Washington/Dhaka: The United States has said that there needs to be respect for fundamental freedoms, like respect for religious freedom and basic human rights, amid the reports of attacks on Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh.
US State Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said this during a media briefing when told that British MPs Barry Gardiner and Priti Patel had voiced concern in the UK parliament over violence against Hindus in Bangladesh, and had highlighted over 2,000 violent incidents and have called for urgent government discussion with Bangladeshi authorities to ensure protection and freedom of religion for the minority communities in Bangladesh.
Asked if there was any plan by the US to address this concern through diplomatic and policy measures, Patel said:
“So we are consistent with every government in which we have a relationship with – we are clear that there needs to be the respect of fundamental freedoms; there needs to be respect of religious freedom and basic human rights. Any kind of protests should be and need to be peaceful, and that any kind of crackdown – not even crackdown – that governments need to respect the rule of law, they need to respect basic human rights as part of that. And that’s something we’ll continue to emphasize.”
To a question on the arrest and denial of bail of Hindu monk Chinmoy Das and that no lawyer in Bangladesh is willing to stand for Chinmoy Krishna Das because his lawyer was beaten and sent to the hospital, Patel said:
“We continue to stress and emphasize that even those who are in detention need to be afforded appropriate representation and need to be treated with basic fundamental freedoms and human rights.”
Separately, US lawmaker Brad Sherman in a statement urged the interim government of Bangladesh to "demonstrate leadership" in stopping alleged violence against minorities.
Over the weekend, Hindus from Bangladesh organised a rally in front of the White House demanding the release of former ISKCON priest Chinmoy Das and protection for Hindus in Bangladesh.
"Bangladesh's interim government has an absolute obligation to protect its Hindu minority and meaningfully address the protests of thousands of minority Hindus in outcry over the recent wave of attacks and harassment," Congressman Brad Sherman said in a statement.
"With the calls for an investigation from the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk for killings and other rights violations during the violent unrest leading up to and after the fall of Bangladesh's former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the current administration must demonstrate leadership in eliminating acts of violence against the Hindu community," Sherman said.
Utsav Chakrabarti, executive director of HinduACTion, called on the outgoing Biden-Harris administration to take measures to prevent further escalation of violence by radical Islamists against the Hindus in Bangladesh.
"Based on the feedback we are getting from #Bangladesh, Hindu monk and civil rights defender Chinmoy Krishna Brahmachari, who has been incarcerated by the interim government, faces a serious threat to his life, in custody,” he said.
