The Coalition for Human Rights & Democracy in Bangladesh (CHRD Bangladesh) notes with deep concerns that vested elements, aligned with the Indian intelligence agency of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and the Bangladesh ruling regime of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, started a false campaign of Islamophobia in Bangladesh. The CHRD Bangladesh strongly condemns this falsification and misrepresentation of Bangladesh aimed at malafide intents. Bangladesh, a country of moderate Muslims, enjoys one of the most harmonious communal societies in South Asia.
False Attacks
The CHRD Bangladesh suspects that with a view to proving its point, the Sheikh Hasina regime may conduct premeditated terror attacks on minorities and other selected targets in the country and then assign the responsibility on the opposition parties, particularly the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI). There is evidence that the Hasina administration, in collaboration with the RAW, conducted such mischievous acts in the past. These self-created terror attacks will be aimed at achieving a few objectives: 1) conducting crushing operations on the BNP and the JI, 2) trying to falsely convince the outside world to support none but the so-called secular Sheikh Hasina for Bangladesh, and finally, 3) keeping Bangladesh under Indian hegemonic control.
The Coming Election
The next election is crucial for the suffering people of Bangladesh who are campaigning for a democratically elected government through a fair and free exercise of their choice under a neutral Caretaker Government (CTG). This election is also important for the U.S.-led global democracies, which, fully aware of the past fraudulent practices, continue to press for a credible franchise this time. To counter the Western pressure, Sheikh Hasina, with the help of her sponsors, is doing everything possible to extend her illegal and detested hold on to power. The false flag of Islamophobia is one example.
The resurgence of the propaganda is believed to be masterminded by the RAW to keep its protege Sheikh Hasina in authority as the new election in Bangladesh is due in a few months. Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra visited Dhaka on February 15-16, 2023 to reassure that his country would continue to stand by Prime Minister Hasina.
In the wake of the U.S. sanctions in December 2021 on the draconian Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) for its proven gross human rights violations, RAW-affiliated writers kept denouncing the sanctions and started making repeated calls that Bangladesh had no alternative to Sheikh Hasina to contain the non-existent Islamic terrorism in the country. On February 14, 2023, Salahuddin Shoaib Chowdhury wrote a piece in Op-India, an Indian media known for its anti-Islamic bias, squarely blaming the Biden administration for the sanctions against the RAB, which he thought “combats terrorism and militancy.” He also accuses the U.S. for pushing the country towards Islamic militancy by siding with the BNP and JI and by demanding democratic reforms, and free and fair elections.
Communal Harmony
That Bangladesh enjoys communal harmony has been certified by such eminent authorities as Dan Mozena, former US Ambassador to Bangladesh; S K Sinha (Hindu), former Chief Justice of Bangladesh; Rahul Gandhi, top opposition politician of India; Rupa Ganguli, Upper House member of the Indian ruling BJP and OutlookIndia.com, an Indian media.
The Coalition for Human Rights & Democracy in Bangladesh (CHRD Bangladesh) urges once again the government of the United States to 1) prevent the Hasina regime and its sponsor from staging false Islamic attacks, and 2) help ensure a free, fair and participatory election under a neutral administration in Bangladesh the soonest.
*CHRD Bangladesh is a nonprofit organization registered and based in the United States.
February 28, 2023
