ISKCON members hold protest outside White House demanding protection for Bangladeshi Hindus

Washington : A large number of Hare Krishna devotees gathered in front of the White House in support of Bangladeshi Hindus, days after the minority population in Bangladesh faced rampant attacks from Islamist radicals who targeted Hindu temples, homes and businesses during the Durga Puja festival.

Singing “Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna” songs, members of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) held placards saying “Protect Bangladeshi Hindus”, and “Protect our Temple”, in reference to the arson and vandalism of the ISKCON temple in Noakhali in Bangladesh earlier this month, which also left two members of the community dead due to alleged lynching.

A huge turnout of Hare Krishna devotees also turned up to protest in Silicon Valley in California, all singing “Hare Krishna” and holding placards demanding protection for Hindus in Bangladesh.

ISKCON members have been holding protests while singing “Hare Krishna” at different cities across the world, including at Melbourne and London.

ISKCON has also written to the Special Rapporteur On Minority Issues at the UN Human Rights Commission and to the Head of the Media Unit of UNHRC, apprising them of “the persecution of Hindu minorities in Bangladesh”.

ISKCON has also demanded a fact-finding mission to Bangladesh and an official condemnation of the large-scale attacks on the minority population.

In a letter to Rupert Colville, head of media unit, Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Geneva, the ISKCON has pointed to the “targeted and systematic killing of minority Hindus residing in Bangladesh in the past few days”.

It said that “in the last 10 days, over 150 Mother Durga Puja pandals have been destroyed and over 362 icons of deities demolished in Bangladesh by the Islamist Extremist Forces.”

“Thousands of houses and shops of minority Hindus have been systematically attacked and plundered in Bangladesh over the past few days.”

“More than 1,000 Hindus have been injured, and till now 10 Hindus have been reported dead.”

It said many Hindu women and girls were reportedly gang raped in Bangladesh.

It said more than 50 temples, including three ISKCON temples, and Ashrams of Shri Ram Krishna Mission have been destroyed.

“The State protection appears to be a moot. The attacks were systematic and threats are imminent.”

“It said such treatment would constitute persecution on the grounds of religion. These are serious violation of human rights.”

It said Bangladesh “must uphold its human rights obligations under the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and other international human rights law treaties “in good faith” and may not invoke “the provisions of its internal law as justification for its failure to perform” its duty.

It urged the UNCHR to send a fact-finding mission to Bangladesh.

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