Bangladesh Awami League Bares Anti-Hindu Teeth

Last month, Bangladesh’s Supreme Court ruled against some constitutional amendments instituted during two military dictatorships in the 1970s and 1980s. It was hailed as a great step forward for freedom in Bangladesh and was roundly condemned by Jamaat and other Islamists. The court then asked the government to submit replacements for ratification in the Awami-dominated parliament. So what did this oh-so-progressive and freedom-loving Awami League do? It submitted new laws that outlawed military governments and religiously-based parties; but it left intact one of the most significant and hateful amendments that came under the Court’s scrutiny: the Eighth. Bangladesh’s Eighth Amendment made Islam the official state religion and essential to the character of all that flows from Bangladeshi law. It is an amendment that Hindus and others say makes them second-class citizens in their own country. Every law they have to follow begins with “in the name of Allah the beneficent.” Madrassas (Islamic schools) are given a favored position by their government and often receive public support, even those preaching radical Islam. Yet, this “pro-minority” government does nothing—NOTHING—even when its own Supreme Court sets the table for them.

While the Awami League has shown its preference for radical jihadists over true partnership in the world, that same world has assiduously ignored it. Just before its election, the Supreme Court and military-backed government arranged things so it could repeal the anti-Hindu Vested Property Act by mere fiat. It did not; but no one said a word. Nor has the destruction of Bangladesh's Hindu community slowed under this duplicitous government. Will this be the straw that breaks the appeasing camel's back?

Judging by the non-reaction to it, likely not. There has not been even one phone call from President Obama or Secretary of State Clinton to Bangladesh, challenging the government on this or other anti-minority actions. No one has reminded Sheikh Hasina of her still unfulfilled promises to end official minority discrimination in Bangladesh—and how she has an opportunity with this constitutional change to prove that she and her party are not shams

The Awami League's action is also yet another clear sign that the policies of weakness implemented by the Obama Administration are leading the Muslim world to take actions that distance themselves further from the rest of the world and move them closer to the likes of Ahmadinejad and the Taliban. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are, at best, oblivious; at worst, complicit. Will the American people end this madness in 2012?

Should the US Hold Hearings on Bangladesh?

I recently returned from several days in Washington where I met with legislative leaders and staff, as well as members of various rights commissions from the United States government. Much in the meetings concerned Bangladesh's admittedly false prosecution of Muslim journalist Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury, who accompanied me to various offices in Washington. Or perhaps it is more accurate to say I accompanied him, as his case continues to raise concerns in Washington where it has been a significant impediment to better US-Bangladesh relations.

In the meetings, however, I also furthered previously held discussions about the ongoing and government-supported persecution of Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh. In 1948, after the population transfers that accompanied India's partition, Hindus were about one third of East Pakistan's population. In 1971, when East Pakistan became Bangladesh, they were just under one in five. Today, they are only nine percent. Normal demographic processes do not explain that kind of decline; and SUNY Professor Sachi Dastidar estimates that over 40 million Hindus are "missing" from the Bangladeshi census--killed, forced to convert, forced to emigrate, or never born as a result.

The current Bangladeshi government took office this year with a pledge to change that; but, if anything, persecution has gotten more severe under the center-left Awami League. In its first two months of office alone, we verified one and a half serious attacks on Hindus every week: murder, rape, child abduction, assault, land grabs, forced conversion, and religious desecration. In every case, the victims were attacked because they were Hindu by victimizers who did so because the Awami League allows them to do as as Muslims; it is even enshrined in Bangladeshi Law, the Vested Property Act. In some instances, the government even participated in the attacks. Throughout 2009, these attacks have continued with a wink and a nod from the government.

Several US bodies investigate these matters from the US Commission on International Religious Freedom to the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission in the US House of Representatives and many other pertinent bodies. The key to US concern, besides the human rights atrocities, is that the government does nothing to stop them or even participates. That is what we have in Bangladesh. Moreover, US citizens purchase Bangladeshi garments and other goods, and US companies might decide to do business in Bangladesh. Moreover, Bangladesh contributes the second largest contingent to UN peacekeeping missions, which are in large part supported by US taxpayers. We also give millions in aid each year to Bangladesh.

Shouldn't our government make these Americans aware that by doing so they are supporting ethnic cleansing of Hindus--so that Americans can choose to spend their dollars on countries that do not support our enemies?

