DHAKA: Bangladesh interim government head Muhammad Yunus on Thursday sought the cooperation of the religious leaders in collecting accurate information about attacks on minorities and bringing the perpetrators to justice amid reports of attacks on Hindus in the country. Speaking at a meeting of religious leaders of Bangladesh here, Chief Adviser Yunus said that the issue of attacks on minorities has come up again and there is a gap of information between the reality and the news published by foreign media.
“We want to know the accurate information and want to establish the process of getting the information,” he was quoted as saying by the state-run BSS news agency.
Yunus did not specify the “foreign” media, but several of his colleagues in the interim cabinet and aides have accused a section of Indian media of propagating misleading information, particularly on persecution of the Hindu community.
Addressing the meeting attended by leaders of the Muslim, Hindu, Christian and Buddhist communities, Yunus said he called the meeting as “several questions aroused in my mind seeing what the (foreign) media reports and hearing what people are saying” and sought the religious leaders cooperation and suggestions in collecting “accurate information” and addressing the issue.
“There is no difference between our goals. Please tell us how we will get the correct information. At times dependence on official information gives no benefit. They (officials often) say what will appease the superior, preferring not to speak out the truth,” he said.
Yunus said all the citizens of Bangladesh have equal rights and it’s the responsibility of the state to ensure their rights are guaranteed.
If any incident of attack on minorities takes place in the country, information must be collected immediately on such incidents and the perpetrators must be brought to justice, he said.
“Those who are guilty must be held accountable for their actions,” he said.
The chief adviser stressed taking measures to create an environment to prevent such incidents and ensuring immediate remedy for victims.
“I think most of the people of Bangladesh agree with what I have said,” he added.
“We are not enemies of one another despite our differences,” he was quoted by the Daily Star newspaper as telling the religious leaders.
“I have asked you to join (today’s dialogue) to know how information could be gleaned in a safer way so that the information providers do not fall in trouble,” he said.
Yunus said when he assumed the office in August following then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s ouster, reports of minority repression prompted him to issue a clarion call for national unity as “one family” despite differences in faiths, opinions and traditions.
Referring to his visit to Dhakeswari Temple in Dhaka on the occasion of Durga Puja, he said the Hindu festival was celebrated with festivity in the country while people from all strata joined it, turning the event into a national festival.
The minority Hindu community in Muslim-majority Bangladesh has reportedly faced more than 200 attacks in 50-odd districts after Hasina’s Awami League government fell on August 5.