Professor Muhammad Yunus, the chief adviser, asked religious leaders today for their assistance in gathering precise information in the event that there is an attack on a minority group in the nation. “I have asked you to join (today’s dialogue) to know how information could be gleaned in a safer way so that the information providers do not fall in trouble,” he said while delivering his opening remarks for the faith leaders of Bangladesh at the Foreign Service Academy here.
On his arrival at Dhaka airport from abroad on August 8 after the July revolution, Prof Yunus said, he had mentioned – “we all are a family despite having differences of opinions and we are the members of the same family. There is no animosity between us. We all are Bangladeshis”.
After formation of the interim government, he said, the issue of repression on minorities was arisen, which saddened him.
Referring to his visit to Dhakeswari Temple in Dhaka on the occasion of Durga Puja, the chief adviser said Durga Puja was celebrated with festivity in the country while people from all strata joined it, turning the event into a national festival.
Now, the issue of attacks on minorities has come up again and the foreign media are publishing news on it, he said, adding that there is a gap of information between the reality and the news published by foreign media. “We want to know the accurate information and want to establish the process of getting the information,” he added. Noting that as citizens, all the people of the country have equal rights, Prof Yunus said the responsibility of the state is to ensure the people’s rights guaranteed by the constitution. He said if any incident of attack on minorities takes place in the country, information must be collected immediately on such incidents and the perpetrators must be brought to justice. The chief adviser stressed taking measures to create an environment to prevent such incidents and ensuring immediate remedy for victims. “I think most of the people of Bangladesh agree on what I have said,” he added. Leaders of the Muslim, the Hindu, the Christian and the Buddhist communities joined the dialogue.
