The new Bangladeshi government announced today its commitment to address the attacks on individuals from religious minorities, including Hindus, following the ousting of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The government emphasized that it takes these attacks seriously and intends to meet with representative bodies and concerned groups to find solutions to these "heinous attacks."
The statement highlighted that the new government, led by Professor Muhammad Yunus, a Nobel laureate, is seeking to implement democratic reforms in the country with a population of 180 million. It also emphasized a list of urgent priorities, including providing support to the families of protesters who were killed during the protests that led to Hasina's downfall. The government has allocated funds to compensate the injured in the disturbances that began in July and resulted in the deaths of 578 people according to some media outlets (331 killed from July 16 to August 4, and 247 people from August 5, the day Sheikh Hasina fell, to last Thursday), with the actual number exceeding 3,000 people.
In a move aimed at enhancing national unity, Muhammad Yunus called on the Bangladeshi people to avoid discrimination based on religion, expressing hope for building a "new Bangladesh" characterized by unity and justice. This call came after attacks on the Hindu minority following Hasina's government downfall, causing concern in neighboring India.
It has been reported that some Hindus, who represent about 8% of Bangladesh's population, have had their homes and shops attacked by supporters of Hasina, who are trying to create chaos in the country and incite another revolution against the Bangladeshi people.
Since Hasina fled to India, hundreds of Hindus have attempted to cross the Indian border in search of safety. They were incited by leaders of the Awami League in Dhaka. It is alleged that one of the Indian leaders announced that millions of Hindus would be taken to India. Some believe that these Indian leaders are also behind the attacks in Bangladesh.
Reports also touched on another tragedy where dozens of Rohingya Muslims, including children and women, were killed in a drone attack while fleeing from Myanmar to Bangladesh. There were reports of boats carrying Rohingya refugees sinking in a river separating the two countries.
In another context, the government announced that it will reopen the metro subway system in the capital city of Dhaka by the end of the week and appoint a new central bank governor to replace the former governor who resigned under pressure from protests. Today also witnessed the swearing-in of the new Chief Justice, Syed Rafiq Ahmed, after the resignation of his predecessor Obaidul Hassan, who oversaw the controversial war crimes court that sentenced opponents of Sheikh Hasina to death.
These changes came as part of a wave of dismissals that targeted individuals close to the previous authorities, following large-scale demonstrations that paved the way for Muhammad Yunus to come to power.
