US NSA Sullivan, Bangladesh leader Yunus vows to protect human rights

Amid growing outrage here about the large-scale attack on minority Hindus and their places of worship in Bangladesh, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Monday spoke with the interim government's Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus and both leaders expressed their commitment to protect human rights in this troubled South Asian nation. 

“Both leaders expressed their commitment to respecting and protecting the human rights of all people, regardless of religion,” the White House said in a readout of the call between Sullivan and Yunus. 

The call comes less than a month before the Biden administration passes on the power to Donald Trump, who would be sworn in as the 47th President of the United States on January 20 next year. 

This comes days after Indian American Democratic Congressman Shri Thanedar urged the White House to strongly raise the issue of killing of Hindus and destruction of their temples in Bangladesh with the head of the country's interim government. 

“The United States has a storied history of championing the oppressed and this issue should be no different. When we receive a global call for help, we must respond appropriately as the world's bellwether of human rights. We must urge Prime Minister Muhammad Yunus to fulfill his promise of restoring peace and rebuilding the nation on principles of equality and justice,” Thanedar told reporters at the footsteps of the US Capitol last week. 

Sullivan during the call thanked Yunus for his leadership of Bangladesh during a challenging period, the White House said. 

“Sullivan re-iterated the United States' support for a prosperous, stable, and democratic Bangladesh, and offered the United States' continued support in meeting the challenges Bangladesh faces,” said the readout of the call. 

HinduAction said that disturbing reports of brutal attacks against the Hindus continue to surface, particularly over the past two weeks, as desperate pleas for help pour in from those affected on the ground. 

HinduACTion executive director Utsav Chakrabarti said what has happened in the last five and half months in Bangladesh clearly reflects that “Muhammad Yunus has failed to contain” his allies in the Jamaat-e-Islami who are now running around the country, burning temples, killing people, raping women and indulging in atrocities against priests and leaders from the Hindu community by incarcerating them. 

“It is incumbent upon our current administration as well as the upcoming administration to put sanctions on Bangladesh, as Congressman Thanedar has pointed out,” Chakrabarti said. 

“It is important that we clearly chart out a path for safe autonomous zones for the Hindus, all 15 million of them, along with the Buddhists and Christians within the boundaries of Bangladesh,” he added.