No Sky Lantern Festival this year protesting Rohingya persecution
Dhaka: Protesting persecution on Rohingya in Myanmar, the Buddhist community in Bangladesh will not fly lantern during their Probarona festival, the second largest religious festival, to be held on 5 October.
The fund collected for the lantern festival will be donated for relief goods for Rohingya refugees, said Ashok Barua, main coordinator of Bangladesh Sammilito Bouddha Samaj, at a press briefing in city on Monday.
The Buddhist community of Bangladesh also condemned the atrocities on Rohingya people in Rakahine state in Myanmar and decided to hold a modest celebration of Probarona Purnima to express solidarity with distressed Rohingyas.
Over 410,000 Rohingyas, mostly women, children and old people, fled violence to seek safety in Bangladesh since 25 August, when Myanmar security forces launched attacks on the Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State.