Study Circle seeks UK’s cooperation to counter recent acts of violence in Bangladesh

News Desk
Shottobani

London, 20 November 2023 – A delegation from the Study Circle, a UK-based British-Bangladeshi think tank, handed in a memorandum to the UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at 10 Downing Street to express concern over recent violence in Bangladesh and to seek cooperation between the UK and Bangladesh.

The delegation, led by Study Circle coordinator Jamal Ahamed Khan and including human rights activist Ansar Ahmed Ullah and journalist Rumana Afroze Rakhi, handed the memorandum addressed to the Prime Minister signed by Study Circle Chair Syed Mozammel Ali.

The memorandum highlighted the longstanding cordial relationship between Britain and Bangladesh but raised alarms over violence carried out by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islami on 28 October. It described acts of arson, vandalism and the murder of a police officer, calling it the latest in a trend of Islamist extremist violence around elections by these groups.

In light of these troubling events, the Study Circle memorandum urged multilateral and bilateral cooperation between the UK and Bangladesh to counter this extremist violence and protect secular democracy and human rights.

The Study Circle delegation hoped that Prime Minister Sunak would respond positively to their request for joint efforts between the British and Bangladeshi governments and civil society to stand against extremism and ensure free and fair elections.