Bangladesh: Brutality Continues After Protest Against Rising Tide of Violence

Written on 29 May 2012. Posted in Bangladesh

In response to a surge of violence against indigenous people, the All Walks of Citizen Groups formed a human chain on 24 May to urge Bangladesh’s government to take action to stem this tide.

The recent weeks has seen rapes and murders of a 7-year old and an 11-year old girls, a grenade attack against Jumma students attending a peaceful public meeting, leaving one dead and at least 13 others seriously injured, and the murder of 4 indigenous labourers. The group condemned the government’s inaction and inability to ensure the security of marginalised communities and called on it to pursue legal against the perpetrators. Traditionally, those who commit crimes against indigenous groups in Bangladesh have enjoyed de facto immunity and are rarely brought to justice. Violence has only continued following the protest, however. On 28 May, an indigenous man was brutally beaten and taken to hospital; in a separate incident on the same day, an indigenous woman was gang raped by a group of Bengali settlers. Despite the identification of those responsible, no arrests have been made.