Punish pogromists

Sammilito Sangskritik Jote brings out a procession in the capital yesterday demanding punishment for perpetrators of attacks on Hindu communities in the wake of the January 5 election. Photo: Focus Bangla

Different rights bodies and socio-cultural organisations yesterday demanded exemplary punishment for the perpetrators of the attacks on minority communities in different districts of the country in the wake of the election.
They also demanded that the government rehabilitate the victims who lost their homes, businesses and properties in the attacks.
As soon as the voting ended on Sunday afternoon, BNP and Jamaat-Shibir men looted, vandalised and burned Hindu houses in Thakurgaon, Dinajpur, Rangpur, Bogra, Lalmonirhat, Rajshahi, Chittagong and Jessore.
Awami League General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam in a statement yesterday urged all progressive forces of the country to stay alert and resist the communal atrocities of the BNP-Jamaat.
Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzaman in a statement said, “The calculated attacks on minority communities and their worship places are the vilest form of human rights violation.”
Stating that the attacks are similar to the 2001 post-polls violence, the TIB statement said the “savagery” could have been averted if the administration took preventive measures beforehand.
The Election Commission, administration and law enforcers have utterly failed to perform their duties, it added.
National Human Rights Commission said if attacks on the minority communities continue, the nation's secular values will be at stake.
Condemning the atrocities, Ekatturer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee and Forum for Secular Bangladesh and Trial of War Criminals in a joint statement demanded exemplary punishment for administration officials who neglected their duties or assisted the attackers.
Some 600 pro-AL Dhaka University teachers in statement demanded proper investigation into the matter and called on  the people to stand united against such atrocities.
Bangladesh Hindu-Buddhist-Christian Oikya Parishad formed human chain in front of the Jatiya Press Club and held a rally protesting the attack and announced protest rallies and processions across the county on January 11.
Gonojagoron Mancha demanded formation and enactment of a new law ensuring severe punishment to prevent communal atrocities.
The mancha will also visit affected areas and assist the victims in coping with their losses. The platform announced a “road march” from the capital to Jessore on January 10 and 11 to resist communal violence.
Other organisations, including Bangabandhu Sangskritik Jote, Shushashoner Janney Nagorik (SHUJAN), Bangladesh Jatiya Hindu Mohajot, Communist Party of Bangladesh, Gonotantrik Bam Morcha, and Steps Towards Development, also condemned the attacks.
A platform of journalists, Shamprodayikota Birodhi Sangbadik Mancha, announced a human chain today in front of the Jatiya Press Club protesting the attacks.