Paul KeenanCommunity attacked post-election
The brother of a Catholic bishop and other members of a Catholic community in Jamalpur district have been hospitalised amid post-election violence in the country. Having themselves boycotted the January 5 elections, Muslims reportedly attacked the community, injuring eight, three of them seriously. Among those hospitalised is the relative of Bishop Paul Ponen Kubi of the Diocese of Mymensigh. Homes were also torched during the attack.
Much of the tension around the elections stems from refusal of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its allies, including the conservative Muslim Jamaat-e-Islami party, to participate in an election which, they charge, is skewed in favour of the ruling Awami League. It is reported that just 20% of the electorate turned out to vote amid the violence, which saw at least 100 polling centres burned on the night before the vote.