Islamists Gaining under Awami Leage in Bangladesh

Ever since the Awami League's ascension to power in Bangladesh, there has been a regular cottage industry of apologists claiming that the left-center government will navigate the country away from patronizing Islamists and oppression minorities. If anything, things have worsened under Sheikh Hasina and her cronies. Violence against minorities is not only increasing but becoming more severe--and open--day by day. I have vetted numerous allegations and have established a severe anti-minority action in Bangladesh at the rate of about one per week and a half. The real figures probably are higher.

Now, Muslim dissident journalist, Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury reports on new evidence of how open pro-Islamist rhetoric is, including the demonization of other religions--things far worse than what their allies decry as "hate speech."

Shoaib has been arrested and tortured as a result of his pro-US, pro-Israel, and anti-Islamist actions; and still faces capital charges of treason, sedition, and blasphemy.

He writes from Dhaka,"Hizbut Towhid, a notorious Islamist group in BANGLADESH, recently published a book and DVD named DAJJAL, which is sold openly in all major bookstores in this country.

"This book is written by Selim Ponni, the kingpin of this group. He terms Jews and Christians as "enemies of humanity" and asks people to start JIHAD against Jews and Christians. This is an extremely provocative book and DVD.

"I am surprised, how Awami League, which proclaims to be a secularist party is allowing this. Hizbut Towhid never could sell such hate materials openly before.

For those who look at that and say, "free speech," you might be missing the point. We can put aside the debate on whether or not governments should censor "hate speech," which is what Hizbut and other Islamist groups offer their readers. Shoaib's points are two. The first is that Islamists are more powerful and can spew their hatred openly. (Were this book and DVD an isolated incident, it might not be enough to conclude that, but taken with the uptick in anti-minority activity and Islamist strength, it is significant.) The second is that we are letting our enemy socialize the Muslim world for jihad by default--just because the US is occupied with serious domestic battles, like health care, does not mean our enemies have stopped their nefarious deeds, the worst of which have little to do with the crisis in Iran.

Third, the Awami League continues to lie with a straight face, telling the world that none of this is happening. The PM has lied again and again about repealing the racist Vested Property Act (VPA) and other anti-minority legislation on the books. (The VPA allows the government to seize non-Muslim property and distribute it to its Muslim cronies.) Just this month, US Secretary of State continued the fiction with a syrupy sweet speech about the Awami League's democratic and moderate Islam ideals. What nonsense! Worse, it gives the Awami League the notion that it is getting away with ethnic cleansing and supporting the worst jihadists while telling a gullible West that it is fighting both!

Did an anti-Hindu pogrom occur in Bangladesh?

Throughout May, numerous reports coming out of Bangladesh told of a chilling attack on Hindus in an area of the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka known as Sutrapur. Several human rights groups and small Bangladeshi papers wrote that the community of perhaps 400 Hindu Dalits (more familiarly "Untouchables") was engaged in its daily routine when "hundreds" of Muslims stormed the area, accompanied by police. They started abusing residents, according to the reports, and demanded that they quite the area, leaving the coveted land to the attackers. Several informants claim that the police stood by while residents were beaten, houses sacked and in at least three cases burned to the ground, and a Hindu temple to the god, Shiva, was destroyed. They also claim that the police cited Bangladesh's anti-minority (and especially anti-Hindu) Vested Property Act as the legal basis for evicting the families, who have resided in the area for about 150 years, paying taxes and utilities.

Others, however, claim that "nothing happened," and that the police said there was no temple destroyed "just a few deities." The police refused to investigate the matter at first but eventually relented.

What we have confirmed is that there were at least three attacks on the community on 30 March, 16 April, and 29 April. A good deal of the land was seized by attackers who claim that the land was forfeit to Muslims under the Vested Property Act, a claim supported by Dhaka police. At least a dozen Hindu families remain homeless. There are a number of other facts alleged, which I am continuing to investigate.

One fact remains clear, however: none of the bodies which shouldbe publicizing and investigating the matter has said anything, save for a few mentions in various Bangladeshi newspapers. While some have tried to justify the attack as nothing more than a "land dispute," that denial is even more damning as apologists for the current government in Dhaka seem to think it a proper way to resolve civil disputes!

Anyone who has verifiable information about these incidents or the current status of the victims, possession of the land, or the police investigation, is urged to contact me immediately through this blog, FACEBOOK, or at drrbenkin@comcast.net. By doing so, you will be helping to uncover the ongoing cover-up of the ethnic cleansing of Bangladeshi Hindus.

