A delegation of British Hindus was hosted by Catherine West, Minister for the Indo-Pacific in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), this week on the issue of persecution faced by minorities in Bangladesh.
It came as the Bengali Hindu Adarsha Sangha (BHAS) UK raised concerns over Labour MP Rupa Huq’s failure to meet groups representing minorities during her visit to Bangladesh.
“This leads one to question why she dismissed a recent APPG [All Party Parliamentary Group] report detailing violence against Hindus and claimed it was ‘pedalling falsehoods’,” BHAS UK said.
“Since August 2024, after the ousting of Sheikh Hasina, targeted attacks by Islamists on religious minorities followed and continue today. MP Rupa Huq’s failure to meet with minority groups during her visit could potentially embolden radical Islamists if they believe that the UK government is not concerned about targeted violence against minorities in Bangladesh,” it added.
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FCDO sources said the UK government is fully supportive of the United Nations (UN) fact-finding mission over this issue and that it supports the independent mission to identify and record human rights violations committed in the month between July and August 2024.
In January, Catherine West hosted an all-party parliamentary briefing about the situation in Bangladesh including reports of attacks against minorities. Back in December, the minister told the House of Commons when asked if she had raised this issue during her visit to Bangladesh: “Not only that the matter was at the top of my agenda when I visited Bangladesh, but that we continue to monitor any instances of violence and lack of law and order, and continue to offer support where we can to the interim government of Bangladesh.”
She added: “The UK was one of the first with ministerial support to arrive in Dhaka, speak with the Chief Adviser Professor Yunus and be vocal in support of minorities… There can be nothing like a face-to-face encounter with the person in charge to underline the importance of freedom of religion or belief, and in this instance, of stopping attacks against the minority Hindu community.”
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