Incidents of attack, violence take place despite govt steps

Although the government has taken steps including deployment of law enforcers to protect the minority people, a number of incidents of attack and violence have taken place in 2021.

The US State Department on Thursday revealed this regarding Bangladesh in its 2021 Report on International Religious Freedom.

The report says the government deployed law enforcement personnel at religious sites, festivals, and events considered possible targets for violence.

However, members of religious minorities, including Hindus, Buddhists, and Christians, who were sometimes also members of ethnic minorities, continued to say the government was ineffective in preventing forced evictions and land seizures stemming from land disputes.

US secretary of state Antony Blinken and ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom Rashad Hussain were present during the launching of the report.

They presented different aspects of the report.

This report offers a thorough, fact-based review of the state of religious freedom in nearly 200 countries and territories around the world.

Antony Blinken said, "This year’s report includes several countries where we see notable progress, thanks to the work of governments, civil society organizations, and citizens."

"Unfortunately, the report also shows that we have more work to do. In many parts of the world, governments are failing to respect their citizens’ basic rights," he added.

The report says the constitution of Bangladesh designates Islam as the state religion but upholds the principle of secularism. It prohibits religious discrimination and provides for equality for all religions.

In response to widespread anti-Hindu communal violence from 13-14 October that left several persons dead, including Muslims and Hindus, the government condemned the attacks, provided aid and additional security to Hindu communities, and brought criminal charges against more than 20,000 individuals.

The US report said there were three high-profile convictions tied to religious issues during the year, with tribunals sentencing to death eight Islamic militants for killing a publisher in 2015, five men for the 2015 killing of an atheist blogger, and 14 members of a banned Islamist group for a conspiracy in 2000 to assassinate the prime minister.

In meetings with government officials, civil society members, religious leaders, and in public statements, Blinken said the US ambassador, other embassy representatives, and a senior Department of State official spoke out against acts of violence in the name of religion and urged the government to uphold the rights of minority religious groups and foster a climate of tolerance.

Citing India, the world’s largest democracy and home to a great diversity of faiths, he said, "We’ve seen rising attacks on people and places of worship."

Antony Blinken said the report documents how religious freedom and the rights of religious minorities are under threat in communities around the world.

Rashad Hussain said too many governments use discriminatory laws and policies and abuse their own people. "We have seen two genocides of religious minority communities in recent years – in China and in Burma," he added.