[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 69 (Monday, May 17, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H3057-H3058]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  PERSECUTION OF HINDUS IN BANGLADESH

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening to express my deep 
concern over the persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh. The coalition 
government of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, BNP, which came to 
power on October 1, 2001, has initiated a violent campaign. And since 
the BNP's parliamentary victory nearly 3 years ago, a campaign of 
terrorism, murder, and religious cleansing has been unleashed on Hindus 
living in Bangladesh. I had written a letter to Bangladesh's Prime 
Minister Zia in 2002 about this violent persecution, but I have 
received no response to date; and it is a fact that unabashed violence 
has continued freely.
  Although the latest wave of violence has been ensuing since the BNP 
took power in 2001, Hindus have been a disappearing minority in 
Bangladesh at the hands of Bangladeshi forces that have employed human 
rights abuses, atrocities, and ethno-religious cleansing tools. In 
1941, Hindus comprised 28 percent of the population; but by 1991, the 
Hindu population dwindled to a meager 8 percent. A large part of this 
decrease in the Hindu population can be attributed to the 1971 genocide 
by the then-Muslim East Pakistan Party, whereby 2.5 million Hindus were 
murdered and 10 million Hindus fled to India as refugees.
  Reminiscent of the Jewish Holocaust, Hindu homes were marked by a 
yellow H, which in fact guided the pillagers to their homes. Over the 
following 30 years, thousands of Hindu temples were destroyed, Hindus 
were systematically disenfranchised from holding political power, and 
prejudicial legislation ensured an unstable existence for Hindus. In 
fact, Islamic extremists have routinely dispossessed Hindus and, for 
that matter, Christians and Buddhists, of their ancestral properties 
and land, burned down their homes, and desecrated and razed temples, 
which has resulted in forcing many to flee as refugees.
  Mr. Speaker, I have reviewed numerous reports that attest to the 
current violent persecution in Bangladesh. These reports have been 
written by the International Federation of Bangladeshi Hindus and 
Friends, Amnesty International, the U.S. State Department's Annual 
Report on International Religious Freedom, CNN, BBC, and multiple 
Bangladeshi newspapers that reflect the testimonies of the Hindu 
victims.
  This campaign of minority cleansing in progress in Bangladesh has to 
be stopped. Since 1971, when Bangladesh was born as a secular 
democratic country out of Islamic Pakistan, all minority populations 
have declined, and this Islamization must be put to an end through the 
government's leadership. In an effort to uphold pluralistic democracy 
in Bangladesh and protection

[[Page H3058]]

of Hindus and all minorities, the following must be implemented:

                              {time}  1945

  First, restoration of secularism in the constitution of Bangladesh, 
as it existed in the first constitution of independent Bangladesh in 
1972.
  Second, passage of affirmative action and hate crime laws that 
acknowledge the minority communities of Bangladesh.
  Third, production of a white paper on atrocities against the 
minorities over the years, and assurance that the perpetrators of the 
ongoing pogrom are brought to justice.
  Fourth, repatriation of the refugees, displaced people, with full 
compensation to the victims.
  Fifth, ending of oppression of journalists and writers who report 
minority and human rights violations.
  Six, termination of the illegal torture in custody of members of 
secular parties.
  And seventh, allowance of an independent commission to investigate 
the atrocities perpetrated against the minority groups.
  Mr. Speaker, I hope that these goals can be achieved and the 
Government of Bangladesh can take the necessary steps to international 
human and civil rights.

                          ____________________