HfHR ANZ: Statement on Evolving Situation in Bangladesh
Media Statement on Evolving Situation in Bangladesh
Amidst concern for minority protections, need for diasporic groups to guard against misinformation, hate speech, and fear-mongering.
August 20, 2024: As Bangladesh goes through a political upheaval and civil unrest, we offer our support and solidarity particularly to the Bangladeshi community in Australia.
On August 6th, the Bangladeshi newspaper, Daily Star has reported Hindu houses and businesses attacked in 27 districts in Bangladesh.[1] While we are concerned about these attacks on minority communities and on supporters of the Awami League party, (the two often being conflated in media reports), we appreciate the statements and actions from the government and student leaders that assure minorities of their rights and protection. We urge all stakeholders to ensure that violence is swiftly brought under control and victims and survivors get justice.
The President of Bangladesh has appointed economist and Nobel Prize winner, Dr. Muhammed Yunus, as the head of the interim government. The priority of the interim government seems to be to end the violence against Hindus and other minorities. The interim government has called for a meeting with members of the Hindu community as well as student leaders to address the issue.
Student leaders (including Hindu students) who led the protest against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina have made it clear that their goal is a secular, democratic Bangladesh, with equal rights for all. The Army is supporting Dr. Yunus and the students.
The Hindu community has boldly come out on the streets to demand equality. According to one report, the Hindu community’s demands include “the establishment of a fast-track tribunal for swift trials in cases of attacks on Hindus, the urgent enactment of a minority protection law, upgrading the Hindu Religious Welfare Trust to a foundation, modernising the Pali Education Board, declaring a five-day holiday during Sharadiya Durga Puja, and establishing a Ministry of Minority Affairs.” Another report included a demand to reserve 10% of parliamentary seats for the minorities.
The international community, as well as diaspora human rights and faith-based groups such as HfHR and The Humanism Project have emphasised the need to offer our full support to Dr. Yunus and the interim government as they work towards ending the violence and restoring democracy.
In this situation, it is concerning that media disinformation is rife, and that it is fuelling unrest both in Bangladesh and within diaspora communities.[2] In addition, it is unfortunate that opportunistic forces are using the upheaval in Bangladesh to sow fissures in Australia’s diasporic communities through irresponsible and inflammable statements that are discriminatory, ignorant, and targeted towards other oppressed groups fleeing persecution. In particular, we urge right wing Hindu organisations [3] as well as Jewish organisations that are speaking out in support of Bangladeshi Hindus to exercise restraint in their statements and take into cognizance the misinformation and disinformation that is deliberately being propagated, which threatens social cohesion. [4]
A recent ABC article states that " within hours of Ms Hasina's resignation and flight from Bangladesh, news started to appear across Indian media outlets and social media that Hindu minorities were being attacked by "Islamist forces", further inflaming anxieties. BBC's fact-checking unit and BBC Bangla have analysed several posts online and found them misleading or false. Many of the accounts sharing the false or unverified claims were from India, which is the world's largest Hindu-majority country, and right on Bangladesh's western border." [5]
It is incumbent upon civil society, community organisations and advocacy groups to engage with issues with fairness and parity and therefore, while we advocate for minority protections in Bangladesh in this instance, we must also raise our collective voices for minority rights and protections in Muslim-majority Pakistan, and in Hindu-majority India, particularly in the face of the rising persecution of Muslims, Sikhs, Christians as well as Dalit, Bahujan and Adivasi communities.
We wish for a strong, safe, and prosperous Bangladesh. We grieve for all those who have lost their lives, been injured, or been affected adversely by the recent tumultuous events. We salute the courage of young people who have taken a stand for a change towards progress, justice, and peace.
Australia's rich multi-cultural ethos, its strong adherence to democratic principles and its protection of human rights are shared values that we each must protect and abide by. In times of strife in our countries of origin, it is even more essential that we stand by each other, raise our voices for human rights and justice for all, and find better ways to disagree.
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2 https://thewire.in/south-asia/fact-check-bangladesh-violence-false-claims
3 https://hinducouncil.com.au/new/stop-killing-hindus-condemnation-of-atrocities-on-hindus-in-bangladesh/