Statement from the Executive Committee of the ISKCON Governing Body Commission
August 11, 2024
Dear ISKCON Devotees,
Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
We write regarding the current situation in Bangladesh. Most of you are aware of the current political and social unrest in Bangladesh. The Prime Minister has resigned and fled the country. An interim government has been formed, and they hope to hold national elections within three to six months to form a new government. There have been riots, arson, and many deaths. It is a sad, and currently unstable situation.
There are many ISKCON devotees in Bangladesh. By Krishna’s grace, only one ISKCON temple in a rented flat in Meherpur (Khulna division) was attacked and set on fire. The Deities were damaged but can be repaired. No devotees have been seriously injured.
Because of the seriousness of this situation, the Governing Body Commission of ISKCON has two requests of our devotees:
First and foremost, we ask that devotees around the world earnestly pray for the protection of our members in Bangladesh, as well as members of other minorities there, and all of the Bangladeshi people.
Second, we are concerned that false and exaggerated information has been spread by unauthorized sources claiming to represent ISKCON. All of us should be vigilant to not repeat or share undocumented stories on social media or by other means. To do so could raise further tensions and may put our communities at risk.
Only those persons approved by the Bangladesh leadership, GBC Executive Committee, or the global Communications Minister are authorized to speak on ISKCON’s behalf on this issue.
As per above we ask you to pray sincerely for the protection of our devotees and for the future peace of Bangladesh.
Your servants,
GBC Executive Committee Guru Prasada Swami Tapan Misra Das Govardhan Das
A .pdf of this statement can be viewed here.
Source: https://iskconnews.org/statement-from-the-gbc-executive-committee-regarding-bangladesh/
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