Buddhist monks around the world and various international and local organisations including Amnesty International and INGO Forum Bangladesh have protested against and condemned the recent barbaric attacks and vandalism on Buddhist temples, monasteries and houses in Cox's Bazar and Chittagong.
Protesters threw stones at the Bangladesh Embassy in Sri Lanka yesterday as saffron-robed monks demonstrated against Muslim mob attacks on Buddhist temples in Bangladesh, reports AFP.
A crowed of about 500 monks and supporters marched to the embassy and handed over a petition condemning the attack. Windows of the mission were smashed before police moved in to disperse the protesters.
Several hundred expatriate Buddhists staged demonstration at Eiffel Tower in Paris on Wednesday protesting against the attacks, reports a private TV channel.
“The scale and ferocity of these appalling attacks on ethnic communities have shocked Muslims and non-Muslims alike and the entire civil society in the country. The Bangladeshi authorities must ensure this does not happen again,” said Abbas Faiz, Amnesty International's Bangladesh researcher, in a statement.
The international rights body also called on all political parties to publicly condemn the violence against minorities and urge their members not to take part in such acts. Pointing to reports about police failure to protect minority communities despite having received news about imminent attacks, it said these are disturbing, and must be investigated.
“The terms of reference for the investigation, called for by the home minister, must be made public and strong measures must be put in place to protect Buddhist, Hindu and all other witnesses who give evidence,” Faiz said.
He demanded that those identified as responsible for the attack should be brought to justice in adherence to international fair trial standards.
In another statement, members of about 40 international non-governmental organisations of the INGO Forum Bangladesh expressed deep shock and concern over the incident and demanded a fully independent and unbiased judicial investigation.
The forum also demanded exemplary punishment of the culprits through due legal process, says a statement signed by Rezwan ul-Alam, director (Outreach and Communication) of Transparency International Bangladesh.
The forum members also expressed heartfelt solidarity with the affected families and the Buddhist community in general and requested the government to take immediate measures to ensure fullest possible restoration of the damaged temples and relics.
Dhaka University Teachers Association (DUTA), Buet Teachers Association, Group Theatre Federation, Jagannath Hall Alumni Association, Kranti Shilpi Ghosthi and DU history department also condemned the attacks in separate statements.
Several hundred teachers, students and officials of DU also formed a human chain in front of the university's Aparajeya Bangla organised by DUTA.
Marauding crowed either burned or looted or vandalised several Buddhist and one Hindu temples and monasteries and over 50 houses during the attacks in Cox's Bazar and Chittagong on Saturday. The violence was apparently triggered by a Facebook photo defaming the holy Quran.
Our correspondents from Chittagong and Cox's Bazar add: A Cox's Bazar court yesterday placed 32 suspected attackers on one-day remand after they were produced before it in two cases filed with Cox's Bazar Police Station.
Another Cox's Bazar court also placed 45 other arrestees on different terms of remand between one and four days in connection with six separate cases filed with Ramu Police Station.
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