Bangladeshis take to street over land grab

(July 15, 2010) Bangladeshis of various faiths braved heavy rain recently to protest what they regard as a mistaken government move to take over their lands. “I will give my blood for my ancestral lands!” said Bernard Rozario, a Catholic farmer from St. Joseph Church in Savar, a Dhaka sub district. He was one of some 600 Christians, Muslims and Hindus who staged a demonstration in Savar and submitted a memorandum of demands to its sub-district executive officer on July 12. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina recently ordered the Land Retention and Development Board to take back government lands occupied by land grabbers who have not paid taxes for a long time. An estimated 100,000 Bangladeshis stand to lose a total of 690 hectares of land due to this move. Protesters say their ancestral lands, which they have been living on for hundreds of years and which they have been paying taxes for, have been listed for requisition under the recent decree. Several hundred Catholics from at least four villages in St. Joseph Parish would also be affected by the government move. “If we don’t protest, hundreds of thousands of people will be deprived of their lands. I hope the government will abandon this unjust requisition and listen to the people’s voice,” said Alauddin Ahmed, the Muslim president of the Ancestral Land Protection Committee. Father David Gomes, pastor at St. Joseph Parish, also said he supports the protests. “I talked to parishioners who could lose their lands and told them to continue their movement,” he said.

Bangladeshis of various faiths braved heavy rain recently to protest what they regard as a mistaken government move to take over their lands. “I will give my blood for my ancestral lands!” said Bernard Rozario, a Catholic farmer from St. Joseph Church in Savar, a Dhaka sub district. He was one of some 600 Christians, Muslims and Hindus who staged a demonstration in Savar and submitted a memorandum of demands to its sub-district executive officer on July 12. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina recently ordered the Land Retention and Development Board to take back government lands occupied by land grabbers who have not paid taxes for a long time. An estimated 100,000 Bangladeshis stand to lose a total of 690 hectares of land due to this move. Protesters say their ancestral lands, which they have been living on for hundreds of years and which they have been paying taxes for, have been listed for requisition under the recent decree. Several hundred Catholics from at least four villages in St. Joseph Parish would also be affected by the government move. “If we don’t protest, hundreds of thousands of people will be deprived of their lands. I hope the government will abandon this unjust requisition and listen to the people’s voice,” said Alauddin Ahmed, the Muslim president of the Ancestral Land Protection Committee. Father David Gomes, pastor at St. Joseph Parish, also said he supports the protests. “I talked to parishioners who could lose their lands and told them to continue their movement,” he said.