More Empty Words from Bangladesh

I recently received an email from an individual involved in the struggle for minority rights in Bangladesh. It trumpeted “a new development” in the Bangladeshi government’s attitude toward minorities. But what was its evidence? A statement by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajid that her “government believes in peace and prosperity of the mass of people, freedom of all religions and equal rights of people of all walks of life”; and a promise to repeal Bangladesh’s discriminatory laws.

When will people learn to look at one’s ACTIONS and not be lulled into complacency by their words? Complacency means disaster for the minorities.

I have heard the same pious-sounding statements from Bangladeshi officials of both major parties and none were ever reflected in action. I wondered why these leaders continued to say such things when all they did was confirm that the speakers were either unwilling or unable to carry out their promises, if not both. No one in Washington believes them anymore, as evidenced by the fact that knows that every single piece of legislation designed to give Bangladesh favorable trade status here failed. That government even sent Nobel laureate Mohammed Yunis to lobby for one of them, but the bill never even got out of committee. As long as Bangladeshi governments allow rampant oppression against minorities, they will remain so.

Yet, Hasina’s empty words are enough for those who ignore history and prefer to hope that she might be serious this time. Well, good for them; it’s nice to have hope. But “a new development”? Hardly. Hers was a statement to a visiting foreign; and if there was any substance to the countless hopeful statements that national leaders make when speaking to foreign dignitaries, our world would have long forgotten the scourges of war, poverty, and minority oppression. Even Adolf Hitler told foreign leaders in 1937 that Czechoslovakia was the last of his “territorial demands.”

Mouthing empty words is easy, taking action is not. And Hasina’s party has been as complicit in minority oppression as any. Both it and its more openly Islamist rival have shared equally in the spoils of it: minority land and property confiscated under Bangladesh’s racist Vested Property Act. Worse, attacks on Bangladeshi minorities have increased since the AL took power; and are carried out with the knowledge that the government will not stop them. I have interviewed dozens of victims (some who have been attacked as recently as February), and most report that local officials refused to help them or even participated in the attacks.

Unfortunately for the victims, those who should be forcing the government to keep its word seem content with the words alone. Bangladeshi Hindus have been reduced from almost one in five Bangladeshis at independence to less than one in ten today. Words will not protect those who remain, but if advocacy groups pretend they are, they will be condemning Bangladesh’s minorities to the same fate of non-Muslims in Pakistan; where those who have not been murdered, forced to convert, or forced out now pay the jizya for the “privilege” of being tolerated. Regardless of her words, Sheikh Hasina must be held accountable for what her government does. And if it lacks the will to act, people of goodwill need to help her get it. Otherwise, they all will be guilty of making minority oppression permanent.

For more information on this, visit My Web Site.

Genocide in the Making -- and the World is Silent

For over thirty years, Islamist radicals have been engaging in a systematic program of ethnic cleansing in Bangladesh. When they began, Hindus accounted for somewhat less than one in five Bangladeshis; today they are fewer that one in ten. Professor Sachi Dastidar of SUNY has estimated that the number of "lost" Hindus (that is, those murdered and those never born as a result of the ethnic cleansing) could be as high as 35 million!

Nor is it only the radicals who are culpable. The first partner in crime is the succession of governments in Bangladesh. It did not matter if they were right of center, left of center, a dictatorship, civilian or military. Every one of them maintained a blatantly racist law that has been a cornerstone in the Islamist plan: The Vested Property Act.

Imagine if the United States had a law allowing the government to seize the land of non-Christians and distribute it to Christians of their choice. Imagine the outcry not only from Americans (Christians and non-Christians alike), but from around the world. Every NGO; every country on earth; every blogger on the internet would scream "Racism!" And they would be right. While the US has no such law, Bangladesh does, except it seizes the land of non-Muslims and gives it to Muslims close to whichever political party is in power (including the currently ruling Awami League). It has been on the books for 34 years, and there is no effort to repeal it; even though several otherwise cautious Bangladeshi officials have admitted that "it is racist and must be repealed."

But that brings us to the second partner in crime: the rest of us. For 34 years, self-styled champions of human rights have been silent. Amnesty International's web site devotes several articles to Guantanamo but not a single one to this openly racist and jihadist law. The UN, too, has been silent. As its "Durban II" conference opens, millions will be victimized by this legalized form of ethnic cleansing in Bangladesh; this proudly announced form of racism.

And we know--we know with biblical certainty--that the racists who are running Durban II will not even mention this terrible atrocity whose victims will one day dwarf in number those in Darfur, Rwanda, and elsewhere if this is not stopped. And the UN, Amnesty International, and the rest of the world will wring their hands, cry over the victims, and wonder how such a thing could have happened!