Not to be confused with a censure

Whichever way the detractors might look at it, there is no denying a general feeling that the Ahmadiyyas are being discriminated against and that more lie in store for them. This impression has especially gathered momentum overseas with some negative implications for our image, a prospect, or shall we say, a reality that must be overlooked or underplayed to be courting further damage to our standing in the international community.

Let's not forget, Bangladesh has been, for ages, known for such collective ethos as are inherently disposed towards communal harmony and tolerance of each other's faiths and beliefs. It is only when incitement were engineered by obscurantist elements trying to capitalise on religious sentiments of people that the trouble ensued. If the government would play even an ambivalent role, let alone that of a spectator to the dangers posed to social equilibrium, it could give encouraging signals to the elements out to destroy social peace.

The discussion-meet organised by Bangladesh Ain-o-Salish Kendra, Bangladesh Society for Enforcement of Human Rights and Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust on the subject of 'Human Rights: Challenges Facing Bangladesh' brought us up-to-date with a latest assessment of the Ahmadiyya situation.

What has particularly drawn our attention is the observation made at the Dhaka seminar by Brad Adams, Executive Director of the Asia Division at the New York-based organisation Human Rights Watch (HRW). In his reckoning, the situation in Bangladesh has not become critical, which is why it is the right time to bring the issue up and tackle it -- before it goes out of hand.

Any independent observer would say this and there couldn't be any second opinion on the contention.

By way of resurrecting the status quo ante for the Ahmadiyyas, the ban on their publications and the removal of signboards from their mosques need to cease. Also, the incidents of intimidation, violence and harassment against the community must be effectively investigated and those responsible brought to justice.