New Delhi: The US has been working closely with the interim government in Dhaka to strengthen its law enforcement capabilities, while President Joe Biden is closely monitoring the situation surrounding the security and safety of minorities in Bangladesh, the White House said Thursday.
“The security situation in Bangladesh has been difficult following the ouster of the former prime minister, and we’ve been working closely with the interim government to enhance the capability of their law enforcement and security services to deal with the challenge,” John Kirby, the national security communications adviser, said during a press briefing.
Kirby added: “We’ve been very clear in our engagement with all Bangladeshi leaders that protection of religious and ethnic minorities is absolutely critical, and the leaders of the interim government have repeatedly committed to providing security to all Bangladeshis, regardless of religion or ethnicity.”
In the past few weeks, there have been a number of protests in the US over alleged attacks against Hindus and minorities in Bangladesh. Last weekend, a number of Indian-Americans organised a protest march from the White House to the US Capitol building against the alleged attacks on Hindus.
The US government has been backing the interim government led by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, after the ouster of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina in August this year. After taking power, Yunus met with President Biden on the margins of the United Nations Summit of the Future in September. The Nobel laureate also met with Secretary of State Antony Blinken on 26 September.
After the meeting between Yunus and Blinken, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller had said, “Secretary Blinken and Chief Adviser Yunus discussed the importance of building strong institutions to fight corruption, uphold media freedom, respect internationally recognised labor rights, and protect human rights for all in Bangladesh, including Rohingya refugees and members of minority communities.”
Hasina was ousted following two months of student-led protests against the quotas for families of veterans from the 1971 Liberation War. The former Bangladeshi prime minister fled Dhaka for India, where she remains in New Delhi as exclusively reported by ThePrint.
At least 88 cases have been registered in Bangladesh in incidents involving attacks against minorities, between August and October to this year, the interim government revealed earlier this week, according to media reports.
Previously, the Yunus-led interim government attempted to explain the alleged attacks as “political” given the perceived support of Hindus for Hasina and the Awami League, and highlighted the scale of reporting on the attacks as propaganda from India.
The issue of the safety and welfare of minorities was raised by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri during his visit to Dhaka Monday for foreign office consultations with his Bangladeshi counterpart.
The Indian foreign secretary also called on Yunus as well as the Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain.
Also read: BNP takes out march against India’s ‘interference’ in Bangladesh. ‘Won’t surrender independence’
The religious fire 🔥 before independence 1947 is still like burning train in Canada, SAARC etc. Public exposing for domination and ruling powers on local Governments on religious base is non stop burning matter. The world is burnt with religious conflicts and UN like reputed bodies are not working properly to restore the peace on the earth.