Australian Local weather Change and Power Minister Chris Bowen has expressed concern in regards to the state of affairs in Bangladesh, highlighting the violence and challenges confronted by ethnic and non secular minorities.
“As I mentioned on the outset, any violence in opposition to any Bangladeshi must be deplored,” Bowen mentioned throughout a session within the Australian Parliament on September 10. She famous that members of Parliament and the Home have been carefully following latest developments in Bangladesh, together with the autumn of the federal government and the following violence.
Bowen cited studies of widespread harm, looting and assaults, together with 725 properties and companies broken, 724 looted, 58 burned and 17 locations of worship broken, with 21 looted.
He highlighted the precise assaults on spiritual and ethnic minorities in Bangladesh. He mentioned he and different Western Sydney colleagues had raised these issues with International Minister Penny Wong and deliberate to pursue these points additional.
Bowen recalled previous incidents of violence in opposition to minorities, together with in the course of the 2021 Durga Puja, and reiterated her dedication to bringing these issues to the eye of the Home to guarantee ethnic minorities in Bangladesh that their plight is being recognised.
Bowen additionally talked about a latest briefing for MPs, which was hosted by Cumberland Metropolis Councillor Suman Saha, and included 46 Bangladeshi neighborhood leaders elevating their issues.
Three kin of latest victims of violence in Bangladesh additionally took half within the briefing. Bowen acknowledged the complexity of the state of affairs, saying: “There are very advanced points at play and never all studies can be correct, however I’m nonetheless satisfied that there are real points that should be addressed.”
Bowen shared a selected incident involving Rahul Ananda, a widely known Bangladeshi musician whose house was looted and set on fireplace. “I used to be advised that Rahul’s house was a spot of nice cultural and neighborhood vitality. Rahul is a really well-known musician within the Bangladeshi neighborhood,” Bowen mentioned, including that Ananda’s house had beforehand been visited by French President Emmanuel Macron, however because the assault, he has been pressured to flee Bangladesh.
Reflecting on these developments, Bowen reiterated that “all violence have to be abhorred” and famous that Minister Wong had pressured the significance of restoring stability in Bangladesh. He additionally acknowledged the efforts of the brand new authorities, led by Muhammad Yunus, to handle these challenges.