Johnnie Moore, former Commissioner of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), has slammed the Bangladesh interim government over the situation of Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh, saying “there isn’t a minority in the country that doesn’t feel under threat right now” and that “Muhammad Yunus is failing.”
In an interview with ANI, Moore said it is the government’s first responsibility to protect those under threat. He also said that this is a moment of “existential threat not only for the minorities of Bangladesh but for the entire country”.
Moore criticised the arrest of priest Chinmoy Krishna Das by Bangladesh Police and said perception among minorities is “if they’ll go after him, they’ll go after any of us”.
The former USCIRF Commissioner said the global Christian community stands with the Hindu community in Bangladesh.
“Bangladesh isn’t just a Muslim country. It’s a Muslim-majority country that has many, many minorities. There isn’t a minority in the country that doesn’t feel under threat right now. That’s been globally evident in recent days as this high-profile arrest has taken place of not just a leader of the Hindu Bangladeshi community, but really a very serious religious figure. I think the perception is if they’ll go after him, they’ll go after any of us. I want to be crystal clear, that the global Christian community stands with the Hindu community in Bangladesh. It is the first responsibility of a government to protect those under threat. The religious minorities of Bangladesh are really feeling it now and they deserve our support,” he said.
“We’re not sure who’s really doing this, but let me just say, the way I see it, Muhammad Yunus is failing. That’s what’s happening in Bangladesh now. As, the leader of the country, as the interim leader of the country, there are no aspirations for the Bangladeshi people. If you can’t manage a very, very simple component of civil society, which is you have to protect people, people have to be safe. If the rule of law becomes so inefficient that instead of getting due process, a lawyer is killed. This is unbelievable, I was astonished by the response of Mr Yunus in the Bangladeshi government. They are saying this is exaggerated. They’re saying that this isn’t as big a deal as it seems,” he added.
Moore said the visuals and the reports that are coming out of Bangladesh show that how a Hindu priest was first arrested then he was denied bail by the local court.
“Then the lawyer defending the priest was killed amid protests outside the court where the lawyer was hacked to death by protesters, dragging him out of his chamber. It’s become a major rallying point in the country,” Moore said.
“As the leader of the country, as the interim leader of the country, there are no aspirations for the Bangladeshi people if you can’t manage a very, very simple component of civil society, which is you have to protect people. People have to be safe. And you certainly, you certainly cannot have a vibrant democratic country…if the rule of laws becomes so inefficient that instead of getting due process, a lawyer is killed,” he added.
Moore also expressed concern over Bangladesh’s Attorney General’s push to remove the word ‘Secular’ from the constitution amid growing attacks on religious minorities.
“Bangladesh should ask for advice from India and the United States. These are incredibly pluralistic countries that despite a lot of religious competition people have found a way to manage it. Not perfectly. None of our countries are perfect. We make lots and lots of mistakes. But Bangladesh should ask for some help. But secondly, you can’t make these promises and not keep them. The second thing they need to do is take what’s happening seriously,” he said.
“The statement that came officially from Mohammed Yunus and the government of Bangladesh was in response to it – they diminished it. That’s not what a leader does. A leader takes issues like this seriously… I’m afraid that this mistake could have other consequential effects. The good news is it’s not too late to fix it… I’m sorry to say this, but we’re finding a lot around the world, a lot of countries that are using the term democracy but aren’t actually instituting its values,” he added.
Muhammad Yunus took over as interim leader of Bangladesh in August this year.
The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) also expressed solidarity with Chinmoy Krishna Das, who was arrested on charges of sedition for allegedly raising a flag on a stand displaying Bangladesh’s national flag.
Moore said the way the crisis relating to minorities is being handled by Bangladesh government poses risk of denying the Bangladeshi people all the benefits that can come from being in a close relationship with India which is “an economic, technological and political powerhouse”.
