Bangladesh is dropped from the US watch list on religious freedoms. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), government aided panel had placed Bangladesh on the list of countries deemed to violate minorities’ right to religious freedom for the past three years from 2005 to 2008.
The Commission in its latest report released in Washington this past week noted that the election held last year end has brought about some qualitative difference. It asked Washington to encourage the new government in Dhaka to take early action on certain issues.
Top of the wish list is punishment to perpetrators of anti-minority violence that rocked Bangladesh in 2001.
It also called for repeal of Vested Property Act and restoration of the seized properties to the heirs. Enforcement of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord in full and lifting of the ban on Ahmadiyya publications are among the other suggestions for action of the US panel. The Bangladesh government has welcomed the report.
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