In response to the urgent situation unfurling in Bangladesh, HAF’s Director of Policy Research Anita Joshi, Utsav Chakrabarti, Executive Director of HinduACTion, Human Rights Collective for Bangladesh Minorities Executive Director Priya Saha, and geopolitical analyst Jay Kansara met with the US Ambassador for International Religious Freedom Rashad Hussein at the US State Department in Washington, DC to urge US government action.
The group briefed Ambassador Hussein on the violence directed at Hindus and other religious minorities throughout Bangladesh, sharing documented incidents against Hindus and Hindu temples from the past 48 hours amidst the civil unrest.
Characterizing the meeting, HAF Director of Policy Research Anita Joshi stated:
“It was expressed to Ambassador Hussein that the United States’ silence in response to the violence against Hindus and other religious minorities in Bangladesh has been deafening. The failure of Congress and this administration to acknowledge and condemn the violence against Hindus and other religious minorities is unacceptable. The situation on the ground in Bangladesh is urgent and dire. We implore the State Department to use its clout and resources to put an end to this rampant violence against religious minorities, violence rooted in decades of mistrust and maltreatment of Bangladesh’s Hindu minority.”
Utsav Chakrabarti, who has been closely working with the Bangladeshi Hindu diaspora over the past two decades said:
“After the appointment of Dr. Mohammad Yunus as the interim leader, the Biden administration has to take ownership for the security of Hindus and other religious minorities in Bangladesh. It is critical that the State Department and the White House work towards ensuring that a 1971 genocide like scenario is not repeated.”
Priya Saha stated:
“We request that the White House, State Department, and USCIRF unequivocally condemn the merciless wide scale atrocities against Hindus and other minority communities across Bangladesh. All perpetrators must be brought to accountability. It is necessary that peacekeeping forces be deployed to prevent further bloodshed, and even a repeat of the genocide of 1971. Ultimately, victims will need to be provided some form of reparation to rebuild their lives after losing everything.”
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this statement misstated Priya Saha’s current organizational affiliation. HAF regrets the error.
