White House says it will continue to monitor situation of minorities in Bangladesh

Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre says President Joe Biden is "consistent in speaking loud and clear" on human rights issues

Washington:  The United States will continue to monitor the situation in Bangladesh, the White House said, emphasising that President Joe Biden is “consistent in speaking loud and clear” on human rights issues.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was responding to questions regarding calls from Hindu-American groups and Indian-American lawmakers seeking the US government’s intervention in protecting the lives and properties of the minority Hindu community in Bangladesh following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government.

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“We are certainly going to continue monitoring the situation. I don’t have anything else to add beyond that. But, when it comes to any type of human rights issues, the President (Joe Biden) has been very consistent in speaking loud and clear in public and also privately and he’ll continue to do that,” Jean-Pierre told reporters at her daily news conference on Monday.

Over the past few days, hundreds of Hindu-Americans in various US cities have been holding peaceful protest rallies against the alleged human rights violations of the minority Hindu community in Bangladesh. Addressing a protest march in Atlanta on Sunday, Congressman Shawn Still appealed to the US State Department to ensure the safety and well-being of minorities in Bangladesh.

Local Atlanta representative Sheikh Rahman also endorsed the sentiments of the Hindu community and said he would do everything in his power by way of aggressive outreach to the Bangladesh regime to curb the violence and bring the violators to justice, a media release said.

The demonstrators displayed large banners and placards, waved American and Indian flags and chanted slogans, such as ‘Hindu Lives Matter’, ‘We Want Justice’, ‘United Nations, Wake Up’ and ‘Jago Jago, Hindu Jago’. Over 150 people also gathered in Fremont, California and raised similar slogans.

Congressman Rich McCormick, addressing a webinar organised by Coalition of Hindus of North America (COHNA), said he is deeply disturbed by the reports of sectarian violence targeting members of the Hindu minority in Bangladesh. McCormick assured the Hindu community of working with them to help in protecting the lives and properties of the minority in Bangladesh.

On Saturday, more than 100 Hindus and members of the Bangladeshi diaspora gathered in front of the White House to call on President Biden to take decisive action. Chanting “Stop killing Hindus” and “Justice, justice, we want justice,” the crowd urged the US government to intervene and protect Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh.

A large protest rally, co-hosted by the Washington-based NGO HinduACTion, was also held in the New York City, where protesters raised slogans of “Stop killing Hindus! Bangladesh! Bangladesh! Stop burning temples! Bangladesh! Bangladesh! We want justice! We want justice!”.

Hundreds of people gathered outside the United Nations headquarters and in Times Square to stage protests against the alleged attacks against Hindus in Bangladesh. “The international community, and particularly the US government, cannot stand idly by as these crimes against humanity continue. We echo the calls for Congressional hearings to investigate these failures and to establish concrete measures that will prevent such violence in the future,” Utsav Chakrabarti, executive director, HinduACTion, said.