Staff Reporter:
Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus has called upon the country’s religious leaders to stay watchful regarding the foreign media’s misreport on religious persecution in Bangladesh.
“Foreign media reports that attacks and tortures on religious minorities are continuing in Bangladesh, but when I look into the matter, I see that this is not the case. There is a huge gap in the information. This is not right, and it must be stopped,” he said.
The chief adviser said this while holding a meeting with the country’s religious leaders at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka on Thursday to build national unity against Indian media’s misreport on religious persecution in Bangladesh.
BSS adds: Yunus also sought cooperation of the religious leaders in collecting accurate information if any attack on minorities takes place in the country.
“I have asked you to join (today’s dialogue) to know how information could be gleaned in a safer way so that the information providers do not fall in trouble,” he said while delivering his opening remarks for the faith leaders of Bangladesh
On his arrival at Dhaka airport on 8 August after the July revolution, Prof Yunus said, he had mentioned – “we all are a family despite having differences of opinions and we are the members of the same family. We are not enemies to one another. We all are Bangladeshis”.
After formation of the interim government, he said, the issue of repression on minorities was arisen, which saddened made him.
Referring to his visit to Dhakeswari Temple in Dhaka on the occasion of Durga Puja, the chief adviser said Durga Puja was celebrated with festivity in the country while people from all strata joined it, turning the event into a national festival.
Now, the issue of attacks on minorities has come up again and the foreign media are publishing news on it, he said, adding that there is a gap of information between the reality and the news published by foreign media.
“We want to know the accurate information and want to establish the process of getting the information,” he added.
Noting that as citizens, all the people of the country have equal rights, Prof Yunus said the responsibility of the state is to ensure the people’s rights guaranteed by the constitution.
He said if any incident of attack on minorities takes place in the country, information must be collected immediately on such incidents and the perpetrators must be brought to justice.
The chief adviser stressed taking measures to create an environment to prevent such incidents and ensuring immediate remedy for victims.
“I think most of the people of Bangladesh agree on what I have said,” he added.
Leaders of the Muslim, the Hindu, the Christian and the Buddhist communities joined the dialogue.
