RaniI Santayana, Ph.D.

The statement aims to reveal a rough scenario of the continuing different institutional persecution on the grounds of religion and ethnicity. Simultaneously to alert the civilised Nations of the systematic rapid increasing of radical Islamic extremism, who steadily aimed to cleanse the 14 mln. Hindu, Christian, Buddhist and other tribes, the religious minorities, from Bangladesh to make it a pure Islamic, a neo-Talibani Bangladesh.

Eliminating the minorities took place since August 14, 1947. But they have gained unprecedented
momentum ever since the Islamic hardliners assumed power with an absolute majority in the parliament in October, 2001.(*1) It allowed them to make Bangladesh a ‘freehold’ Islamic country. Since then, the BNP armed cedars with their associates Jamat and other Muslim extremists have conducted deliberate, systemetic, unprovoked, savage attacks on minorities.

Atrocities have typically included brutal torture and ghastly murders of intellectuals, priests, and monks; gang rape and mass rape of women, forcible conversion to Islam; imposition of exorbitant tax; desecration and razing of temples, pagodas, and churches; destructing the deities; looting, razing, and burning down of homes and businesses. They then leave with such ultimatums as: ”Either convert to Islam by January 10 or else you will be driven out of the country”(*2).

These persecutions for the religious minorities started since 1947 when Bangladesh had been East
Pakistan. In 1971 liberation war, majority of the victims were Hindus, who were killed (3 million), forced to flee(10 million), women, who were raped (100,000) and many more were assaulted, whose houses were burned, demolished, properties were extorted. These became state-sponsored in independent Bangladesh since the 5th amendment, when the Parliament abolished ‘Secularism’ as one of the 4th fundamental principles of our Constitution. In 8th amendment, ‘Islam’ has been declared as the state religion. The weekly Holiday had been changed from ‘Sunday’ to ‘Friday’, which inspired the Muslim become openly extremists and to move forward.(*3)

Even, the Elite minorities could not be protected by the authorities. 5 minorities professors of Chittagong University have been threatened to be killed if they fail to leave Bangladesh immediately(*4).

The BNP and Jamat armed cedars have not even spared 4 to 8 years girls, after tearing them from their mothers’ arms, they have cut wide their genitalia and raped them repeatedly in turn, even though the girls became unconscious and were bleeding profusely. In the case of minorities, they have mass raped, and routinely gang raped minor daughters and mothers together, forcing the vulnerable sons, brothers and fathers to watch.(*5)

The perpetrators had threatened in advance to fathers of young daughters, who failed to pay the exorbitant tax saying’ Uncle, we will visit you to night,so get ready to entertain us’. This made ten thousands of minorities to flee Bangladesh en masse, in yet another wave of exodus to India.(*6)

The ruling BNP, Jamat and other Islamic extremist political parties openly represent pro-Taliban forces in Bangladesh. The leaders of these parties are partners of crime. For example, the Harkat-ul
Jihad-I-Islami(HUJI) was declared a terrorist organisation by the Office of the Coordinator for the
Global Terrorism/US dept. of State,May21,2001. Fajlur Rahman of HUJI signed an official declaration of ‘holy war’ like Bin Laden against the USA on Feb.23, 1998.(*7)

Since Oct. 2001, Amnesty International, European Union, US Law Makers, our Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council (BHBCUC) from the UK, USA, and many other national organisations repeatedly urged the Prime Minister Begum Zia to prevent continuing brutal persecution and minority genocide. We (BHBCUC) made a petition to Mrs. Zia after having a conference in the House of the British Parliament in presence of several members of House of Lords, MEP on 26th Nov,2002. We, the Youth Front of BHBCUC, UK, did a protest through a
‘Hunger Strike’, on May 23, 2003, in front of the Bangladesh High Commission, London and sent a petition to the Prime Minister. But, Mrs. Zia did not heed these. Rather, she continuously denies these facts of persecution in country and abroad. She and her components are determined to establish a pure Islamic state by cleansing the religious minorities.(*8)

At present, the minority girls are being forced to embrace Islam. The minorities have long been treated as second class citizens in employments, education, health treatment, business, almost every where. Already 2 years ago, 2.5 mln. acres land of the Hindu have been confiscated, which has been legitimated by Vested Property Act.(*9) Now it must be more.

The recent incident of burning 11 Hindus, including a baby of 4 days to man of 70 years, reminds us the state-sponsored genocide(*10) in Bangladesh. As the religious persecution since Oct.2001, appears to be a clear genocide, ”Persons committing genocide or any of the other acts enumerated in Art.3 shall be punished, whether they are constitutionally responsible rulers, public officials or private individuals”.(*11) Hence, the Fatwa-monger, MP Delwar Hussein Sayidee, Abdul Mannan, Golam Azam, Fazlur Rahman, Presidents Zia(demised), Ershad, PM Begum Zia must be trailed in the International Criminal Court, like German Aikeman, Melochevich etc. To be mentioned, there is no limitation of period for such trail.

