Bangladesh protests threaten security of spiritual minorities as temples burned, houses ransacked | NESMAG

Bangladesh has descended into chaos following the shock departure of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday, with spiritual minorities focused as riots unfold all through the nation. 

“You people are descendants of the Awami League! This country is in a bad shape because of you. You should leave the country,” a mob shouted at Hindu residents of a combined neighborhood, the BBC reported. 

Crowds gathered over the weekend to specific intense anger on the financial turmoil that a lot of the nation has suffered. Many imagine that elites who aligned with the ruling Awami League occasion, nonetheless, have prospered on this time, giving technique to deep anti-government sentiment. 

Those sentiments got here to a head on Monday when protesters ransacked Hasina’s official residence, her occasion workplaces and a museum devoted to her father, whereas Hasina resigned and fled to neighboring India. 

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The nation has a make-up of 90% Muslims, with the remainder of the inhabitants largely Hindu and really small pockets, round 5% every, of Buddhists and Christians. The ruling Awami League occasion, which Hasina led, is a secular group, however rivals typically view Hindus as their supporters – making them prime targets for his or her anger within the wake of the prime minister’s flight. 

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina addresses the media at a vandalized metro station in Mirpur, after the anti-quota protests, on July 25, 2024. (Bangladesh Prime Minister’s Office/AFP through Getty Images)

A crackdown on the protests previous to Hasina’s departure led to the deaths of over 200 folks, which solely infected the protests and strengthened resolve, The New York Times reported. 

The U.S. State Department urged Americans to keep away from touring to the nation as civil unrest continues, going as far as to order all non-emergency U.S. authorities workers and their households to flee on Monday as protests grew extra extreme. 

Anti-government protesters show Bangladesh’s nationwide flag as they storm Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s palace in Dhaka on Aug. 5, 2024. (KM Asad/AFP through Getty Images)

“Travelers should not travel to Bangladesh due to ongoing civil unrest in Dhaka,” the State Department wrote within the advisory. “Violent clashes have occurred in the city of Dhaka, its neighboring areas, and throughout Bangladesh, and the Bangladeshi Army is deployed nationwide.”

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Indian Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar mentioned on Tuesday that India remained “particularly” anxious in regards to the “minorities, their businesses and temples also… under attack at multiple locations. The full extent of this is still not clear.” 

People collect to have a good time the autumn of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina after an intense conflict between police, pro-government forces and protesters in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Aug. 5, 2024. (Anik Rahman/Middle East Images/AFP through Getty Images)

“We are also monitoring the situation with regard to the status of minorities,” Jaishankar mentioned. “There are reports of initiatives by various groups and organizations to ensure their protection and well-being. We welcome that, but will naturally remain deeply concerned till law and order is visibly restored.”

The group Open Doors, which tracks discrimination of Christians worldwide, ranked Bangladesh as having “very high” persecution ranges, claiming that “converts to Christianity face the most severe restrictions, discrimination and attacks.”

A garment retailer is ready ablaze in Dhaka on Aug. 4, 2024. (Abu Sufian Jewel/AFP through Getty Images)

“Religious beliefs are tied to the identity of the community, so turning from the locally dominant faith to following Jesus can result in accusations of betrayal,” the group wrote on its web site. “Bangladeshi converts often gather in small house churches due to the risk of attack.”

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The Hindu reported that Hindu companies and houses have been focused within the violence – no less than 97 locations on Monday and Tuesday “attacked, vandalized and looted,” in keeping with Rana Dasgupta, the overall secretary of the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council. 

At least 10 Hindu temples have been attacked on Monday, the council mentioned, which raised considerations amongst European Union diplomats who expressed nice concern over “reports of multiple attacks against places of worship and members of religious, ethnic and other minorities in Bangladesh.” 

Anti-government protesters march in direction of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s palace in Dhaka on Aug. 5, 2024. (Munir Uz Zaman/AFP through Getty Images)

“We urgently appeal to all parties to exercise restraint, reject communal violence and uphold the human rights of all Bangladeshis,” EU Ambassador to Bangladesh Charles Whiteley wrote on social media platform X.

Hundreds of individuals have been killed as Bangladeshi safety forces cracked down on the demonstrations – violence that solely fueled them, even after the quota system was dramatically scaled again.

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It confirmed that her authorities “wildly underestimated just how much anger there was among the public, and the sources of the anger which went beyond the issue of job quotas,” mentioned Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute on the Wilson Center.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.