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| Mohinuddin Khan, Home Minister of Bangladesh |
15 monasteries torched in Ramu, Ctg; 50 Buddhist houses vandalised and Sec 144 imposed in Ramu; ministers MKA, Dilip in Ramu; Violence shocked PM
Home Minister Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir on Sept 30 said that the violence in Ramu of Cox's Bazar centring an anti-Islam photo on facebook is 'premeditated and deliberate act of communal violence against a minority'.
“We found evidences of gunpowder and petrol in Sept 29’s arson of the Buddhist monasteries and houses,” the minister said while addressing an impromptu rally at Choumuhani intersection in Ramu around 2:00pm.
Alamgir and Industries Minister Dilip Barua, accompanied by local Awami League leaders, visited the spots of violence shortly after their arrival in Ramu around 10:00am.
“We have been informed that police and fire services were inactive during the arson,” said the minister adding that a committee, chaired by the additional divisional commissioner in Chittagong, is soon to be formed to investigate whether the law enforcers remained inactive.Alamgir, in his speech, also promised to rebuild the Buddhist monasteries and temples and compensate the victims whose houses were destroyed.
The minister assured that the miscreants who stirred the violence would be traced and brought to book within 15 days.
Also addressing the rally, Industries Minister Dilip Barua said that in 1971 the country was liberated to establish a secular state. “The unprecedented events in Ramu have tarnished its reputation and our belief in secularism,” he said.
Barua also assured the locals that incidents like these would not recur. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina also expressed concern about the incident, Alamgir told the rally.
On Sept 30 morning, Cox’s Bazar district administration imposed section 144 in Ramu after mobs destroyed 12 monasteries and 50 houses there late Saturday following posting of an alleged defamation of the Qur’an on a facebook account of a local Buddhist person.
Selim Md Jahangir, the superintendent of police (SP) of Cox’s Bazar said that three of the Buddhist temples were totally gutted.
The violence spread to Chittagong on Sunday morning as mobs vandalised and torched one Hindu and two more Buddhist temples in Kolagaon union of Patiya between 11:30am and 12noon, our Chittagong correspondent confirmed quoting Nazrul Islam, assistant superintendent of police (ASP) of Patiya Circle.
Quoting Uttom Kumar Barua, the owner of the facebook account, police said the photo was mistakenly tagged on his profile. Soon after the violence broke out, Uttom's facebook account was closed and police escorted him and his mother to safety, said the SP.
Uttom is son of one Supto Barua of Baruapara in Ramu upazila.
Regarding Saturday night’s incident in Cox’s Bazar, police and witnesses said, after news spread about the defaming picture on facebook, hundreds of people thronged to Chowmuhani area of Ramu and staged demonstration in protest around 10:00pm.
In a bid to control the situation, police from Ramu upazila tried to cordon the area off but were soon outnumbered and pushed back.
Around 11:00pm, riot police and Rab arrived on the spot but by then hundreds of people set ablaze Buddhist households in Baruapara of the upazila that kept burning until around 2:00am.
Police and witnesses said, around 12:30 am, a mob torched a 250-year old Buddhist temple on Cheranghata road and then set ablaze Borokang Buddha Bihar and Kendriyo Shima Bihar. Angry mob also vandalised Baruapara Buddhist temple at Srikul in Ramu.
Buddhist people started to flee their homes as the fire services failed to reach the spot amid increasing violence around 1:00am.
With the help of police, the fire services managed to douse the blaze around 2:30am but the temples and the houses were already gutted by then.
Around 3:30am, BGB, Rab and police managed to quell the violence and take control of the situation with the help of the eminent local persons including the lawmaker Lutfur Rahman Kajal, Ramu upazila parishad chairman Sohel Sarwar Kajal.
Since Sunday(Sept 30) morning army, BGB, Rab and police have been guarding all the 27 Buddhist monasteries and temples in Ramu while police forces have been deployed in all other areas where the violence broke out.
