On Thursday, the 27th. of May, 2021, there was a rally for Palestine in Times Square in New York. CHRD Bangladesh’s Secretary, Imran Ansary attended the rally and gave a compelling speech expressing our solidarity with the Palestinian people and to condemn the inhumane oppression that the Israeli state imposes on them.
Mr. Ansary spoke about our condemnation of the Bangladesh government’s recent initiative to normalize diplomatic relations with Israel.
The speech can be viewed here:
The full text of the speech:
“Dear brothers and sisters,
We are here to show our solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Palestine, who are facing bombings, persecution and arrests year after year. We are here to condemn the killing mission of Israel against Palestinian women and children. What Israel sees in the world is not a self-defense strategy; it is a direct act of terrorism. It is a crime against humanity. We are not going to see any more to spend our tax money to facilitate state-sponsored terrorism. It is high time for a two-state solution.
We strongly condemn the Bangladeshi government’s recent initiative to normalize diplomatic relations with Israel. Bangladesh is the second largest Muslim country in the world. It has basic principles to stand with Palestinian freedom and human rights. Recently, Bangladesh’s autocratic government has withdrawn travel restriction to Israel from its passports. It is a piece of shameful news for us when we have seen a European country like the Ireland Parliament pass a motion condemning Israel. We want to urge the Muslim world to keep pressure on the Bangladesh government to return to its position. I think the Bangladesh government has taken action against the Islamic scholars of the country to slow down the movement on the streets on the issue of Israel.”