Home Minister Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir on Saturday accused both the main opposition BNP and its key ally Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami of unleashing attacks on the religious minority communities.
“Communal outfit Jamaat and its supporter BNP are carrying out attacks on the minorities. We’ve observed a reign of terror unleashed by this communal force over the last one week,” he said.
The Home Minister was addressing the national convention of Bangladesh Human Rights Commission (BHRC) at the Kazi Bashir Auditorium in the capital’s Mahanagar Natya Mancha.
BHRC secretary general Saiful Islam Dildar, its Dhaka city unit president M Matiur Rahman and its London branch adviser Modabber Hossain, among others, addressed the programme with freedom fighter and rights activist Quazi Rezaul Mostafa in the chair.
In an oblique reference to Jamaat, MK Alamgir said, “With the support of several political parties, a militant organisation is violating the human rights across the country in the name of protest.”
Clarifying the government’s stance over maintaining the law and order across the country, he firmly said they would tackle the anarchists with an iron hand and bring them to book for their misdeeds. “The government won’t show any negligence in discharging its duty.”
Turning to the recent attacks on the religious minorities, the Home Minister stressed the need for uprooting communal forces from the country to improve the human rights condition.
He urged the rights activists to stand by the minorities in their respective areas and work for ensuring their safety.
Mentioning the government’s responsibilities to establish rights of all citizens, MK Alamgir said no state-run organisation and force have any right to violate human rights in the country.
Talking to reporters over Friday’s bomb explosions at Shahbagh Ganojagaran Mancha after emerging from the programme, he claimed that they have already been able to identify those involved in the incident. He also blamed communal and anti-liberation forces for the incident.
On Friday, unidentified miscreants exploded three crude bombs at the Shahbagh Square in the capital, leaving a Rab official injured.
Earlier, Alamgir inaugurated the convention by hoisting the national flag in front of the auditorium.
Hundreds of BHRC’s activists from home and abroad took part in the convention.
At the convention, the rights body honoured a total of 32 persons, including MK Alamgir and Dhaka University Vice-chancellor Prof AAMS Arefin Siddique, with ‘Jatiya Manobadikar Padak 2013 (National Human Rights Award 2013)‘ in recognition of their contributions towards promoting human rights in the country. UNB
