Friday 29 / November / 2024
Washington DC: Johnnie Moore, the former Commissioner of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), and the former spiritual advisor to President Trump has called on Human Rights Organisations need to speak up on atrocities against Hindus in wake of the recent reports of persecution of minorities in Bangladesh.
"Human rights organizations and religious freedom organizations sought to raise their voices every second right. I think that a lot of times the Hindu community, when they are persecuted around the world, unfortunately, fewer people speak up about it. I'm committing to doing the exact opposite... I'm calling for the world's human rights and religious freedom organizations to do the same... When Muhammad Yunus came in as the interim leader of the country, he made promises related to democracy, the rule of law, and all these values that are cherished by the West and our international institutions... This is a moment of existential threat not only for the minorities of Bangladesh but for the entire country. It is a call to advocate for human rights and religious freedom to speak up," he said.
The former Commissioner of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom said that the interim government in Bangladesh has failed to manage the situation and ensure protection of minorities.
"We're not sure who's really doing this, but let me just say, the way I see it, Muhammad Yunus is failing. That's what's happening in Bangladesh now. As, the leader of the country, as the interim leader of the country, there are no aspirations for the Bangladeshi people. If you can't manage a very, very simple component of civil society, which is you have to protect people, people have to be safe. If the rule of law becomes so inefficient that instead of getting due process, a lawyer is killed. This is unbelievable, I was astonished by the response of Mr Yunus in the Bangladeshi government. They are saying this is exaggerated. They're saying that this isn't as big a deal as it seems," he said
Moore said that Bangladesh needs to reach out to India rather than have a sense of animosity towards India.
"India is the largest and most important country in the region and rather than this enmity that seems to be growing between Bangladesh and India, it should actually be the exact opposite. They can have political disagreements. That's fine. Countries have political disagreements all the time. But the way this crisis is being handled is at risk of not only exacerbating those tensions but denying the Bangladeshi people all the benefits that can come from being in a close relationship with an economic, technological and political powerhouse, that is the Republic of India".
He observed, "Bangladesh can chart a new political path while having open hands to everything it can benefit from its powerhouse neighbour. Or, Bangladesh can decide to do its own thing and chart a path separate from that. Then who will be aligned with Bangladesh? My concern is that those willing to help Bangladesh in its time of need, some of those have nefarious purposes in mind. What we cannot have, we cannot have a country overtaken by terrorists or communists or other interests which would be a threat not only to the Bangladeshi people, to Southeast Asia, but to the entire world." says Johnnie Moore.
The remarks by Moore come amid the background of the arrest of priest Chinmoy Krishna Das in Bangladesh. The spiritual leader remains under arrest for alleged crimes of sedition.
