Attacks and persecution of religious and ethnic minorities continue to occur in the country although ruling Awami League claims their stance to protect faith minorities.

“It is alarmingly that the influence of extremist groups is growing in all areas, including the government administration, politics, and society, making minority communities more insecure and distrustful, forcing many members leave the country,” Rana Dasgupta, a lawyer, said during a press conference at the National Press Club in Dhaka recently in the presence of Hindu, Buddhist, and Christian leaders.

Some 1,045 episodes of violence, torture and oppression against religious and ethnic minorities have occurred in Bangladesh over the past year, resulting in the death of 45 people, this according to the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council (BHBCUC).

BHBCUC secretary general Dasgupta also stressed the need to set up a national minority commission to prevent the persistent persecution of minorities, as promised in the Awami League's election manifesto, reports the asianews.it newspaper.

The Italian newspaper report notes that 70-75 per cent of violence against minorities is centred on land grabbing, often under the influence of political parties and with the complicity of government agencies.

"A comparative review of communal violence in past years shows that the incidence of violence has not changed much even today,” Dasgupta explained. “At the time of the 1970 elections, the minority population was about 19 per cent. Now it has come down to 8.6 per cent. The environment for free religious practice has been completely narrowed. Religious events are being organised under police guard."

In addition to the 45 murders, the report mentions 10 attempted murders and 36 death threats. A total of 479 people were attacked, physically abused, or injured. About 11 people were victims of extorsion. There were 102 attacks, acts of vandalism, looting and arson involving homes and businesses, 47 incidents of encroachment on land and homesteads, 45 cases of land occupation, eviction activities, and threats, as well as 11 episodes of threats or attempts at forced emigration.

There were 25 cases of gang rape, while 12 people were abducted, went missing or forced to convert. Eight people were arrested on trumped-up charges of blasphemy. The last parliamentary elections saw 32 incidents of communal violence while local elections reported five incidents of this kind.

BHBCUC chairman, Nirmol Rozario, a Catholic, called on the Awami League to implement the pledges it made in its election manifesto, including the creation of a national minority commission to prevent the persecution of minorities and the drafting of a law to grant them special protection.

“Persecution of faith minorities will decline if the Bangladesh government fulfils their manifesto for the minority,” Rozario said.