A piece of news has been on social media since May 6 that 23 Rohingya people belonging to four families in Cox’s Bazar have no longer received food aid from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Within the framework of the pilot repatriation program for Rohingyas, these 23 individuals from four families intend […]
On May 17, 2023, six leading Congressmen wrote a letter to US President Joe Biden requesting stronger sanctions against the administration of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh, in power since 2009, for its continued violations of human rights and undemocratic practices. Some quarters have raised doubts as to the authenticity of the letter. Most […]
Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir is one of the most militarized regions in the world and the area with the highest concentration of security estimated personnel between 500,000 and 700,000 active. Kashmir became an active battleground in 1947 after India’s unilateral violation of its sovereign rights via a full-scale invasion of the territory. This […]
April 24, 2023, marks the tenth anniversary of the Rana Plaza tragedy in Bangladesh. On that fateful day in 2013, the eight-story building collapsed, killing over 1,100 people and injuring more than 2,500, mostly garment workers who were producing clothes for global brands. Sumi Akhter, 26, began work at Rana Plaza in April 2013, sewing for garment […]
Seven thousand people were gunned down in two days in Dhaka alone following the crackdown by the Pakistan military on the night of March 25-26, 1971. The International Herald Tribune reported the news on March 30, 1971 quoting an eyewitness. The New York Times of March 28, 1971 put the death figure at 10,000. Similar […]
As if the living conditions in the refugee camps weren’t miserable enough for the Rohingya community, the world food assistance provider (WFP) recently announced that it would reduce the food rations for the refugee population by 17% beginning March 1, bringing the cost down from $12 to $10 per person (1,224 Bangladeshi Taka to 1,070 […]
Myanmar’s longest-running civil disobedience campaign against its military, the Tatmadaw, has created something that was never seen before: a unified Myanmar in the “burning state.” Not only that, but this solidarity has also changed Myanmar’s Rohingya ethnic politics. After the coup, most parties have attempted to reconcile with the ethnic minority population, which has been […]
The Indian government’s blocking of BBC documentary on the anti-Muslim riots in Gujarat state in 2002 is just the latest attempt to prevent criticism of the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Two weeks ago, the BBC released the first of a two-part series, “The Modi Question”, highlighting findings of a previously unpublished report of […]
The Honorable Donald Lu Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs U.S. Department of State 2201 C Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20520 January 21, 2023 Dear Assistant Secretary Lu, The Coalition for Human Rights & Democracy in Bangladesh (CHRD Bangladesh) would like to appreciate your sincere and commendable works during your visit […]
A new documentary on BBC two has yet again brought the focus to Narendra Modi’s past, his role in the 2002 anti-Muslim pogrom in Gujarat, and the state-enabled attack on the 220 million Muslim minorities in India. For many journalists like me who have reported extensively on the 2002 pogrom and the spate of extra-judicial […]