Guterres asks Bangladesh interim govt to consider voices of minorities

Secretary-general Antonio Guterres has urged the Bangladesh interim government to consider the voices of minorities and respect human rights as it prepares for parliamentary elections, according to his deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq.

While expressing solidarity with the people of Bangladesh, Guterres “welcomes efforts to restore calm and organise parliamentary elections in Bangladesh, with the support of an interim government”, he said on Monday.

“He urges the interim government in the coming weeks to continue to make every effort to be inclusive, including by taking into account the voices of women, youth, and people across the country, as well as that of minority and indigenous communities, as the country moves towards parliamentary elections,” Haq said.

Nobel Prize-winning economist Muhammad Yunus has taken the leadership of the interim government after Sheikh Hasina resigned as prime minister and went into exile in India.

Reports from Bangladesh said that Hindus have been attacked and their homes and businesses destroyed in several places after her government collapsed and some Hindus were also killed.

According to Rana Dasgupta, a leader of the minority organisation Hindu-Bouddha-Christian Oikya Parishad, about 100 Hindus have been injured and two killed.

Anti-Hindu violence took place at 97 places last week, and at least 10 temples were attacked, according to him.

During the student protests against Hasina that turned violent about 300 people were reported killed.

Guterres reiterates his call “for a full, independent, impartial, and transparent investigation into all acts of violence”, Haq said.