Bangladesh church leader wins BWA human rights award

WASHINGTON (ABP) -- Dennis Dilip Datta has been named the 2008 recipient of the Baptist World Alliance Denton and Janice Lotz Human Rights Award.

Datta, a Baptist leader from the Muslim-majority country of Bangladesh, won the award for his advocacy for Bangladesh independence, the restoration of democracy there, and the establishment of religious freedom in his country, a press release from BWA said.

As founding general secretary and current president of the National Christian Fellowship of Bangladesh, which takes special interest in human rights causes, Datta is the spokesman for churches to the government of Bangladesh and has worked against laws to control church ministries.

He has written several books on human rights and religious freedom, including Strength to Endure and Government Decision: Churches Reaction.

The former president and general secretary of the Bangladesh Baptist Fellowship served on the BWA’s General Council and was a member of the Commission on Freedom and Justice and the Communications Committee.

Datta will receive the annual human rights award, named after former BWA General Secretary Denton Lotz and his wife Janice, during the General Council meeting this July in Prague.

The 2007 recipients were Joao and Nora Matwawana from Angola, who played a pivotal role in peace efforts in Burundi, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Angola.

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