Stop Ethnic Cleansing and Human rights violation against minorities in Bangladesh

To:  Mr. Kofi Annan, Secretary General, UN

Mr. Kofi Annan,
Secretary General
United Nations

CC : Mr. George Bush, President of United States
Ms. Khaleda Zia, Prime Minister of Bangladesh
Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, Prime Minister of India
Ms. Mary Robinson, UNHRC
Amnesty International


Sir,
Bangladesh held their national election on Oct 1st and BNP, led by Ms. Khaleda Zia in alliance with Fundamentalist Jamait-e-Islami emerged the victor. Immediately savage atrocities were unleashed upon the minority Hindu and other religious communities. Gangs rampaged into Hindu localities, looted and burnt down homes, attacked and killed people, gang raped women in public and took women as booty. Hindu temples were burnt down and deities destroyed. Victims were thundered to leave Bangladesh and to go to India. The rampage spread across Bangladesh very fast.

Barishal, Bagherhat and Firujpur are severely affected. In Barishal numerous women were gang-raped and tortured inhumanely. According to Daily Star and other newspapers, BNP and Jamait allies went on barbaric rampage in Chandshi, Bahadurpur, Barthi, Pingolkati, Ashukati, Agaizara and numerous other places on minorities for their support of Awami League. They gang-raped women publicly, gouged eyes, slaughtered any one in their way. An eyewitness says "you name any sorts of barbaric misdeeds, these Islamic fundamentalists have committed them all". The way two teens from Dhanduba under Gournadi sub-district were raped will shame the entire world. They have even poisoned the ponds so that minorities cannot even drink the water.

Acts of sheer brutality are reported from Rajshahi, Chapainababganj, Pabna, Atgoria, Kashinathpur and other northern districts of Bangladesh. Hindu minorities from Dinajpur, Takurgawn, Goaplpur, Tarash Sirajganj, Ullapara, Gaibanda and Shahajadpur are already leaving the country. The indigenous people along with Christian and Buddhist are also feeling the heat. Most of the victims stated that no police protection was seen anywhere. Minorities in Bangladesh have no government protection even in normal times against rape and abduction, forcible occupation of property & business, coercion and forced conversion to Islam.

Eyewitnesses are afraid that the situation has deteriorated so fast it may surpass the painful happenings of Dec '92 or Oct '90 when on each occasion over three thousand Hindu temples were destroyed, thousands of women raped, hundreds of thousands of homes burnt & businesses looted and millions of Hindus cleansed. If not intervened it may even touch the pathetic 1971 war, when Pakistan army and Islamic Razakars killed close to three million Hindus, raped million Hindu women and cleansed ten million Hindus who took refuge in secular India.

However there is one silver lining this time: though slim yet a section of Bangladesh media is reporting at least a partial account of the pogrom at great personal risk. Following Internet editions can be browsed for this bold, honest journalistic act: -


http://www.dailystarnews.com/200110/18/n1101801.htm
http://www.hrcbm.org/news/janakant_news.html
http://www.bangladesh-web.com/news/oct/11/pv4n714.htm http://independent-bangladesh.com/news/oct/11/11102001ct.htm
http://www.hrcbm.org/news/mahyem_ajkerkagaj.html
www.homelandbangladesh.com

The Human rights and women rights groups are afraid that if it continued, then Hindus will be wiped out. Present government made light of the atrocities which encouraged the Islamic fanatics to further destruction.

To live a life in Islamic theocracy is a challenge everyday to a non-Muslim. Yet after every few years ethnic cleansing, rape and forced conversion takes place. Same thing happened in '92 when Ms. Khaleda Zia won her first prime ministerial bid .
In such a grave situation human-rights groups, media, intellectuals, NGOs and governments of civilized nations preferred to remain silent.

We urge you, the secretary General of the august world body, to please act swiftly to stop the carnage, to make reparations to the victims and initiate ways to stop such dehumanizing acts forever in this Islamic theocracy of Bangladesh.

With all the expectations so that Bangladesh Hindus, Buddhists and Christians have a chance to live their life with safety and security,

Thank you very much.
Yours sincerely,

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

The Stop Ethnic Cleansing and Human rights violation against minorities in Bangladesh Petition to Mr. Kofi Annan, Secretary General, UN was created by HRCBM and written by Human Rights Congress for Bangladesh Minorities (info@hrcbm.org).  This petition is hosted here at www.PetitionOnline.com as a public service. There is no endorsement of this petition, express or implied, by Artifice, Inc. or our sponsors. For technical support please use our simple Petition Help form.