PM Khaleda Zia would be trailed for the following reasons: (a)Under her patronage and direct complicity, minority genocide has continued unabated.(b)In 1992,as the PM of Bangladesh, her armed forces massacred tribal minorities. On April,10,1992, her armed forces surrounded the tribal village ‘Lagang’, ”systematically murdered” 130 residents of the village. 17 US Congressmen on 13th Nov,1992, wrote to the PM Khaleda Zia and urged to rectify her mistreatment of the minorities.(c) Using the Babri Mosque issue, she encouraged her party activists and Islamic extremists to conduct a violent campaign of atrocities against Hindus, in which 15 people were murdered, 2600 raped, 3600 temples razed, and 200,000 rendered homeless.(d)Several areas of Bhola transformed into a wasteland: 10,000 families rendered homeless.(*12) (e) ”Violence continues: 700 houses (Hindu owned) reduced to ashes in Chittagong.”(*13)Further, in her second time of being PM since Oct.2001, 4 mln. minorities were affected in the first month of her victory.(*14) (f) Atrocities resemble the last few decades. Consequently, upwards of 100,000 minorities fled to India in first 17 months
of her reign.(15) those above facts deem that she can be trailed for minorities genocide in two different reigns.

The strange fact is that, she still denies. She repeatedly claimed through her High Commissioners that ”the highest degree of communal harmony” prevails in the ”Muslim Democracy in Bangladesh”.

Lawyer Dr.Kamal Hossain brought a Lawsuit to the Supreme Court on behalf of ”Law and Mediation
Centre” against the PM Begum Zia regime, charging that minority women and children were raped by the agents of the ruling parties.(*16) But because of the government’s own investigation, the case was dismissed.

There are more examples of PM Begum Zia’s negligence. As, after producing 5 reports on religious minority persecution, the Secretary General of Amnesty International(AI) visited Dhaka, and upon meeting with PM Begum Zia urged her to stop the violence. But the AI Sec. General after time said that although last year PM Zia herself had undertaken to do as she(AI)asked, AI had no information to the effect that they had done any thing.(*17)

Furthermore, Dr. Khan of ‘The Daily Prothom Alo’ when asked the PM what was being done about the victims of violence against the minorities, the PM responded with: ”Nothing”.

The Hindu, Buddhist, Christian had two major problems: repealing of the Enemy Property Act(18) and regaining possession of the holy Shrine of Rama Kali Temple and Ma Anandamayee Monastery, which had been demolished by the Pakistani Occupying forces and their Bangladeshi Islamic nationalists and extremists.

The minority supported Awami League(AL), as they set ‘secularism’ in the Constitution. They had a hope that once they will abolish that Enemy Property Act and return the properties to the Hindu, secondly will re-establish ‘secularism’. Hence, the Hindu sticked to AL since 1975. But in 1996, when the AL came into power, the Hindu realised that still they will remain with those above problems, and as second class citizen. Now, it is clear that no other government will come to reestablish the equal rights for the Hindu and other minorities.

Bangladesh was born as a secular state, and the minorities also sacrificed their lives to achieve
Independence. So they have the right to live in a secular Bangladesh. Most tolerant Muslim intellectuals and politicians have maintained that once the original Constitution is restored, the minority genocide will stop automatically and that they will regain equal rights.

The Doctrine of Daniel Pipes mentions that the rising of radical Islamists can be defeated by two
ways:(1)Strengthening the tolerant Muslims, and exerting diplomatic pressure, and (2) The minority
genocide can only be stopped through international mediation.

However, the minorities should have to think of gaining their own strength to stand steady, and come
forward all means for the survival, as they already have no room to go back.

What is happening in Bangladesh for the religious minorities, beggars description. The recent burning of 11 Hindus to death in one family(on 18.11.2003) and the unlawful and offensive comments about it by the Home Minister, and the attitude of the Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, show how far the institutional religious persecution has gone. The Director of the Legal Aid group ‘ASK’, Mrs. Sultana Kamal stated ’’We have not seen human right violation like this before. It has never been so bad’’. (*19). So, it is contemplated that now is the time for the United Nation and the community of civilised nations to act for the minorities of Bangladesh. To create effective pressure to our government, and to stop all foreign aid, if the government does not take any immediate and practical step to stop these persecution. If for the sake of global human rights, the anti-terrorist nations like the US, UK were able abolish the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, if their army could catch Mr. Saddam, ‘just like a Rat’(*20) and free Iraqi people from his dictatorship, we urged them to take effective step to abolish brutal persecution for the Hindu, Buddhist, Christian and other religious minorities in Bangladesh.

Source: http://www.mayerdak.com/syspersec.htm

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