Bangladesh: Communal Repression and Proposed Blasphemy Law By Shahriar Kabir<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

 

The unprecedented persecution of religious and ethnic minorities under government patronage unleashed in Bangladesh since the four-party alliance assumed power in 2001 has recently widened its scope. It began with attacks on the Hindu community, then spread to encompass the Christian, Buddhist and indigenous communities. Now, this persecution has reached Ahmadi Muslims.

 

The largest political party of the country, the Bangladesh Awami League, which led the liberation war, has also become a victim of torture and as well as journalists, human rights activists, intellectuals, officers and employees of government, semi-government and other organizations believing in secular democracy are often persecuted. The persecution of the latter groups is a form of political vengeance. In the case of the minorities, the reason is more communal than political. By encouraging the repression of minorities, and creating an atmosphere of fear, the four-party alliance government hopes to force minority communities from their homeland and thereby to convert Bangladesh into a monolithic Islamic country.

 

The year 2004 has begun with the killing of the indigenous community leader of Modhupur, Piren Snel. Piren was killed on 3 January by a police bullet while protesting against the set-up of an Eco Park in Modhupur forest, forcing the relocation of the aboriginal Garo inhabitants. Later that same month, Manik Saha, a noted journalist and BBC Correspondent, local leader of the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB), and a strong voice against fundamentalism and communalism was killed in a bomb blast. The CPB has directly accused the Jamaat-Shibir clique, the student wing of Jamaat-e- Islami, widely regarded as militant fanatics, for killing Manik.

 

These two killings cannot be regarded as separate incidents. The killers of Piren and Manik know that they will remain safe. Nothing has happened to those who have killed, raped, and looted religious and ethnic minorities since the alliance government of Khaleda- Nizami took control. The agencies enforcing law and order will not take any measures against these criminals when they are supported by the government. Rather, government patronage has encouraged them to commit atrocities against those in custody.

The new dimension of persecution – that of Ahmadi Muslims – began with the government order banning all publications of the community on 9 January 2004. Such a ban, which covers publications preaching the religion of the community, is against the Constitution of Bangladesh, as well as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. A country that does not permit the right to practice and preach religion peacefully does not belong in the civilized world.

 

When the leaders of the Ahmadiyya Community declared that they would appeal against the ban in the higher courts, one top leader of the government’s fundamentalist allies stated that they would not abide by any order of the High Court or Supreme Court. The same leader had earlier verbally abused two Supreme Court Judges for declaring fatwa illegal. The fundamentalist allies have persistently attacked those speaking in favour of the Ahmadiyya sect, seeking to whip up hate against them. They have in the past also declared in public that they would not obey any law that they perceive to be against the Quran and Sunnah. No measure has yet been taken against these speeches, which defy court and constitution.

 

The recent initiative to pass a ‘blasphemy law’ in Parliament represents the latest effort to undermine secular democracy in the country. In January a private member’s bill to enact a blasphemy law, proposed by a lawmaker of the Bangladesh National Party (BNP), was prevented from being piloted by senior party colleagues. Nevertheless, Jamaat-e-Islami members have called for the implementation of such a law. Its introduction in Bangladesh would be a great leap towards Pakistanization of our society and politics. It is argued that a blasphemy law is needed to prevent the abuse of Islam and other religions. But we would point out that a law against hurting religious sentiments already exists in the Bangladesh Penal Code, under Section 295-A. And despite a brief nod to respect for all religions, versions of the proposed law appearing in the press indicate that the wording quickly shifts to emphasis on perceived attacks on the Quran and Sunnah. The law will in effect become a licence for further persecution of minority religions and secular Muslims, who could be imprisoned and fined for trifling reasons. In Pakistan, 80% of victims are secular Muslim intellectuals and social workers, a recent example being Dr Younus Sheikh.

 

From our experience in Pakistan we know that the cases of those arrested for blasphemy are not investigated in the normal way. The learned Judge of Lahore High Court, Justice Ali Newaj Chauhan, commented on one case, ‘the police do not want to investigate, fearing the fury of the Mullahs on the one hand, while on the other, the Judges do not dare to deliver the right verdict in cases involving the blasphemy law’.

 

The alliance government has tarnished the international image of Bangladesh by removing fundamental rights from some of its citizens and resorting to unprecedented repression on minority religious and ethnic groups. It is destroying the achievements of the liberation war. Unfortunately, the disunity of the Awami League and other opposition parties has prevented them from mustering effective resistance against these moves. The concerned citizens of Bangladesh must come out of their roles as silent spectators and take responsibility for removing the obstacles preventing the unity of pro-liberation forces. There is no other way to fight the communalists and fundamentalists.

 

Shahriar Kabir is a journalist and human rights activist. The above is a shortened, adapted version of a paper presented at a meeting of the South Asian People’s Union Against Fundamentalism and Communalism, Dhaka, 28 January 2004.