Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council's report 'motivated', says press secretary

He claims the organisation presents criminal incidents as communal violence

Chief Advisor’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam believes there is no “transparency” in the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council’s reporting process on incidents of communal violence.

Speaking at a press conference at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka on Tuesday, he described the organisation’s report as “motivated”.

Shafiqul said, “Many are trying to portray Bangladesh through motivated reports, aiming to show that communal violence is occurring here.

"Earlier, they had submitted two more reports. Police investigated these on a case-by-case basis and found that, except for a few, most of the incidents had no communal motives."

The press secretary said, “Police have investigated 11 incidents in the recent report by the organisation."

“Each of the incidents has been thoroughly investigated with transparency. No communal links were found in any of them.

“These reports are being used to campaign against Bangladesh. I hope, as Bangladeshi citizens, they will be constructive.”

He added that the government had repeatedly asked the group to correct its reports, but it had not done so.

“Many people worldwide tweet these reports, and they are even cited in the US Senate and the UK House of Commons,” he said.

The leaders of the Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council work on communal violence and minority persecution in the country.

They have been publishing reports on such incidents.

The press secretary, however, believes the organisation is also portraying regular criminal incidents as communal violence.

He called on international and domestic human rights groups to verify the council’s reports.

When asked whether the government would take action against the organisation for “spreading misinformation", Shafiqul said: “For now, we want it to play a constructive role. Everyone should report on human rights issues so that the truth comes out.”

Regarding the possibility of discussions with the group, he said: “We have raised our objections, yet it has not corrected its reports. There is no need for further discussions. We have repeatedly communicated this through briefings."