Christians condemn BBC anchor’s comment on persecution in Bangladesh

The leaders of the Christian community in Bangladesh have “rejected” and “condemned” a BBC anchor’s comment about their conditions in the country.

BBC Impact’s host Yalda Hakim in a recent show, while talking about the religious persecution in South Asia, said Christians are subject to persecution in Bangladesh also and they are scared.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina drew attention of the media to the issue in a briefing on April 26 during her Brunei visit and suggested journalists speak to each and every member of Christian community in Bangladesh about how are they living here.

Sampriti Bangladesh, a platform that promotes the idea of a secular society, held a press briefing on Friday in Dhaka bringing together the representatives of all religions including Christians.

Bishop Philip Adhikary, President of Bangladesh Bible Society, said: “We Christians are living here very peacefully.”

“We don't know where the BBC got the information about us. But we can say we are living here peacefully,” he said.

“The way the prime minister is addressing our issues, it's praiseworthy,” he said, “I think Bangladesh will be one of the few countries in the world where all religions coexist peacefully”.

William Proloy Samadder, Secretary General of the Christian Association Bangladesh, said it was claimed in the BBC programme that "we are persecuted, but they did not cite any source".

“They also said one party indicating the ruling party is making gains because of the persecution. This is a very objectionable statement.

“I have to protest what they said as a person who is peacefully living in Bangladesh. I want to say that we are not facing any persecution and we are not frightened.”

Reverend Dipak Das, General Secretary of Jatiya Church Parishad, said their association boasts over 40 percent of Christians as members in Bangladesh.

“And we want to say it very loud and clear that the issue which has been raised in the BBC talk show is completely baseless. The Christian community does not feel any pressure, any persecution here in Bangladesh. We don’t have such news. So we condemn this type of statement.”

He also thanked Sampriti Bangladesh for holding the news briefing for dispelling confusions.

Daniel N D’Costa, Vice-President of Young Men Christian Association, also condemned the statement and said they are living peacefully in Bangladesh.

Actor Pijush Bandyopadhyay, Convener of Sampriti Bangladesh, said “a group with international links” is active to level Bangladesh as a fundamentalist country.

“I think it is part of a conspiracy to derail the development process of Bangladesh and also to make the ruling party friendless,” he said.

Preeminent Islamic thinker Maulana Fariduddin Masud, who is famous for his anti-militancy campaign, asked all Muslims to take care of others in their neighbourhood.

“Mankind is mankind. Islam is a religion of tolerance and openness. It’s the responsibility of the Muslims to give protection to their neighbours, and reassure them. It's the religious responsibility, of the Muslims,” he said, condemning all forms of terrorists’ attacks.

The Sampriti Bangladesh earlier condemned the terrorists attack in Colombo and met the Sri Lankan high commissioner in Bangladesh and expressed sympathy.

Member Secretary of Sampriti Bangladesh Mamun Al Mahtab Swapnil moderated the media briefing at Jatiya Press Club.

General Secretary of Bangladesh Buddhist Federation Bhikkhu Sunandapriya, President of Bangladesh Buddhist Sanskritik Parishad Uttam Kumar Barua, and Vice-chairman of Hindu Kallayn Trust Subrata Paul were also present.