Protection of minorities in Bangladesh absolutely critical: US
President Joe Biden is closely monitoring the situation in Bangladesh, says White House
The United States has been very clear in its engagement with all Bangladeshi leaders that protection of religious and ethnic minorities is absolutely critical, the White House has said.
"And the leaders of the interim government have repeatedly committed to providing security to all Bangladeshis, regardless of religion or ethnicity. We want to hold them to that," White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby told a news conference yesterday (12 December).
Kirby made the remarks while responding to a question from Lalit K Jha, the head of the PTI bureau in Washington DC.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
He also said that US President Joe Biden is closely monitoring the situation in Bangladesh.
In his question, Jha said, "Over the past few weeks, several Hindu American groups across the country have been holding protest march — one outside the White House over the weekend. They're protesting against the continued killings of Hindus and the temples in Bangladesh after the fall of Sheikh Hasina's government.
"Is the president aware about it? Did he raise this issue when he met his friend and the interim government chief Muhammad Yunus on the sidelines of the UN?"
In response, Kirby said, "The security situation in Bangladesh has been difficult following the ouster of the former prime minister, and we've been working closely with the interim government to enhance the capability of their law enforcement and security services to deal with the challenge."
Over the past few weeks, Indian Americans have held peaceful protests and marches in several cities, including in front of the White House, in Chicago, New York, SFO, Detroit, Houston and Atlanta, urging Biden to help stop alleged brutalities against the minority Hindu community in Bangladesh, reports PTI.
Over the weekend, a large number of Indian-Americans held a march from the White House to the US Capitol over alleged attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh, The Hindu reported.
Raising slogans like "We want Justice" and "Protect Hindus", the demonstrators urged the Biden administration and the incoming Trump administration to ask the new government in Bangladesh to take steps to protect Hindus and also initiate action against those responsible for this.
