(2 Nov 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Dhaka, Bangladesh - 2 November 2024
1. Various of Hindus singing national anthem during demonstration
2. Various of protesters shouting slogans
3. Various of protesters marching, chanting with banner, Bangladeshi flag
4. Wide of police guarding procession
STORYLINE:
Around 300 minority Hindus gathered in Dhaka on Saturday to demand that the interim government in Muslim-majority Bangladesh protect them from a wave of attacks and harassment and drop sedition cases against Hindu community leaders.
Hindu groups say there have been thousands of attacks against Hindus since early August, when the secular government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was overthrown and fled the country following a student-led uprising.
Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel peace laureate named to lead an interim government after Hasina's downfall, says those figures have been exaggerated.
The country’s influential minority group Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council has said there have been more than 2,000 attacks on Hindus since Aug. 4, as the interim government has struggled to restore order.
United Nations human rights officials and other rights groups have expressed concern over human rights in the country under Yunus.
Hindus and other minority communities say the interim government hasn't adequately protected them and that hard-line Islamists are becoming increasingly influential since Hasina's ouster.
The issue has reached beyond Bangladesh, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi voicing concern over reports of attacks.
While the administration of United States President Joe Biden has said it is monitoring Bangladesh’s human rights issues since Hasina’s ouster, U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump has condemned what he described as “barbaric” violence against Hindus, Christians, and other minorities in Bangladesh.
In a post on X, he said: “I strongly condemn the barbaric violence against Hindus, Christians, and other minorities who are getting attacked and looted by mobs in Bangladesh, which remains in a total state of chaos.”
Hindu activists have been staging protest rallies in the capital, Dhaka, and elsewhere since August to press a set of eight demands including a law to protect minorities, a ministry for minorities and a tribunal to prosecute acts of oppression against minorities. They also seek a five-day holiday for their largest festival, the Durga Puja.
Hindus make up about 8% of the country's nearly 170 million people, while Muslims are about 91%.
AP video shot by: Al Emrun Garjon
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