Attack on Buddhists condemned
Eminent citizens and different organisations yesterday condemned the torching and vandalism of 12 Buddhist temples and monasteries and over 50 houses in Ramu upazila of Cox's Bazar early Sunday by a mob.
In separate statements, they demanded exemplary punishment to the perpetrators of the violence, apparently triggered by a Facebook posting of a photo defaming the holy Quran.
A total of 28 eminent citizens alleged that a vested quarter fuelled the recent Rangamati clash between indigenous people and Bangalee settlers to foil the war crimes trial and lead the country into communalism.
In a statement, nine eminent citizens said the government should punish the lawmaker, administrative officers and law enforcement agency members if they were found to have been negligent to their duties during the incident.
In a separate statement, 19 Dhaka University teachers, including the vice chancellor, demanded punishment for the culprits who tried to hurt the country's communal harmony.
Ekatturer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee said, “Jamaat-backed militants were creating safe dens at Cox's Bazar and Chittagong Hill Tracts to train their militants since the four-party alliance regime.
“Their plan is to establish an Islamic country with Rakhine-dominated Arakan state and a portion of the hill tracts. We have found many proofs of Jamaat's engagement with these Rohingya fundamentalists and collected names of 17 organisations more or less involved with the party.”
Ain o Salish Kendra urged locals and the administration to remain alert so that none could carry out subversive activities anywhere.
Bangladesh Human Rights Commission condemned the law enforcement agencies' role, stating that prompt action could have prevented the attack.
Protesting the attack, Parbatya Chattagram Pahari Chhatra Parishad and Bangladesh Adivasi Chhatra Sangram Parishad organised a rally at Dhaka University's Aparajeya Bangla.
Indigenous Students' Association of Jahangirnagar University also brought out a silent procession on the campus, participated by JU Student Union and Jahangirnagar Sangskritik Jote.
Bangladesh Udichi Shilpigosthi will organise protest cultural rallies in all of the country's districts tomorrow.
Seventeen other organisations also condemned the attack.
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