Contrary to the belief of the West that Chief Advisor to the interim government in Bangladesh, Muhammad Yunus would bring in large scale reforms, the fact remains that under him the situation has gone from bad to worse.
The country is in turmoil ever since Sheikh Hasina was forced to flee Bangladesh following violent protests by students which were backed by the likes of the Jamaat-e-Islami.
The first 100 days under Yunus is nothing to tom-tom about. During this period religious and ethnic minorities and marginalised communities were targeted extensively since Yunus was put in charge of the country.
Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), the Bangladesh, brach of the Berlin based civil society organisation also noted that there is no place in the country for dissent.
The report came at a time when Yunus has brazenly denied that there is violence against the Hindus in Bangladesh. It is a well known and documented fact that the Hindus were the biggest targets in Bangladesh since the regime change. It had even prompted President elect, Donald Trump to call out the bluff by Yunus.
Systematic targeting of Hindus
The easy target for the Islamist forces following the ouster of Sheikh Hasina has been the Hindus. Big festivals which are being celebrated by Hindus for ages have been targeted. The report says that the Durga Puja was celebrated under the shadow of threats.
The Hindus who are in a minority in Bangladesh became the easy target of Islamist forces, the report noted.
It also noted that between August 5 and 20 there were 2,100 incidents of communal violence. This resulted in the death of nine people of the minority community, the report said while citing Eykya Parishad which is a short form of the human rights non-profit organisation, Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council.
In Chattorgram, a Hindu priest and 18 other Hindus were charged with sedition over saffron flags. The case seemingly is aimed at dismantling the leadership spearheading a movement seeking religious guarantees for the minorities in a country where the Muslims are in majority.
There were at least 205 attacks on Hindus, including five killings just with the first three days of the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government, it said.
Yunus stayed mum
The silence of Muhammad Yunus in protecting the Islamists who are targeting Hindus has been questioned several times. However the report noted that there has been lack of effective investigation in cases of violence against the religious minorities and dissenters.
The report said, ‘in the first 100 days there was a lack of effective initiatives to identify, verify and investigate the allegations of violence against religious minorities, indigenous people, marginalised communities and those with dissenting opinion.
There has been a steep rise in the number of attacks on cultural events as well. Nearly 22 cultural events in Bangladesh were disrupted. This included attacks on academies and bans on exhibitions and fairs, the report noted.
Yunus has not acted despite the Hindus hitting the streets and demanding protection. They have complained that their lives are at risk, the women are being raped and forced to convert. Not just this, their businesses, home and Temples have been attacked.
Yunus has however chosen to call these incidents as exaggerated propaganda. He says that those with political motives trying to destabilise the nation are indulging in such propaganda. However the report clearly exposes Yunus. Muhammad Yunus has also given a free hand to the Jamaat, which is the mastermind behind the violence. The Jamaat which also enjoys the backing of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party was rewarded by Yunus when he lifted the ban on the outfit immediately after Hasina left the country.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken on the need to protect the Hindus. Donald Trump too was very vocal on the subject. This was however not appreciated by the Yunus administration and a crackdown on all those celebrating the win of Trump were booked.
Terror groups have a field day
Taking advantage of this chaos are the terror groups. The Hizb ut Tahrir (HuT), which is a fundamentalist political organisation which aspires to re-establish the Islamic Caliphate and the Sharia laws.
Following the ouster of Sheikh Hasina, the HuT organised a rally at the Baitul Mukarram, North Gate in Dhaka and demanded the establishment of the Caliphate. They also called to oust the foreign companies and the annual strategic agreements with non-Muslim nations. The HuT has several sympathisers in the establishment including many within the army. Despite making such open calls, the Yunus administration has been soft on the terror group which is banned both in Bangladesh and Bharat.
The HuT is also banned in China, Russia, Pakistan, Germany, Turkey, UK, Central Asia, Indonesia and all Arab countries except Lebanon, Yemen and UAE.
With Muhammad Yunus turning a blind eye, Bangladesh has become a country that is run by the radical Islamists and the Jamaat backed terror outfits such as the HuT and Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami.
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