Religious leaders shocked at congressmen's letter to Biden

Leaders of various religious communities in Bangladesh expressed shock at the misleading information given by six United States congressmen about the situation of minorities in Bangladesh in a recent letter sent to US President Joe Biden.

In a recent email to U.S. Ambassador Peter Haas, the leaders claimed that the letter of congressmen was biased and distorted history by providing misleading information about reducing the number of minorities.

The letter of congress members claimed that the number of Hindus in Bangladesh has halved after the Awami League government led by Sheikh Hasina came to power. It also noted that members of the Christian community were also being subjected to similar abuses.

The email sent to Peter Haas said that the congressmen’s letter did not mention at all that the BNP-Jamaat, despite being outside power, tortured minorities in different parts of the country in the past years. The congressmen also did not discuss the persecution of minorities committed during that coalition-led government.

At the same time, the leaders of different religions believe that through this letter, the culture of impunity for the persecution and criminal activities of the minorities during the Jamaat-BNP era is being encouraged.

The leaders of various religious communities in Bangladesh include Cardinal Patrick De Rosario, Bishop Rev. Mankin (President, National Council of Churches), Rev. Martin Adhikari (Retired Principal, College of Christian Theology), Bishop Philip Adhikari (President, Bangladesh Bible Society), Dr. Milton Biswas (Professor and President, Bangla Department, Jagannath University), Prof. Dr. Mihir Kumar Roy (Dean, Faculty of Business Administration, City University Bangladesh) and many others.

Barrister Tapas Kanti Bal sent the email on behalf of all, reports UNB.