Equality denied in constitution
Allege minorities
Bangladesh Hindu-Buddha-Christian Oikya Parishad and Bangladesh Adivasi Forum form a human chain with black flags in their hands in front of Jatiya Press Club in the city yesterday protesting constitutional amendments keeping Islam as the state religion. Photo: STARMembers of three religious communities and indigenous people yesterday staged protests in the city, saying the latest constitutional amendment denies equality.
In protest against the 15th amendment to the constitution, which was passed in the parliament Thursday, over 100 members of Bangladesh Hindu-Buddha-Christian Oikya Parishad and Bangladesh Adivasi Forum brought out a procession with black flags in their hands from Jatiya Press Club around 4:30pm.
Police, however, obstructed the procession near Muktangon as it was marching towards Gulistan.
Earlier, the protesters held a rally in front of the press club where speakers termed the latest amendment "religion based, discriminatory, and communal."
With the passage of the amendment, the government has hurt emotion of the members of different religious and indigenous communities who nourish the spirits and ideologies of the War of Liberation, they said.
They also said the government has betrayed again with the 2.5 crore people of different religious and indigenous communities through the latest amendment.
Sector Commander Maj Gen (retd) CR Dutta, Bangladesh Hindu-Buddha-Christian Oikya Parishad General Secretary Rana Das Gupta, General Secretary of Bangladesh Adivasi Forum Sanjeeb Drong, among others, attended the programme.
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courtesy: The daily star
Following is the news from New Age:
Change to make state Islamic republic: minority leaders
Staff Correspondent
Religious and national minorities on Friday rejected the 15th amendment to the constitution for retaining Islam as the state religion and not recognising national minorities as ‘indigenous people.’
At a rally in front of the National Press Club in the capital, leaders of religious and national minorities said that the 15th amendment to the constitution would eventually make the state an Islamic republic.
They termed the state religion a discrimination against religious minorities and non-recognition of national minorities a step to ‘push national minorities to extinction.’
The procession was organised by Bangladesh Adivasi Forum and the Bangladesh Hindu-Buddhist-Christian Unity Council in a reaction to the 15th amendment of the constitution.
Freedom fighter CR Dutta said that they had not fought for a ‘religious’ country. The war was for a secular democratic country by ensuring all kinds of diversity irrespective of religion and culture.
The speakers at the programme also threatened a greater movement such as countrywide black flag procession, general strike and fast-unto-death if necessary changes in the constitution were not made immediately.
They also threatened to boycott the general elections, likely to be held in 2014.
‘We will rather hold a separate electorate where minorities will vote the representatives of their communities,’ said Kajal Debnath, a presidium member of the Hindu-Buddhist-Christian Unity Council.
The organisation’s general secretary Rana Dasgupta, Padmabati Devi, David Baroi, Supreme Court lawyer Subrata Chowdhury and Dipayan Khisa of Adivasi Forum, among others, spoke.
The unity council, meanwhile, brought out a black flag procession in Sylhet Sylhet rejecting
the amendment to the constitution.
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courtesy: New Age
Religious and national minorities on Friday rejected the 15th amendment to the constitution for retaining Islam as the state religion and not recognising national minorities as ‘indigenous people.’
At a rally in front of the National Press Club in the capital, leaders of religious and national minorities said that the 15th amendment to the constitution would eventually make the state an Islamic republic.
They termed the state religion a discrimination against religious minorities and non-recognition of national minorities a step to ‘push national minorities to extinction.’
The procession was organised by Bangladesh Adivasi Forum and the Bangladesh Hindu-Buddhist-Christian Unity Council in a reaction to the 15th amendment of the constitution.
Freedom fighter CR Dutta said that they had not fought for a ‘religious’ country. The war was for a secular democratic country by ensuring all kinds of diversity irrespective of religion and culture.
The speakers at the programme also threatened a greater movement such as countrywide black flag procession, general strike and fast-unto-death if necessary changes in the constitution were not made immediately.
They also threatened to boycott the general elections, likely to be held in 2014.
‘We will rather hold a separate electorate where minorities will vote the representatives of their communities,’ said Kajal Debnath, a presidium member of the Hindu-Buddhist-Christian Unity Council.
The organisation’s general secretary Rana Dasgupta, Padmabati Devi, David Baroi, Supreme Court lawyer Subrata Chowdhury and Dipayan Khisa of Adivasi Forum, among others, spoke.
The unity council, meanwhile, brought out a black flag procession in Sylhet Sylhet rejecting
the amendment to the constitution.
--------------------
courtesy: New Age
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