A video of a Bangladeshi activist's speech at a public meeting has been cropped and shared widely on social media to falsely claim that it shows Muslims threatening Hindus in Bangladesh to leave the country within seven days.
BOOM found that the man in the video is Bangladeshi activist Saifuddin Mohammad Amdad; a longer version of his speech revealed that he was threatening the supporters and remaining members of the ousted Awami League party.
Minorities in Bangladesh have been continuously targeted amid unrest that ensued after the fall of the Awami League government led by Sheikh Hasina in August this year. Bangladeshi Hindus organising Durga Puja have also been reportedly asked to pay an amount of 5 lakhs.
In the viral clip, a man can be heard issuing a warning to some people while giving a speech at a public meeting and asking them to leave the country asap. From a stage, he can be heard saying in Bengali, "I want to warn if we have to go to the streets for their trial, we will again protest on the streets.They are still plotting, I don't know if you know. Sometimes in the name of Hindus, sometimes in the name of minorities, sometimes in the name of Chittagong Press Club and so called journalists. I want to warn them, do not delay and give excuses. Fold your tail and run from the country. Run from the country immediately. Leave the country immediately.Your fathers have left, your brothers have left, Sheikh Hasina has left. Don't mess around, I warn you. I am giving you one week ultimatum. One week of ultimatum and then we will deal with you guys. As long as we are alive we will deal with you."
Sharing the viral video, a user on X wrote, "Hindus are being given an ultimatum of 7 days to leave Bangladesh. The radical Maulana is saying , “Your Fathers are gone , your aunts are scared , you too go away.”
See post here, see archive here.
The video is also viral on Facebook. A Facebook user shared the video claiming, "Hindus have been given an ultimatum to leave Bangladesh in the next 7 days. How different is this from what happened in Kashmir? It's Raliv Galiv ya Chaliv ("convert (to Islam), leave or die") all over again."
See post here, see archive here.
Media outlet Asianet also published an article carrying the viral video on September 30, 2024 claiming that Hindus in Bangladesh have been asked to leave within seven days or "face extermination". See here.
Fact Check
BOOM identified the man delivering the speech in the viral video as Saifuddin Mohammad Amdad, a Bangladeshi activist who became visually impaired during the Quota Reform protests in Bangladesh.
Through a keyword search we found the entire video of the activists speech uploaded on September 28, 2024. As per the caption of the post, Amdad delivered his speech on a cultural gathering organised in the honour of the lives lost in July during quota protests in Bangladesh.
The program was organised by Bikiron Chattogram Mahanagar at Shirish Tola, C.R.B in Chittagong.
See archive here.
BOOM watched the entire video and spotted the viral segment from 5:56 minutes timestamp to 7:00 minutes.
We noticed Amdad speaking about the supporters of Sheikh Hasina and Awami from the beginning of his speech. At 4:36 minutes, he can be heard saying, "The friends of the dictator are still roaming about in alleys.Why are they roaming about? I want the answer to that. How come they have so much courage?"
Amdad can be heard further accusing, "They were armed and shot students at New Market in Chittagong's Bohoddor Hat. Why are they still roaming openly? Where is the police? Where is my nation? Why is the army not using the power handed to them? Do we have to struggle again? Go out to streets with ailing bodies? Grab sticks? Organise rallies? Start sloganeering again? I don't want to protest and oppose again. I want to see the murderers in jail. I want them convicted immediately."
Afterwards, the viral segment starts from 5:56 minutes.
After listening to the entire speech, it becomes evident that the Bangladeshi activist was referring to Awami League members and supporters in Bangladesh. He was accusing them of hiding under the disguise of Hindus, minorities, journalists and plotting against the country.
Moreover, we found a post from October 4, 2024 in Amdad's Facebook account debunking the viral claim. The caption of the post read, "Many RW Indians handles, and Indian media shared a video claiming that "Hindus are being given an ultimatum to leave the country within 7 days in Bangladesh," which is FALSE.The statement was not against Hindus; it was against the previous regime/government and its associates who attacked on protesters."
The post also clarified his use of the word "Hindu" in the speech. It said, "There was also a 'Hindu protest,' and in reference to this phenomenon, Emdad mentioned that the Awami League came in the form of 'Hindus' which may created communal tensions."
The viral portion has been cropped and decontextualised to add a misleading anti-minority narrative.
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