Bangladesh: A Prime Target of Violence
Where do we go from here?

Over the last five years, secular organizations, cultural activities, movie theaters, minority religious sites, symbols of the Sufi band of Islam and liberal politicians have been attacked in a lethal bombing campaign in Bangladesh.

Opposition political activities are under constant fear of attack, and opposition politicians are afraid of their lives, making a healthy practice of democratic norms and values more and more difficult by the day.

Bengali cultural festivities with hundreds of year’s tradition are security nightmares now because of the warped interpretation of some of what it means to be Bangladeshi, and which activities are permissible and which are not.

Non government organizations, (NGOs) which changed the face of rural Bangladesh by giving the hitherto marginalized groups of society in Bangladesh, particularly women, a new identity and source of financial self-reliance, also came under attack, forcing them to curtail their open activities, often significantly.

An analysis of the targets, the victims, the modus operandi, and the facts unearthed by official investigation in the few cases that it has succeeded in doing so, suggests that the vast majority of these attacks implicate the extreme conservative religious forces in Bangladesh.

The government of Bangladesh has issued statements blaming Islamic extremists for some of the attacks, and sometimes successfully pursued the perpetrators, but non-partisan observers of the concerned citizenry have found the measures taken by the Government of Bangladesh to try those responsible for these cowardly activities and efforts to put an end to this ominous series of events quite inadequate, often insincere, and in cases where steps were undertaken, that it was done so as a face saving political ploy.

On the other hand, the major and mainstream opposition political entity in Bangladesh has resorted to counterproductive hartals, violent protests and street anarchy to protest this bombing campaign. While this has in some cases captured the anger and frustration of the people, it has consistently failed to maintain a sustained response amongst people because of its display of misplaced priorities, placing ad-hoc blame on the government, and bringing unwarranted suffering to the people and economy of Bangladesh through its activities.

In this context, we demand:

• independent and transparent investigation into each bomb blast and grenade,
• identification, apprehension and speedy trial of the perpetrators,
• improvement in the law and order situation of the country to prevent recurrence of these attacks,
• responsible treatment of the issue by political parties, interest groups and civil society, and
• an environment conducive to the performance of political, cultural and religious activities with intimidation, coercion or fear
  

Drishtipat, a human rights organization for Bangladesh, has taken the initiative of this website as a mean of a constructive protest. This website will chronicle this bombing campaign that has been plaguing Bangladesh, follow up the investigations and legal proceedings involving these crimes and monitor the activities of the government of Bangladesh in dealing with this bombing campaign.

At the same time, this webpage will serve as the hub to connect the citizens of Bangladesh who are concerned at these ominous developments. As we grieve for each loss of life to this mindless violence, we must also condemn these terror attacks in the strongest possible language. Drishtipat urges all of you to post your comments, express your concerns and share your thoughts as we unite as Bangladeshis to fight these blood-thirsty extremists who, by any measure of patriotism, are enemies of our state.