Whoever wins, minorities always face violence
Community leaders urge all parties to ensure security
Leaders of minority communities yesterday called upon all political parties in the country to pledge for ending targeted violence against religious and ethnic minorities that taint elections.
No matter which party wins in the election and comes to the power, the minority communities are always the scapegoat and face violence, they said at a roundtable.
A total of 10 organisations representing minority communities, including Bangladesh Minority Janata Party (BMJP) and Bangladesh Jatiya Hindu Mohajote (BJHM), organised the discussion on 'Upcoming parliamentary polls and minority communities' safety' at Jatiya Press Club in Dhaka.
Speaking at the programme, Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad's President Kajal Debnath said, “For the minority communities, election means violence. We urge all political parties to remove this stigma from election, because it is meant to be a festive event.”
He alleged that the Awami League-led 14-party alliance has nominated about 25 candidates in the 11th parliamentary polls who were involved in minority repression in the last 10 years.
“We urged not to nominate them but in vain. They seek our votes to continue the flow of development, but neither Awami League nor the prime minister has assured to put a stop to violence against us,” said Kajal.
“We will vote for them who will commit to ensuring our safety and upholding our rights in the parliament,” he added.
Oikya Nap President Pankaj Bhattacharya said pledging to develop the country with the spirit of Liberation War and committing communal violence cannot continue simultaneously.
“We cannot let polls-time violence against minorities turn into a tradition,” he said.
Dhaka University Professor Mesbah Kamal said the way minority population is reducing gradually proves that the country is not safe for them.
“This is a country where ministers and lawmakers seize the properties of minority communities. I don't know how many of the minorities will remain in the country if such situation continues,” he added.