fundamentalist forces: Nasrul Hamid
State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid has said Bangladesh belongs to everyone and it will not bow down to fundamentalist forces.
"People from all castes and creeds shed blood to liberate this country," he said in a Facebook post with a picture showing an arson attack in a Puja venue.
Also read: No religious excesses, says PM Hasina
Published from his verified Facebook account, it said, "We don't want to see this kind of picture. Such a picture is heart-breaking and insulting."
“It is the high time to resist them,” he added.
PM orders stern action against those involved in communal attacks
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday directed the Home Minister to hunt down those who were involved in the recent communal attacks in the country and take stern action against them.
“She has again given a clear instruction to the Home Minister to take stern action against those who were behind the incidents as soon as possible completing investigations,” said Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam replying to a question at a briefing after the virtual Cabinet meeting.
Read: Rangpur: 1 arrested in Joypurhat under DSA, 42 for arson
He said the religious and political personalities were simultaneously requested to raise public awareness and not to react to anyone’s small twist of act.
The Prime Minister chaired the Cabinet meeting joining it from her official residence Ganobhaban.
Other cabinet members were connected from the Bangladesh Secretariat.
Attacks on Hindus need to be stopped: UNRC
UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh Mia Seppo has said the recent attacks on Hindus, "fueled by hate speech" on social media, are against the values of the Constitution and need to be stopped.
"We call upon the Government to ensure protection of minorities and an impartial probe," she said on Monday.
READ: Protesting recent communal attacks, Hindus issue 24 hrs ultimatum before withdrawing Shahbagh blockade
Protesting recent communal attacks, Hindus issue 24 hrs ultimatum before withdrawing Shahbagh blockade
Thousands of protesters on Monday blocked traffic at Shahbagh intersection for sveral hours to denounce the recent violence against minority Hindus in different parts of the country.
Joined by Dhaka University students the protesters from the Hindu community threatened to continue the blockade indefinitely.
However, around 2pm, they called off the sit-in programme following assurance from the authorities.
Also read: Quran desecration: Protesters clash with police in Baitul Mukarram area
The protesters were seen chanting slogans demanding a separate ministry for the minorities and asking the administration to answer why the temples were attacked.
Their demands include:
Formation of a special tribunal and investigate the negligence of local administration, ensure exemplary punishment for those involved in the attacks ,formation of separate ministry and commission for the country's minorities ,properly compensate the victim families and businesses , povide necessary treatment to those who got injured in the attacks , immediately rebuild the damaged temples, houses, and other establishments , make new law to ensure highest punishment for communal attacks , allocate 15 per cent of the country's GDP for minority communities,, revamp Hindu Religious Welfare Trust, release all Hindus arrested since the 13 October incident and compensate them , take measures to prevent the spread of communalism and prevent extremists and anti-independence forces from tarnishing Bangladesh's image.
They vowed to continue their protest until their demands are met.
Also read: Hindu people demonstrate in Noakhali
The blockade triggered
severe traffic gridlock in Shahbagh, Paltan, Science Lab, Elephant Road, Bangla Motor and the adjacent areas.
Earlier on 13 September, a reported demeaning of the holy Quran stoked communal tensions in Cumilla.
Following the incident, attacks were carried out on puja mandaps, temples, houses, and business establishments belonging to the Hindu community in at least 10 districts of the country.
Communal attacks: BNP forms two committees
BNP has formed two committees for what it said standing beside the victims of recent communal attacks and investigating the incidents for digging out facts.
BNP standing committee at a virtual meeting on Sunday formed the committees, said a press release signed by party secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Monday.
He said one of the committees was formed headed by BNP standing committee member Gayeshwar Chandra Roy while another was led by Supreme Court Bar Association secretary Barrister Ruhul Quddus Kazal.
Also read: Silence of police helped violence escalate: BNP
Fakhrul said the Gayeshwar-led committee will visit the violence-affected temples and puja mandaps in different areas of the country and solace the victims on behalf of BNP.
He said the other committee, led by Kazal, will look into the incidents of vandalism and arson attacks for find out the facts.
“The two committees will visit the affected areas very soon and submit a report to the party high-command. The decision was taken at our standing committee meeting. They will start their work in a day or two,” Fakhrul said.
He said the meeting expressed deep concern over the reported desecration of the Holy Quran during the biggest religious festival of the Hindu community and subsequent attacks on puja mandaps, vandalism and sectarian violence at the ‘’patronage’’ of the ruling party in different areas, including Cumilla, Chandpur, Noakhali and Chattogram.
Fakhrul said their standing committee thinks that the government itself has created such a communal crisis in the country to divert public attention to a different direction from the existing political crisis.
The BNP leader said they think the situation became complicated in each case due to the failure of law enforcement agencies to take effective action.
He said their standing committee urged the government to ensure the religious freedom of the Hindu community.
Also read: Govt plot behind communal incidents, alleges BNP
Fakhrul said the meeting criticised the government for its ‘move’ to hide the real offenders by implicating BNP leaders and activists in the cases filed over the sectarian violence without any investigation.
He said the BNP policymakers demanded that the culprits involved in the communal violence be identified immediately through an impartial inquiry and bringing them to justice.
At the same time, he said, they urged all citizens to remain alert and keep the communal harmony of the country intact.
BNP standing committee members Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, Jamiruddin Sircar, Mirza Abbas, Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan, Nazrul Islam Khan, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Selima Rahman and Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku joined the virtual meeting with party acting chairman Tarique Rahman in the chair.
No tolerance for communal attacks: Quader
Condemning attacks on Hindu community in the country’s different places, Awami League general secretary Obaidul Quader on Friday urged all to identify and hand over those who create rumour on social media to the law enforcement agencies.
He, in a statement, said the culprits behind the communal attacks would be brought to justice and the masterminds would be hunted down soon.
Quader, also the Road Transport and Bridges Minister, vehemently protested the attacks on Hindu community’s temples, houses and business establishments in different places of the country, including Chattogram, Chowmuhani and Burirchar of Hatia in Noakhali.
Read:Several identified, suspected instigators held over Cumilla incident: Home Minister
Noting that Bangladesh is a country of communal harmony, he said attacks on any religious community would never be tolerated. “The people of Bangladesh are secular and religious, but not sectarian and bigoted,” he said.
Obaidul Quader said Bangabandhu’s daughter and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has given strict instructions to the law enforcement agencies to restore peace and order as well as harmony in these parts of the country.
Read:Cumilla incident: DIG says offenders to be hunted down
He called upon all progressive people who believe in the spirit of the country's liberation war to unite to resist the BNP-Jamaat evil-alliance, which is the patron of these bigoted, communal and militant forces.