Attack on ethnic minorities increases

INCIDENTS of rights violation like torture, attack and intimidation on ethnic minorities and arson of their houses kept rising in the last five years as shown in Rights Group’s studies. Annual human rights reports of ethnic minorities’ rights group Kapaeeng Foundation shows that ‘arbitrary arrest’ of ethnic minorities is also increasing since 2013, while the number of killing of the ethnic minorities remains static, as per reports of a local daily.

National Human Rights Commission Chairman Reazul Hoque on Wednesday urged the government to investigate the human rights violation incident on ethnic minorities and take necessary steps. Kapaeeng Foundation’s 2017 reports said that 203 ethnic minorities faced torture, attack and intimidation in the year, while same report in 2013 said 123 ethnic minorities faced torture, attack and intimidation in that year. In the intervening years – 2014, 2015 and 2016 – these violations against the minorities kept increasing, as per the reports.

At least 237 houses of ethnic minorities were set on fire in 2017 while the figure was 47 in 2013. The reports also showed that 141 ethnic minorities were arrested and detained in 2017 while 36 were arrested and detained in 2013. Rabindranath Soren said that these arrests were ‘arbitrary’ and almost all of them were innocent. The reports stated that 11 ethnic minorities were killed in 2013 and 10 in 2017. It also said that 10 communal attacks were reported in 2013 while 5 such attacks were reported in 2017.

Influential members of the minorities groups blamed vested quarters’ greed for lands of ethnic minorities of both hill and plain lands for the increasing torture, attack and intimidation of ethnic minorities and arson attacks on their houses. They also said that the number of attack and torture on the ethnic minorities were on the rise as attackers and main perpetrators always went without being punished.

We can only look at our neighbours like Myanmar to see what horrendous actions can be committed against minorities like the Rohingya to grab their lands. We must therefore ensure that the same activities cant be tolerated in our own country, even if on a miniscule scale — either through action or inaction. If we pride ourselves on being a multi ethnic and multi cultural nation then we must ensure that the rights for all minorities, whether religious, ethnic, or otherwise, are zealously safeguarded. It is the least we can do for them. No one should think that anyone is a second class citizen if we think we are a first class nation.