US lawmaker for ending violence against religious minorities in Bangladesh

American lawmaker and member of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific Tulsi Gabbard called for an end to violence against religious minorities and secular activists in Bangladesh.

American lawmaker and member of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific Tulsi Gabbard. Photo: Facebook/Tulsi Gabbard

"In Bangladesh, the horrendous, brutal street assassinations of members of minority religions, secularists, and atheists violate every single value we hold dear," she said while speaking on the House floor there yesterday.

The Indian-origin congresswoman condemned violence against religious minorities, including the murder of Nazimuddin Samad and other secular activists who have been killed in Bangladesh over the past 14 months, and called upon the government of Bangladesh to bring an end to violence against religious minorities.

Just two weeks ago, 28-year-old Nazimuddin Samad was hacked to death in Dhaka, after speaking out against the persecution of religious minorities on social media, reads a statement issued by the congresswoman.

In Bangladesh, Tulsi claimed, discrimination and deadly violence against atheists, secularists, Hindus, Buddhists, and other religious minorities has unfortunately become a "regular occurrence."

"This underscores the absolute necessity of not only defeating this global wave of intolerance, but standing up and fighting for the right of others to freely express their views regardless of whether you agree with those views or not," she said.

Recalling her resolution introduced last year, she called on the government of Bangladesh to protect the rights of all of its religious minorities, including Christians, Hindus, Atheists, and others.

"They have a responsibility to uphold the principles of its secular constitution- including freedom of religion and freedom of expression-and take action to end this senseless violence. I urge my colleagues to take action, and support this resolution's passage," said the congresswoman.