However police were unable to confirm the number of injured persons as most Buddhist people have been in hiding since Saturday night.
While talking to The Daily Star at his ministry, Information Minister Hasanul Haque Inu said some identified communal forces were involved with the incident.
The situation is now under control, Inu said.
Police patrols have been strengthened in the Buddhist-majority areas,” SP Jahangir added.
Paramilitary BGB personnel have been called out to restore order in the affected areas, Suresh Barua, teacher at a local school, said.
Several houses and Mithhachharhi Bonbihar, some five kilometres from Ramu Sadar Upazila, were set on fire around 3:30am, said General Secretary of Ramu Upazila Juba League Nitish Barua.
A 100-foot high under-construction Buddha sculpture was also ravaged in Bimukti Bidarshan Babna Centre in the locality, he added.
Gias Uddin Ziku, Office Secretary of Cox’s Bazaar district unit of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal and Chairman of Jhilangja Union, said he dispersed Jamaat-e-Islami activists who had gathered around localities of ethnic minorities. He also said he had informed the police of the incident.
Local people said followers of an Islamist party led by several leaders took out a procession around 10pm on Sept 29 alleging that a photo was uploaded on the Facebook to defame the holy book.
At a subsequent rally, they claimed a youth by the name of Uttam Barua had pasted the purportedly offensive photo in the social networking website and demanded his arrest.
Another militant procession was taken out that marched down towards the Barua Parha around 11:30pm and some youths from the procession set some homes of the Buddhists on fire.
From then on, 15 homes, three temples including ‘Saada Ching’ and ‘Laal Ching’ were burned to the ground, Dipak Barua, a local, said.
Police, local administration officials and public representatives were trying to quell the arson and destruction that continued at least until 1:30am.
A local journalist, who was hiding with family in the neighbourhood that came under attack, told bdnews24.com the Cheranghata Barakyang Temple close to his home was set alight. He said the flames died out around 2:45am.
Also, Ramu Maitree Bihar, Saada Chinglaal, Ramy Sina Bihar and Jadiparha Bouddha Bihar were torched, ransacked and looted.
At least 10 Buddhist villages were attacked and Purbo Merongloa locality that had around 20 houses was burned.
Chairman of Ramu Upazila Council Sohel Sarwar Kajal said efforts were on to quell the tension.
Several Facebook users, meanwhile, said Uttam Barua, the Ramu youth being accused of Quran defamation, did not post the photo deemed to be offensive to Islam. They said Uttam was tagged in the photo from a Facebook ID called ‘Insult Allah’ and so he was in no way responsible.
Recently, there was much hullabaloo was created after Rohingya Muslims tried to cross the border into Bangladesh fleeing the religious riot in Myanmar’s Buddhist-majority Rakhine state. A section of the civil society in Bangladesh reacted to the government refusing the refugees entry. The government believes communal forces were behind this incident.
[So. it is established that the anti Buddhist - anti Hindu Force in Bangladesh premeditatedly attacked the peace loving minorities in BD for an ethnic cleansing with the issues of Myanmar Muslim torture or desecration of Quran in very heinous Islamic attitude. Same time a portion of BD media and political part are shedding their tears for such an attack upon BD minorities for a habitual activities of majority Muslims there. All concerned in Bangladesh are supporting the total removal of BD Hindu-Buddhists-Christians-Other minorities from that Islamic land. Then what is the remedial measures? 1. Protest vehemently to BD Govt. with strictures. 2. Direct intervention of Respected Dalai Lama in this matter. What he is doing right now in his fortified seat in Dharmshala (India) with huge wealth and international fame? 3. Stop relations with Muslims treating them as the supporters of a most uncivilized and communal groups. 4. Attack Mosques and Muslim in Buddhist Countries, as a tremendous retaliation to sensitize the insane Islamic zealots as the last measure. At least Myanmar and Sri Lanka should start actions. Ed. - HE.]
Courtesy: BD News 24, The Daily Star & The Independent.
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