Protest Planned by Hindu Human Rights Group in New York on Saturday 15 December 2001

ANNOUNCEMENT OF A PROTEST AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT OF BANGLADESH

Hindu Human Rights group (HHR) is deeply concerned about the current oppression of the Indigenous Hindu Minority in Bangladesh. The situation is all the more worrying following the recent election of the BNP (Bangladesh National Party) which includes extremist Islamic elements. Indeed, many of these groups openly call for the "Talibanisation" of Bangladesh - their first act of achieving that goal is the extermination of what remains of the Indigenous Hindu People.

Although the Western Media has continuously ignored the plight of Hindus in Bangladesh (in comparison to the full media coverage of the persecutions in Kosovo, Bosnia and Tibet, for example), the reports of violence are equally as horrific. It is being reported that thousands of Hindu women and girls (even as young as 8 years) are being gang-raped and harassed by terror squads. The murder of Hindu men and the forced conversion of their families is also widespread. This is in addition to numerous cases of land grabbing, kidnapping and robbery (from what is already a poor community within this developing nation). Hindu Temples are being demolished and desecrated on an alarming scale (this includes incidents where cows, sacred to Hindus, have been slaughtered on temple premises).

The terror that has been unleashed has now led to a steep decline in the Hindu population. It is clear to any civilised human being that this amounts to genocide and the fact that the government is in coalition with these Terror Squads leads us to conclude that this is state sponsored ethnic cleansing.

The persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh is nothing new; indeed millions of Hindus were massacred in the fight for Bangladeshi Independence. It is ironic how a community which has sacrificed so much for their country is now the target of this, seemingly government sponsored, rampage.

Let your voice be heard, speak out against religious oppression and the destruction of Hindu Society. Join us on Saturday 15 December 2001 at 12pm outside the Bangladesh High Commission, 28 Queens Gate, South Kensington, London. Nearest tube: South Kensington and Gloucester Road (both on Piccadilly Line).

We thank you for your support.