The government issued a statement against the misinterpretation of the arrest of Chinmoy Das at the United Nations. Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations Tarek Md informed about the steps taken by the government to protect the minorities at the UN Forum on Minority Issues on Thursday. Ariful Islam

In the statement, the Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations mentioned, 'We note with great disappointment that some speakers have misinterpreted the arrest of Chinmoy Das. He was actually arrested on specific charges. The case is pending in court. Even after the recent brutal killing of a Muslim lawyer, the immediate intervention of our government and the support of leaders of all faiths helped to maintain peace and avoid untoward incidents.

"Our government is vigilant and will continue to act immediately to maintain religious harmony at any cost and thwart any attempt to undermine the rights of minorities," he said.

Tarek Md. Ariful Islam explained the violence that led to the fall of the previous Awami League government and said, 'The root of the violence in Bangladesh after August 5 was political and personal reasons, not communal. That violence mostly affected partisan politically loyal people; Almost all of them were Muslims and only a few belonged to other religious minority groups. There was no deliberate attack on minorities. Rather, the world witnessed how the whole of Bangladesh came forward to protect its minorities following our long traditional communal harmony after the mass agitation in July. Our government under the leadership of Professor Yunus has received overwhelming and unprecedented support from people of all faiths.

He also said, 'Bangladesh reiterates that every Bangladeshi, regardless of religious identity, has the right to practice his own religion or express his opinion freely. Ensuring the safety of every citizen, including the minority community, is the mainstay of the interim government of Bangladesh. This is what our top leadership has assured the minority religious leaders time and time again and it has been proven time and again in the first 100 days of the government. Two advisers have been appointed from minority communities.'

Referring to the spread of fake news about minority persecution, he said, 'Unfortunately, while the people of Bangladesh were setting a glorious example of religious harmony, we have noticed exaggerated, baseless and fake news about the persecution of minorities and deliberately spreading misinformation by vested interests. Unfortunately, we have seen this on this forum as well. Many such misinformation has been debunked by the global media. Our government is ready to welcome foreign journalists visiting Bangladesh to see the real situation.'