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Bangladesh: A Case of Silent Genocide of the Minorities- Bring the Culprits to Justice, Ensure
Safety and Security of Religious, Ethnic and Tribal Minorities.
http://www.drishtipat.org/modules.php?name=News&file=comments&sid=40&tid=41&mode=&order=&thold=
HRCBM PRESS RELEASE
Friday, November 22, 2003
The Human Right Congress for Bangladesh Minorities (HRCBM) is inexpressibly shocked at the burning
to death of 11 members of one minority Hindu family, including seven women and a newborn baby, at
early hours of Wednesday, 19 November 2003. The conscience of the whole nation is shattered and
overcast with the grim pictures of charred bodies and cries of innocent people of the locality
published in the front pages of almost all daily newspapers of Bangladesh. The present Government of
Bangladesh has utterly failed to protect the life and properties of the minority communities of
Bangladesh, since they came to power through a bloody election of October 2001 when the minorities
were barred from going to the voting polls. The Government machinery in a planned way has been in
denial of any violence against the minority communities throughout the country. In many instances the
law enforcement authorities and the police, instead of protecting the minorities, have
collaborated with
the criminals.
We, the members of Human rights congress for Bangladesh Minorities all over the world, appeal to
conscience of the UN, the European Union, governments of all civilized countries of the world, and
human rights organizations to come forward to save the religious, ethnic and tribal minorities
from the rages of systematic heinous acts silent genocide in their own motherland. We, with deep
anguish, bring below relevant portion of the news of burning 11 members of a Hindu family as covered
by The Bangladesh Observer, one of the national dailies, to your kind attention.
11 of Same Family Roasted Alive in Banshkhali, Chittagong
CHITTAGONG, Nov 19: - Eleven members of same family, roasted alive in a planned plot of arson at
Southern Shadhanpur village under Banshkhali police station early today. It was the worst case of
arson in the known history in this part of the country. Approximately four square kilometers
minority-dominated village turned to a place of horror. Most of the villagers have apparently lost voice
even to comment on the tragic incident. None could give dependable information regarding possible
reasons of the arson. A group of men in the guise of bandits stormed the earthen two-storied
dwelling of Tejendra Lal Shil shortly after zero hours on Wednesday. Although, the attackers posed like
bandits but they engaged their efforts to trap the house inmates for materializing previously
planned arson instead of looting valuables. The armed attackers ransacked the ground floor of the
house and set it on fire when the house inmates went upstairs for safety. They also fired several
gunshots as
the neighbors attempted to rescue the trapped house inmates. "The gunmen torched the house
after spraying something inflammable inside after disconnecting power link". Locals alleged that
police did not rush the spot even after repeated request from the villagers. The police traced none
of the gunners till the time of writing this report on Wednesday night. Bimol Shil (38) a
village doctor and second son of Tejandra Lal Shil was the only survivor of the incident. Those
trapped inside the blazing house were identified as Tejendra Lal Shil (70), her wife Bakul Shil (60),
his son Anil Kanti Shil (42), wife of Anil, Smriti Rani Shil (34). Three daughters of Anil were Rumi
Shil (11), Sonia Shil (7), Kartika Shil (4 days). Three daughters of Shachindra Shil - Babuti Shil
(25), Prashadi Shil (17), Any Shil (15) and brother-in-law of Tejendra, Debendra Shil.
We are appalled at the government officials' attempt, once again in a preplanned statement without
any investigation, to conclude that this was a case of robbery instead of looking into the real
causes and the roots of the criminals involved. We have noticed this attitude of denial and
perversion of the fact by the present government again and again, which appears to be an ongoing strategy
mapped out immediately after taking office to persecute the minority communities.
We condemn this and innumerable barbaric, grisly acts of violence perpetrated against the
religious, ethnic and tribal minorities of Bangladesh in the strongest possible terms.
The Voice of Justice Cries Helplessly in the Wilderness of Chittagong and Hill Tracks This
incident of burning 11 members of a minority family in the dead hours at night should not be considered
in isolation. The persecution of religious, ethnic and tribal minorities of Bangladesh, which
started pre- and post-general election of October 2001, has been continuing unabated. The Government of
Bangladesh has failed utterly to bring the criminals to justice. Chittagong and Chittagong hill
tracks, once a serene region by the Bay of Bengal, have subjected to primeval bestial hostility and
of violence, in majority of cases, by the armed cadres of the ruling coalition of
BNP-Jamat-E-Islami party. It can be shown that this gruesome burning to death is just another expression of the
dark forces that are slowly taking hold of the landscape of Bangladesh. We would like to draw the
attention of the civilized people of the world to some of the gross abuse of human rights committed
in the C
hittagong region alone and total failure of the Government of Bangladesh to stop the program,
protect the minorities and punish the culprits.
On 8 May 2003, Aratibala of Nathpara in Banshkhali, her mother and her only child was burnt to
death in the late hours of night by a Bangladesh National Party (BNP) cadre, Jahangir of the same
village. On 16 May 2003, 3-members of another minority family in Potiya, Chittagong, was burnt to
death by organized gang supported by local BNP. (Reports Shahriar Kabir, Chairman, Bangladesh Ghatak
Daalal Nirmul Committee, The Daily Janakantha 21 November 2003). Srikanta Rakshit, an Engineer, in
Chittagong, was abducted and brutal Killed on April 19, 2003 (The Daily Star. 21 April 2003).
Ukhia Chakma neighborhood, district of Coxbazaar, was burned and the village was made bereft of men
and women were gang-raped. Principal Mahuri Principal of Nazirhat College, Chittagong, a renowned
freedom fighter, a revered teacher and a leader of the minority community, was gunned down at about
7.30 am in broad daylight by Islami Chhatra Shibir cadres. Buddhist Monk Gyanjyoti Barua was
murdered on 2
1 April 2002 by ruling coalition cadres. Hindu Priest, Madan Gopal Goswami was murdered by the
ruling party cadres and the Temple looted and desecrated (The Daily Janakantha dated 30th April,
2002). Five professors of the Chittagong University (CU) Chemistry Department, who are from the
religious minority community, were asked by the Chittagong branch of an organization called "Islamic
Solidarity of Bangladesh" to leave the country immediately. They were threatened with death, at any
time and at any place, if they fail to leave the country immediately (The Daily Janakantha,
September 5, 2002). The Government failed measurably again and again to punish the criminals.
These are just glimpses of the barbaric acts of silent genocide that were reported only from the
Chittagong region, innumerable atrocities are being committed everyday against the minorities
throughout the country which go unreported. This cold-blooded genocide led by the dark fundamentalist
forces directly linked with the present BNP-Jamat-E-Islami coalition government must be stopped.
The religious, ethnic and tribal minorities must be protected.
Dhiman Deb Chowdhury
President, HRCBM
Last updated 22.11.2003
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