Bangladesh, a country being promptly being shifted towards Talibanization under Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus -- openly backed by Barack Obama, Bill and Hillary Clinton, George Soros and the U.S. Democratic Party -- is experiencing a total nightmare.
Bangladesh's former leader, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, was forced to flee on August 5, following a coup d'état. Now, Hindus in Bangladesh, who constitute a small minority of the population, are facing repeated threats and intimidation from Yunus's men – a thuggish gang of Islamists and jihadists from hardline Islamist groups such as Hizbut Tahrir and Hefazat-e-Islam. To the utter surprise of Hindus, Yunus's regime has asked them, during Muslim prayer times, to avoid playing musical instruments and refrain from activities that are a part of the Hindu Durga Puja festival celebrations, thereby interrupting the holiday.
Since the ouster of Hasina, orchestrated attacks on Hindus have been taking place, including murder, rape, abduction and arson targeting Hindu homes, businesses and temples, in addition to coerced religious conversions. According to the New Indian Express:
"... Yunus, has said the issue of attacks on minority Hindus in his country is 'exaggerated' and questioned the manner in which India projected it.
"In an interview with PTI at his official residence here, Yunus said the attacks on minorities in Bangladesh are more political than communal.
"He suggested that the attacks were not communal, but a fallout of a political upheaval as there is a perception that most Hindus supported the now-deposed Awami League regime."
Islamist followers of Yunus regime have also been targeting Hindus in the civil service and forcing them to resign. According to India Today:
"A letter from the Bangladesh President's office to various ministries and departments requesting details of Hindu officials holding posts such as secretaries and joint secretaries led to panic.
"However, sources said a clerical error caused the confusion..."
Also, as reported by The Times of India, Hindus are alleging that they have received multiple threatening calls from Islamists demanding protection money or to face death.
Since August 5, Hindus in Bangladesh, fearing persecution, have been trying to flee.
Yunus has been one of the major donors to Clinton Foundation. According to a cable leaked by Wikileaks, 2007, Hillary Clinton made frantic bids and exerted pressure on the Bangladeshi Army to make her friend Yunus head of the then military-backed interim government.
According to Bloomberg, militants gaining strength after the tumultuous change in government would create security concerns across Asia.
Meanwhile, a large segment of students, led by Yunus, are flexing their muscles -- chanting jihadist slogans and openly displaying Islamic State flags on various college and university campuses. Commenting on this situation, Kolkata's oldest Bengali daily, The Anandabazar Patrika, reported:
"New Delhi is getting increasingly concerned that banned militant outfits like Jamaat-e-Islami and even radical organisations like Hizb ut Tahrir may soon enter mainstream politics in Bangladesh, thereby posing security challenges not just for India but for the entire South Asian region..."
Yunus is already under pressure to lift the ban imposed on Hizb ut Tahrir by Hasina's previous government in 2009. Analysts fear that Bangladesh may be moving towards becoming another Pakistan. Today, the military-picked interim civilian-led regime is struggling to restore the rule of law and revive an economy pummeled by large-scale mob violence and destruction that preceded and followed Hasina's overthrow in the uprising. Her loss of support from the military, which has traditionally been a key player in Bangladesh politics, proved decisive.
Although it was anticipated that Yunus would hold an election by December this year and hand over power to an elected government, Bangladesh Army chief General Waker-uz-Zaman in an interview with Reuters said the country should return to electoral democracy within one-and-a-half years; that he will support the interim government in carrying out the reforms, and that the Bangladesh Army will be "professional" and stay away from politics.
Meanwhile, it appears as if Yunus is waiting for the result of the November 5 presidential election in the US. A victory by Kamala Harris could pave the way for him to remain in power indefinitely and complete the process of Islamizing Bangladesh.
This speculation became stronger when during his recent visit to the US to attend the UN General Assembly, Yunus attended an event organized by the Clinton Global Initiative, and met several leaders of the Democratic Party as well as Alexander Soros. After meeting with Yunus, Soros posted on Instagram:
"Delighted to see an old friend of my father and the foundation, Nobel Prize winner @professormuhammadyunus, interim leader of Bangladesh, who stepped in to lead Bangladesh towards a peaceful future based on equity and fairness."
Keya Mukherjee is a freelance journalist specializing in Asian and global affairs.
Joe Fernandez