We offer our deepest condolences to the family of Niloy Chowdhury, the Gonojagoron Moncho activist and writer who was brutally stabbed to death in Dhaka on Friday afternoon.
The murder of Niloy is similar in both manner and apparent motivation to the killings of Mukto-Mona blogger Ananta Bijoy Das and the writers Oyasiqur Rahman Babu and Avijit Roy earlier this year.
It is chilling that all these people were publicly threatened for many years by groups which are hostile to the right of others to express any types of dissenting view on religion and related matters.
Such targeted murders will not end so long as those who orchestrate and incite violence against bloggers, can operate with impunity.
It is long overdue for the government to learn the lesson that it is not enough to only act after such murders have been carried out.
Authorities must do more to fulfill their duty to protect all citizens by addressing the targeting of hatred and violence against writers in the first place. The government needs to be pro-active in providing and improving protection for any people and groups who have been threatened. It must end the impunity to threaten others which emboldens those individuals who are minded or influenced to carry out such targeted acts of violence.
Measures must be taken against those who publicly threaten, or incite deadly violence against writers. Anything less will only encourage others to continue similar campaigns of targeted assassination.
Concrete steps to uphold laws to prevent incitement of violence against others, also need the co-operation of the wider public. As a society, we should question the indifference and tacit acceptance which allows some to condone or justify violence against anyone who questions or criticises religion. Everyone should make clear that violence in the name of religion is unacceptable and intolerance should not be tolerated.
Source: bdnews24
