ISKCON should be banned in Bangladesh immediately, says Sarjis Alam

The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) should be banned in Bangladesh immediately to ensure peace and stability in the country, says Sarjis Alam, general secretary of the July Martyrs Memorial Foundation.

He spoke to the media on Wednesday following the second funeral prayers for lawyer Saiful Islam Alif, who was killed when violence erupted at a protest against the jail order for Hindu minority leader Chinmoy Krishna Das.

"We have noted the people who were the most aggrieved when Sheikh Hasina fled the country. We have seen clearly that when Bangladesh was expected to experience severe instability following the revolution, our brothers from the madrasahs guarded the temples," said the former coordinator of the Anti-discrimination Student Movement.

"We remember how they guarded the temples throughout the night of Aug 5 and offered Fajr prayers on the road near it. If someone perceives this compassion as indulgence or favour, we want to tell them that not only the interim government, the Anti-discrimination Student Movement, or Nagorik Committee, but also the entire Bangladesh will prevent those extremists."

He said the 'extremists' committed innumerable wrongdoings in the last 16 years and the fascist Awami League did not allow them to be publicised. Rather, they patronised or favoured the crimes done by ISKCON members and concealed the facts, he said. "But we have now seen their character. We saw how they slaughtered people yesterday."

Sarjis said that just as the people of Bangladesh were empathetic to all religions, they would not hesitate to stand against and combat extremists from any group.

"I want to tell the government that if the perpetrators who killed our brother aren't arrested and given exemplary punishment, the entirety of Bangladesh, including students and the public, will protest the government."

Lack of exemplary punishment in the case would be a significant failure for the judiciary during the rule of the interim government, Sarjis said.

"Those who are spreading extreme Hinduism in Bangladesh in the name of ISKCON must be banned to uphold peace and stability in Bangladesh."

Whoever the attackers were, they were just criminals, said Chattogram City Mayor Dr Shahadat Hossain. "Criminals don't have any religion or political party. We'll treat them as just criminals. They’ll be brought to justice irrespective of their creed or political affiliation,” he said.

 “We’ll ensure that no murderer or criminal can use religion to stand against the people and commit a crime with a political motive. We want peace in this city. We don’t want the general members of the Hindu community and others to be harassed because of those few criminals,” the mayor said.

Anti-discrimination Student Movement Coordinator Hasnat Abdullah, BNP leaders Giasuddin Kader Chowdhury, Abul Hashem Bakkar and Jamaat-e-Islami Chattogram Amir Shahjahan Chowdhury were present at the funeral prayer.

Thousands of people took part in the second funeral prayers of the lawyer held at the Jamiatul Falah ground. A notable number of Jamaat and BNP leaders and activists were present.

Earlier, the first funeral prayer for Alif was held at 10am at the Chattogram Court premises.

 “The criminals of ISKCON killed lawyer Alif. We’ll have an emergency meeting today and the district bar association will decide on the next steps,” Nazim Uddin Chowdhury, president of the Chattogram Bar Association told the reporters after the first funeral prayer.

He claimed the police were not active at the court area on Tuesday and No one came forward to help, he said. “We demand exemplary punishment for the masterminds. All the incidents went according to a plan. They vandalised the lawyers’ vehicles, shops, and caught Alif and killed him.”

Thousands of people took part in the first funeral prayers, including lawyers and other professionals. A protest by lawyers was staged near the Sonali Bank adjacent to the court building in the morning.

The Anti-discrimination Student Movement’s Chattogram unit organised a peace rally to commemorate Alif at the Tigerpass Junction 12pm.

Anti-discrimination Student Movement leaders including Hasnat Abdullah and Sarjis Alam took part in the rally.

Meanwhile, 30 people have been detained in connection with the violence in Chattogram surrounding the jail order of Chinmoy Krishna Das, a spokesman for the Sammilito Sanatani Jagaran Jote and former ISKCON leader.

Chinmoy’s supporters surrounded the prison van at the Chattogram court premises on Tuesday after the court denied him bail in a case over treason and ordered him to be sent to jail.

The protest continued from 12:15pm to 3pm, after which police used sound grenades to disperse the crowd and take Chinmoy to jail.

The protesters vandalised several motorcycles and other vehicles on the road. Windows on the second storey of the court’s mosque complex were broken by brickbats thrown by the protesters. Lawyers’ chambers are on that floor of the building, witnesses say.

Lawyers and other employees at the court then attempted to drive out the protesters. During the clashes between the two sides Alif was ‘killed’ at the Rangam Convention Hall Road.

Alif was attacked on his way home, alleges Chattogram Lawyers Association President Nazim Uddin on Tuesday evening. He later died at Chattogram Medical College Hospital.

 “The lawyer was ‘murdered’ after he was struck with a sharp weapon,” Nizam said. “Another 20 lawyers were injured in the clashes.”