Fri, Nov 23rd, 2012 10:21 pm BdST
Dhaka, Nov 23 (bdnews24.com)—The Awami League General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam on Friday said the attack and violence on the Buddhist temples and households was an assault on the Bengalee nationhood.
The attack "must be retaliated", he said at a programme of the minority Buddhists in the capital in the afternoon.
"We cannot accept this attack. We do not believe in violence in the name of religion. The government is beside the Buddhist society and will remain so. You [Buddhists] are not alone," Ashraf said.
The LGRD Minister was speaking at the Kothin Chibor Dan and Buddhist Religious Congregation–2012 organised by Bangladesh Buddhist Federation at the DIT Playground at Badda.
Shedding lights on the incidents that took place in Chittagong and Cox's Bazaar last September, he said, "I faced attacks and taunts of the racists for 26 years when I lived in London. I can understand how helpless people can feel."
Ashraf said 'effective measures' were taken in consultation with the Prime Minister immediately after the violence had taken place at Ramu.
The Awami League leader said measure had been taken against those officials who failed to do their job during the incident following investigations. "We have fully overhauled the Cox's Bazaar administration."
Religious bigots attacked the temples and settlements of the Buddhists on Sept 29 and burned to ashes many of their monasteries and houses. The violence spread to Ukhia and Teknaf of Cox's Bazaar and Patia of Chittagong the next day.
The arson attacks were triggered after rumours had it that a Buddhist youth of Ramu posted a photograph of burned Quran in his Facebook profile.
Ashraf on Friday also said that the attack on the Buddhists was a precursor to a new disaster.
"The attack was provoked by those who do not want Bangladesh as a country of communal harmony and secularism and want to spread the seed of Pakistan's two-nation theory."
"Bangladesh did not emerge based on religion or communalism. But on the basis of Bengalee nationalism."
Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu, who inaugurated the congregation, said, "Some people have sided with militancy just when we are trying to eliminate the militants. Some human-looking monsters have set the Buddhist temples on fire."
"As a member of the government, one of JaSaD, I beg your forgiveness, I am ashamed. The people of Bangladesh are with you," Inu, also the President of Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, said.
Supreme religious leader of the Buddhists in Bangladesh Dharmasen Mohathero presided over the function where Indian High Commissioner Pankaj Saran, Sri Lankan High Commissioner Sarath K Weragoda, AKM Rahmatullah MP, Bangladesh Buddhist Federation President Biswapati Barua and General Secretary Ashok Barua, among others, also spoke.
Thousands of Buddhists also joined the congregation along with their religious leaders.
bdnews24.com/si/trb/bd/2142h
Beware of Facebook!
Thu, Nov 22nd, 2012 9:16 pm BdST
Dhaka, Nov 22 (bdnews24.com)— The government on Thursday cautioned Facebook users against anybody tagging them to offensive photographs or comments.
"People are being advised to remain aware and cautious about the matter," it said in a statement.
The warning came about two months after houses and places of worship of the minority Buddhists were burned down in Chittagong and Cox's Bazaar allegedly after the photo of a burned Quran was tagged to a Buddhist youth's Facebook profile to incite hate attacks.
Media investigations later found that the Buddhist youth was not tagged in any Facebook profile, rather zealots doctored a Facebook page to trigger the riot.
According to Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission's anti-cyber crime cell, over a thousand complaints, most of which centre around the popular social networking site Facebook, were lodged by female students in the last nine months since the cell became operative.
One of BTRC's cybercrime specialists told bdnews24.com that most of the complaints were about fake Facebook profiles. Many complained that their identities or pictures were being used to open fake accounts.
Several people were arrested for making negative comments about Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Facebook on different occasions. A university teacher was also jailed for making a comment against her in his Facebook status.
Five Facebook pages were blocked following High Court orders in May this year for hurting religious sentiments.
A fifth of a million are using Facebook in Bangladesh currently as the number crosses the mark of one billion worldwide.
bdnews24.com/si/eh/bd/1955h
No comments:
Post a Comment