Politicians and Intellectuals' Opinion

REVERSE CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER

Updated: May 27, 2002 09:38

07-May-02 (Observer) opn: "The Home Minister in his impractical manner and high flying mood may deny the existence of minorities in the country, the fact remains that the people belonging to the community called religious minority do indeed feel insecured more than ever before. Accept it or not, the sense of insecurity has invaded them ever since the October 1 national election" -- Observer Editorial

07-May-02 (Yahoo News) p2p: "Muslim education had concentrated too much on religious dogma, neglecting worldly subjects such as science, mathematics and philosophy." -- Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad made his provocative comments in a speech to religious affairs ministers meeting for the Organization of the Islamic Conference, which groups 57 Muslim countries.

12-Apr-02 (Khilafah.com) "Hindus stay in millions but never hurt others' religious feelings. But where ever Muslims are they do not want to stay peacefully, It is happening in Indonesia, Malaysia, everywhere. They (Muslims) stay by threatening and frightening others." -- In remarks to a party conclave in the western beach state of Goa Indian PM AB Vajpayee

12-Apr-02 (Milli Gazette) p2p: "wherever there are Muslims they don’t want to live in peace. They don’t want to mix with others. Instead, they want to preach and propagate their religion by creating fear and terror in the minds of others. ( Jahan Jahan Musalman hain ghul milkar nahi rahte hain. Auron se ghulna milna nahi chahte. Shantipurna tarike se parchar karne ke bajaye atankwad se dara dhamka kar apne mat ka parchar karna chahte hain )." -- Indian Prime Miister AB Vajpayee says it live on TV on April 12 in Goa. Read more on Outlook India in the article Right Said Fred (But)

12-Apr-02 (Milli Gazette) p2p: ‘Islam has two forms. One is that which tolerates others, which teaches its adherents to follow the path of truth, which preaches compassion and sensitivity. But these days militancy in the name of Islam leaves no room for tolerance. It has raised the slogan of Jihad. It is dreaming of recasting the entire world in its mould’ -- Indian Prime Miister AB Vajpayee in a press statement on his comment on 12 April, '02 in Goa.

04-Apr-02 (FEER) p2p: "For the time being Bangladesh's secular roots are holding, but the fundamentalist cause is in the ascendant. And as the rise of militant Muslim groups in Indonesia has shown, economic collapse and political crisis can galvanize support for extremists very quickly. The process is not irreversible, but if left unchallenged for too long, Bangladesh could deteriorate and become a new nest for terror. There is still time for a counter-revolution." -- Bertil Lintner in his report titled "Bangladesh, A Cocoon of Terror"

28-Jan-02 (CSW.org) p2p: "We are deeply concerned by the recent escalation of violence against religious minorities in Bangladesh and the reluctance of the government to investigate the incidents or offer adequate protection" -- Mervyn Thomas, Chief Executive of Christian Solidarity Worldwide.

21-Jan-01 (Daily Star) p2p: "I am a freedom fighter. A freedom fighter can never be a traitor. Those killers and collaborators (of the War of Liberation) who want to portray me as a traitor are the actual traitors" -- Shahriar Kabir (prominent writer and journalist who has been imprisoned on sedition charges told a crowd at the jail gate)

17-Jan-02 (Daily Star) smp: "Forty Hindus have been killed, hundreds of minority women raped, more than one thousand injured and over ten thousand homes, businesses razed or burned down and over 100,000 people rendered homeless by this time" -- Benjamin A Gilman, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Middle East and South Asia of the US Congress. In a letter to PM Khaleda Zia, expressing concern over recent violence against Hindus in Bangladesh.

03-Jan-02 (Rediff.com) smp: "Reports emanating from Bangladesh pertaining to persecution of minorities are a matter of concern. The issue will be taken up with Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, They have initiated some action but they are not sufficient" -- Indian PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee  before leaving for Kathmandu.

30-Dec-01 (Independent) p2p: "Human rights are the basis for creating strong and accountable states - without which you cannot have political stability or economic or social progress. Look around the world and you will see that secure and prosperous societies are those where people's rights are protected. Countries like Bangladesh need to draw lessons from that." -- Irene Khan (a Bangladeshi and the Secretary General of London- based Amnesty International)

30-Dec-01 (Daily Star) - smp: "It is even more disturbing to see the reluctance of our elected government to accept the problem as it exists. Smart solution requires identification of the problem and understanding its intricacies. Without the willingness to accept the problem as a problem, establishing a high profile government commission is nothing but a futile venture." -- Mohammad A. Zaman, Raleigh, NC, USA.

30-Nov-01 (Indian Express) p2p: "I think we have been clear in our calls... for tolerance, for respect for human rights, respect for religious freedoms and the norms that that contains. And I think that it's important for Bangladesh to pursue those aspects of a democracy so that they can move ahead too and deal with the problems they have - the need for economic development and reform" -- Philip Reeker (the US State Department Deputy Spokesman).

06-Nov-01 (Daily Star) p2p: "The antipathy of many Muslims towards Hindus comes in many shades. But it does exist. It prevails among the lowest rungs of the society as well as among the highest. It runs through the simple peasant, to the educated elite, to the political leadership. One can of course be sure that Hindus fully reciprocate with antipathies of their own towards Muslims. But the huge difference in size of the two communities should leave no one in doubt where the main responsibility for redress lies." -- Mahfuzur Rahman (Economist and former International Civil Servant)

06-Nov-01 (Daily Star) p2p: "The antipathy of many Muslims towards Hindus comes in many shades. But it does exist. It prevails among the lowest rungs of the society as well as among the highest. It runs through the simple peasant, to the educated elite, to the political leadership. One can of course be sure that Hindus fully reciprocate with antipathies of their own towards Muslims. But the huge difference in size of the two communities should leave no one in doubt where the main responsibility for redress lies." -- Mahfuzur Rahman (Economist and former International Civil Servant)

21-Oct-01 (Washington Post) p2p: "Muslims have trouble living peaceably with their neighbors. The question naturally arises as to whether this pattern of late-20th-century conflict between Muslim and non-Muslim groups is equally true of relations between groups from other civilizations. In fact, it is not. Muslims make up about one-fifth of the world's population, but in the 1990s they have been far more involved in intergroup violence than the people of any other civilization. The evidence is overwhelming." -- Harvard's Samuel P. Huntington writes in "The Clash of Civilization and the Remaking of World Order"

21-Oct-01 (Washington Post) p2p: "I believe with [Voltaire], that the world is a shipwreck and that it is our duty to save ourselves and one another; that love is better than hate, but that we must hate some things, especially fanaticism, for the sake of love." -- Peter Gay (the most eminent historian of the period).

17-Oct-01 (Daily Star) smp: "The minister dismissed most of the press reports on the subject (repression on minority) as being 'baseless, exaggerated and politically motivated'. How many cases of mayhem, rape or appropriation of property will have to occur before reports on them would be deemed as credible and unexaggerated?" -- Daily Star Editorial

17-Oct-01 (Daily Star) smp: "Home minister's remarks sounded like that of a terrorist. He (Home Minister) himself won the election through ballot dacoity" -- Sheikh Hasina (Immediate past Prime Minister of Bangladesh)

16-Oct-01 (Daily Star) atp: "We know nothing about such incidents, all these are rumours, I hovered over different parts of Ramshil on a chopper, but did not see any refugee there. What I saw was a gathering at a bazar, which is only natural." -- Altaf Hossain Choudhury (Home Minister of Bangladesh)