Bangladesh missions abroad celebrated 50th Victory Day in a befitting manner and paid due respect and honour to all the martyrs of the Liberation War.
Reports received from the Bangladesh missions in London, Ottawa, Moscow, Rome, Canberra, Cairo, Copenhagen, Addis Ababa, Ankara, Paris, Tashkent, consulates general in Sydney and New York, and permanent mission in New York that officials and employees of the missions and the expatriate Bangladeshis attended the celebration.
However, the celebration programmes were not so elaborate because of the Covid-19.
Message from the UK said the Bangladesh High Commission in London, British MPs and diplomats expressed solidarity with Bangabandhu’s secular and progressive values at Mujib Year Victory Day celebration in London High Commission.
The High Commission in London on December 16 organised a high-profile victory day celebration where participants including eminent British parliamentarians, senior UK foreign office officials, ambassadors and recipients of friends of Liberation War Honour paid their profound homage to Father of the Nation and expressed solidarity with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s commitment to upholding Bangabandhu’s secular, progressive and pluralistic values in sustaining Bangladesh’s growth and prosperity.
Deep homage was paid to the martyrs, biranganas and the valiant freedom fighters of 1971 War of Liberation.
Chaired by High Commissioner of Bangladesh to the UK Saida Muna Tasneem, the meeting was participated by Chair of All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Bangladesh and the UK’s Trade Envoy for Bangladesh Rushanara Ali MP, Vice-Chair of the APPG on Bangladesh and Conservative Friends of Bangladesh, Bob Blackman, MP, High Commissioner of India to the UK Gaitri Issar Kumar, non-resident Ambassador of Bhutan to the UK Tenzin R Wangchuk, director for South Asia and Afghanistan at the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Gareth Bayley, Oxfam’s Special Representative in 1971, Julian Francis OBE, leading Bangladeshi-British organiser of 1971 liberation war movement in the UK Sultan Mahmud Shariff, community representative Syed Sajidur Rahman Faruk and valiant freedom fighter Luqueman Hussain.
Paying respects to Bangladesh’s Father of the Nation, Rushanara Ali said, “I am proud of the fact that I was born in Bangladesh and came to the UK at the age of seven, and take pride in today’s Bangladesh that has achieved tremendous socio-economic prosperity despite Covid-19 pandemic and leadership in disaster management and climate-resilient under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.” Bob Blackman also paid homage to Bangabandhu.
Indian High Commissioner Gaitri Issar Kumar said, “Bangladesh and India have entered a ‘golden age’, ‘Sonali Oddhaya’, under the visionary statesmanship and close friendship between Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Noranda Modi and our two peoples”.Meanwhile, the Bangladesh High Commission in Ottawa on December 16 celebrated glorious Victory Day- 2020 with due festivity and fervour. All officers and officials celebrated the day by participating programs chalked out on this glorious occasion.
Because of Covid-19 situation, the invited guests of ten provinces and three territories of Canada attended the event virtually while officials of the mission attended physically maintaining health advisory of the host government in the mission, said a press release.
The new High Commissioner-designate Khalilur Rahman attended the celebration virtually in the afternoon session. As per the compulsory health advisory, the new High Commissioner-designate has been staying in the hotel for 14 days as part of mandatory quarantine.
It also held a virtual discussion with community leaders from the ten provinces and three territories and cultural event at the same time were also displayed through a big screen installed in the hall room of the Chancery.
Khalilur Rahman in his speech paid deep respect to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and all martyrs saying that Bangladesh could not be independent without the unparallel leadership of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
He mentioned that able daughter of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had been relentlessly working to materialize the dream of Bangabandhu’s “Shonar Bangla”. He further mentioned that Bangladesh is now viewed as a development miracle globally which had been possible due to dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
He urged all to work together to carry forward the ongoing development of Bangladesh under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
At this point, the High Commissioner-designate expressed his deep commitment to extraditing the self-confessed killer of Bangabandhu from Canada to Bangladesh to face the verdict by the apex court of Bangladesh.
He further expressed his commitment to deter the propaganda and disinformation campaign against the government of Bangladesh and the country as well, by some people living in Canada. He exuded the confidence that these disgruntled elements would be brought under law with the help of the Canadian Government to face the consequences. He solicited all out support from the expatriate Bangladeshis living in Canada for these two priority issues.
