Durban — Hindu communities in KwaZulu-Natal have called on the government to close down the Bangladesh Embassy — “or they will close it themselves”.
An angry group of Hindus staged a picket in Palmview, Phoenix, north of Durban to voice their anger over the government’s silence on the matter.
Bangladesh has recently hogged international headlines following the ousting of prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who was forced to flee the country amid widespread violent protests demanding that she step down.
Speaking to the Daily News on Sunday, one of the organisers of the picket, Mervin Govender, accused the government of being hypocritical and siding with Muslims “because Hindus are poor, while Muslims are rich”.
He said he could not believe that the government had not issued even one statement condemning violence and atrocities that were currently taking place in Bangladesh, saying this was because the victims were Hindus.
“What we are seeing is hypocrisy on the part of the SA government. We know that if it were the Muslims that were being persecuted in Bangladesh, they would have long issued a statement condemning that, but the government, particularly Minister of International Relations Ronald Lamola has not uttered a word.
“This is because Hindus are poor and the ANC does not get funding from Hindus,” said Govender.
He said Hindus made up the majority of Indians in South Africa. Govender warned that on Saturday, they would march in Durban and close down all Bangladesh consular offices.
In a statement, the Lotus Economic Forum said: “The brutality and atrocities against Hindus and other religious minorities in Bangladesh must be condemned. Hindus and other religious minorities are being murdered, raped and driven out of their homes by Islamic extremist elements that have gripped their nation and have permanently disrupted the lives of people of all backgrounds in Bangladesh, including many peace-loving Muslims.”
The forum added that despite the government having made concerted efforts to contain the rise and spread of Islamic fundamentalism in Bangladesh over the years, the last decade had seen a glaring rise in extremism there, to the extent that Hindus and other religious minorities had their temples and other places of worship vandalised and destroyed without provocation.
“Murder and other horrendous acts of savagery borne out of ignorance, hate and a misdirected sense of superiority have become commonplace.
“With the toppling and ousting of a democratic government, this has accelerated the plunder, murder and annihilation of all those that refuse to succumb to the brutality of the Islamic extremists’ agenda, aided by other neighbouring terrorist states, some Western nations together with individuals with vested and selfish interests. We call upon all peace-loving people across the globe to loudly raise their voices against such unprovoked and atrocious acts of brutality and savagery.
“Let ambassadors of peace and stability rally behind the innocent victims being persecuted and targeted for not fitting into a prescribed narrow template of how the world should be and what religion one should follow,” read the statement.
International Relations spokesperson Chrispin Phiri said he would address the matters raised by SA Hindus in a media briefing on Monday (today).
Last week, Bangladesh was in turmoil. Former prime minister Hasina was forced to flee the country in a helicopter as protesters were closing in on her residence.
On Thursday, an interim government was installed under the leadership of Mohammed Yunis. The protest was initially started by students over quotas accorded to freedom fighters in government jobs but escalated, calling for the prime minister to resign.
The Bangladesh Embassy could not be reached on Sunday.
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