December 5, 2001: The Bangladeshi government must take urgent action to protect the country’s Hindu minority following weeks of grave human rights abuses, Amnesty International said today in a new report. Before the general election in October, the Hindu community was targeted, reportedly by supporters of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) for their perceived support for the rival Awami League. The backlash after the elections was systematic and severe. Bangladeshi press has reported that attackers have entered Hindu homes, beaten family members and looted their property. “Successive governments have let down the Hindu minority in Bangladesh and the last two months show exactly how vulnerable the Hindu community is. The government must live up to its responsibility to protect all of its citizens and it must do it now,” Amnesty International said.
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