The heads of missions of European Union countries in a joint statement said they are worried about the over 20 attacks made in the last 18 months on the Ahmadiyyas including a recent attack on their under-construction mosque in the capital.

The EU envoys were also dismayed knowing that on several occasions the local police obliged the demands of fanatic mobs and even affixed derogatory notices on Ahmadiyya mosques. Whereas, it is a duty of the police to effectively protect all citizens' right to freely practise their religions, a right guaranteed by the Constitution of Bangladesh, they pointed out.

However, the envoys felt encouraged by a report that eight people were arrested after the arson attack on an Ahmadiyya mosque in Brahmanbaria in June.

They urged the government to continue its efforts to safeguard the rights of the Ahmadiyyas as well as all other indigenous and religious minorities and also to prevent any further attack.

At a House of Commons meeting in London yesterday, UK Parliamentary Human Rights Group Vice Chairman Lord Avebury said it was time to "confront perverted interpretations of Islam" that allow human rights abuses to continue unchecked against minorities.

"If the Ahmadiyyas see themselves as Muslims then they should not be persecuted for this, as the principle of freedom of religion says anyone can call themselves what they like," observed Avebury. He urged the UK government to exert pressure on the Bangladesh government to quell the anti-Ahmadiyya zealots.

Avebury's call followed a viewing of the film 'Muslims or Heretics?' made by Naeem Mohaimen, a Bangladeshi expatriate, on persecution of the Ahmadiyyas in Bangladesh. Representatives from media, Amnesty International, rights watchdogs and Ahmadiyya Muslim Association of the UK were present at the meet.