With protests intensifying over attacks against the Hindu community in Bangladesh, both the United Nations (UN) and the United States (US) condemned the violence. Mia Seppo, the UN's resident coordinator in Bangladesh, said in a Twitter post on Monday that the attacks on Hindus are against the values of the Bangladesh constitution and need to stop. "We call upon government to ensure protection of minorities and an impartial probe," Seppo said. "We call upon all to join hands to strengthen an inclusive tolerant Bangladesh."
Recent attacks on Hindus in🇧🇩 fueled by hate speech on social media, are against the values of the Constitution and need to stop. We call upon Government to ensure protection of minorities and an impartial probe. We call upon all to join hands to strengthen inclusive tolerant🇧🇩
— Mia Seppo (@MiaSeppo) October 18, 2021
The United States State Department called for the violence to stop. "Freedom of religion or belief is a human right. Every person around the world, regardless of their religious affiliation or belief, should feel safe and supported to celebrate important holidays," a spokesperson said.
Attacks on Hindu temples have intensified since last Wednesday after a photo was posted on social media showing a copy of Islam's holy book, the Quran, at the feet of a statue at a Hindu temple in the eastern district of Cumilla.
Local media reported that six Hindus were killed in separate attacks, but the figures could not confirmed independently. Local media downplayed their coverage of the violence, apparently under pressure from the government to control any new attacks as Hindus celebrated their largest religious festival, Durga Puja, that ended Friday.
New attacks took place Sunday night in a northern village, where unidentified people burned up to 26 homes of Hindus despite a warning by the government that such attacks would be firmly punished.
Reactions
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) noted that the government in the neighbouring country has reacted promptly to ensure that the situation was under control and said that the Indian mission is in close contact with the Bangladeshi authorities over the matter.
On Monday, the followers of the Hindu group International Society for Krishna Consciousness were joined by students and teachers from Dhaka University in blocking a major intersection in Dhaka to demand justice. Several other Hindu groups also joined the peaceful protest at the Shahbagh intersection.
"It is especially horrifying to see the last remaining Hindus in Noakhali [southeast Bangladesh] being attacked in this way, 75 years after Islamists demanding the creation of Pakistan killed 12,000 Hindus and forcibly converted 50,000 (of them) to Islam in October 1946," said Utsav Chakrabarti, executive director of HinduPACT, a US-based Hindu advocacy group.
Members of ISKCON Kolkata on Sunday demonstrated outside Bangladesh Deputy High Commission, seeking action against miscreants who attacked its temple in the neighbouring country two days ago, reportedly leaving one person dead and many injured.
