Labour Party MP Barry Gardiner on Monday requested for an urgent session in the UK Parliament to discuss the situation in Bangladesh and recent attacks on members of Hindu community….reports Asian Lite News
UK MPs have raised concern over the attacks on Hindu community in Bangladesh and the arrest of religious leaders, calling the degree of escalation in the violence “deeply concerning.” Conservative MP Bob Blackman said there was an “attempt at ethnic cleansing of Hindus.”
Labour Party MP Barry Gardiner on Monday requested for an urgent session in the UK Parliament to discuss the situation in Bangladesh and recent attacks on members of Hindu community.
Informing the members of UK Parliament regarding the measures taken by the government regarding the situation in Bangladesh, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State For Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, Catherine West, recalled her visit to Bangladesh in November, where she met Bangladesh Interim government’s chief advisor Muhammad Yunus and discussed bilateral issues, including the importance of protecting religious minorities in Bangladesh.
West stated, “Just last month, as my hon. Friend the Member for Brent West (Barry Gardiner) is aware, I visited Bangladesh, where, as part of our programme, I met Chief Adviser Professor Yunus and Foreign Affairs Adviser Touhid Hossain. At the meeting with Chief Adviser Yunus, I discussed the full range of bilateral issues, including the importance of protecting religious minorities in Bangladesh.”
“The UK Government support freedom of religion or belief and freedom of expression in Bangladesh through both our political advocacy and development programme funding, providing up to £27 million from March 2023 to February 2028 under the Bangladesh collaborative, accountable and peaceful politics programme for protecting civic and political space,” she added.
She said that the Bangladesh interim government had given them assurances on Hindu community in Bangladesh. West said, “She stated that UK government will continue to monitor the situation, including making representations from this House, and will engage with the interim Government in Bangladesh on the importance of freedom of religion or belief specifically as it affects the Hindu community.”
She stated that UK is aware about Indian government’s concerns following the arrest of Hindu leader Chinmoy Krishna Das.
Catherine West said, “We are aware of the statement of concern from the Indian Government following the arrest of Chinmoy Krishna Das, a well-known Hindu leader, on sedition charges. The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office desk is closely monitoring those developments.”
Chinmoy Krishna Das who is associated with the Sammilita Sanatani Jagaran Jote, was arrested in Dhaka on November 25. The arrest followed a complaint filed on October 31 by a local politician that accused Chinmoy Das and others of disrespecting Bangladesh’s national flag during a rally of the Hindu community.
In his remarks at the Parliament, Barry Gardiner said that Bangladesh has witnessed over 2000 incidents of violence since the fall of the previous government in August.
Gardiner stated, “Since the fall of the previous Government in August, Bangladesh has seen more than 2,000 incidents of violence, most of which have been targeted against the minority Hindu community. Hindus make up less than 10 per cent of the population of Bangladesh. As my hon. Friend will be aware, anti-Hindu violence has been a recurrent event in Bangladesh. Indeed, earlier this year, the Jamaat-e-Islami party was banned after riots in which 200 people were killed.”
Govt updates Bangladesh travel advisory
The government has warned travellers about possible terrorist attacks in Bangladesh and updated its travel advisory to reflect this caution. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) reviewed the ‘safety and security’ section of its advisory for Bangladesh on Tuesday evening.
The update reinforces the existing advisory discouraging “all but essential travel” to Bangladesh. “Terrorists are likely to try to carry out attacks in Bangladesh,” reads the updated FCDO travel advisory.
“Terrorist attacks could be indiscriminate, including in places visited by foreign nationals, such as crowded areas, religious buildings, (and) political rallies. Some groups have targeted people who they consider to have views and lifestyles contrary to Islam,” the advisory goes on.
“There have been occasional attacks against minority religious communities and targeting police and security forces. These have included improvised explosive device (IED) attacks in major cities. The Bangladeshi authorities continue to work to disrupt planned attacks. Increases in security force presence and restrictions on movement may be put in place at short notice,” it adds.
Under the “political situation” section, the advice remains that the “situation remains volatile” in the country.
“Political rallies and demonstrations continue to take place. These can quickly turn violent leading to clashes with law enforcement. During demonstrations and strikes (‘hartals’), there can be arson, violence and vandalism in towns and cities across the country, which can result in fatalities. Attacks against property and public transport are possible,” it reads.
The FCDO advisory is a guidance on travel rather than a government-imposed regulation and could lead to travel insurance being invalidated if that advice is overlooked.
The update follows a series of parliamentary interventions by cross-party members of Parliament, raising concerns over recent attacks on the minority Hindu community there and the arrest of religious leaders in Bangladesh.
“We are aware of the statement of concern from the Indian government following the arrest of Chinmoy Krishna Das, a well-known Hindu leader, on sedition charges. The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) desk is closely monitoring those developments,” Catherine West, Minister for the Indo-Pacific told the House of Commons on Monday.
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