In an effort to highlight the violence against Bangladeshi minorities especially Hindus, the Hindu American Foundation (HAF), a US-based Hindu advocacy organization held a meeting with the US State Department.
During the meeting representatives from HAF and other Hindu community organizations urged the US Ambassador for International Religious Freedom Rashad Hussein to condemn anti-Hindu violence in Bangladesh.
The representatives were HAF’s director of Policy Research Anita Joshi, Utsav Chakrabarti of HinduAction, Human Rights Collective for Bangladesh Minorities executive director Priya Saha, and geopolitical analyst Jay Kansara.
The group briefed Ambassador Hussein on the violence directed at Hindus and other religious minorities throughout Bangladesh, sharing documented incidents against Hindus and Hindu temples in the 48 hours after civil unrest broke out in the country.
Sharing details of the meeting, Joshi said, “It was expressed to Ambassador Hussein that the United States’ silence in response to the violence against Hindus and other religious minorities in Bangladesh has been deafening. The failure of Congress and this administration to acknowledge and condemn the violence against Hindus and other religious minorities is unacceptable.”
“The situation on the ground in Bangladesh is urgent and dire. We implore the State Department to use its clout and resources to put an end to this rampant violence against religious minorities, violence rooted in decades of mistrust and maltreatment of Bangladesh’s Hindu minority,” she added.
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