The Coalition for Human Rights & Democracy in Bangladesh (CHRD Bangladesh) notes with great concern the recent communal violence centering around the minority Ahmadiyya community in Panchagarh, a district in the northwestern tip of Bangladesh. It is alleged that in the attack by the mainstream Muslims, after the Friday Jummah prayer on March 3, 2023, two of the Ahmadiyya men were killed, over fifty wounded and scores of their shops, businesses and houses were looted and torched. The local police were said to remain silent spectators.
It is suspected that the attack was instigated by the ruling coterie to generate a false flag of Islamophobia in the country. The ruling fascists would use the pretext to crush the opposition, particularly the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the Jamaat-e-Islam (JI). The opposition in Bangladesh is demanding the immediate end of the illegal fascist regime of Sheikh Hasina and holding a fair and credible election under a neutral Caretaker Government (CTG). Knowing that the Hasina regime will collapse if a free and fair election is held, it is resisting the demand of the CTG and doing everything possible to crush the opposition movement.
Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Secretary General of the BNP, alleged on March 5, 2023 that the government was behind the communal riots in Panchagarh in a diversion effort to foil their “democratic movement.” He further claimed that “religious harmony” prevailed in the country.
In its statement on February 23, 2023, the CHRD Bangladesh had warned that in view of the ensuing national election, the fascist regime of Sheikh Hasina could instigate sectarian disturbances and “cry Islamophobia.” Using the pretext, the regime would then crush the BNP and JI, the two potent opposition forces. (Ref:Statement Against False Flag Operations Of Islamophobia In Bangladesh | ChrdBangladesh). Statements of top government officials following the Panchagarah incident clearly point in that direction.
Bangladesh hosts over a hundred thousand members of the minority Ahmadiyya Sect that is an offshoot of mainstream Islam starting in Northwest India over a century ago. Muslim fundamentalists find it difficult to accept the Ahmadiyya ideology and often clash with the Ahmadiyya community.
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 outlet.
The Coalition for Human Rights & Democracy in Bangladesh (CHRD Bangladesh) condemns all such false flag acts of communal disharmony. We urge, once again, the United States and the international community to 1) desist the Hasina regime and its sponsor from staging such false communal attacks with ulterior motives, and 2) help ensure a free, fair and participatory election under a neutral administration in Bangladesh the soonest.
*The Coalition for Human Rights & Democracy in Bangladesh (CHRD Bangladesh) is a nonprofit organization based and registered in the United States.
March 10, 2023
