Great Victory Day Celebrated with colorful cultural display at the Embassy of Bangladesh in Washington, DC

UsaNewsOnline : The 43^rd anniversary of the Great Victory Day of Bangladesh was celebrated with discussion meeting, colorful display of Bangladesh culture and utmost festivity in the Embassy of Bangladesh in Washington DC. The Embassy organized a two-day long programme to celebrate the occasion. On 16 December morning, Bangladesh national flag was ceremonially hoisted by Bangladesh Ambassador to the USA Mr. Mohammad Ziauddin in presence of all the officials of the Embassy. Later messages from Hon’ble President, Hon’ble Prime Minister, Hon’ble Foreign Minister and Hon’ble State Minister for Foreign Affairs issued on the occasion of this auspicious day were read out at a meeting at the Bangabandhu auditorium of the Embassy. The day’s program concluded with a special prayer seeking for the salvation of the departed souls of our valiant freedom fighters who sacrificed their lives for the liberation of the country in 1971.

On 21 December 2014, a discussion meeting followed by a cultural programme were held at the Bangabandhu auditorium of the Embassy. One minute silence was observed to register respect for the martyrs of the independence war. Excerpts from the Messages of the Hon’ble President, Prime Minister, Foreign Minister and the State Minister for Foreign Affairs were read out to the audience. An overflowing crowd of more than 400 participants, comprising of expatriate Bangladesh nationals (NRBs) including children, general washingtonians and various socio-cultural organizations gathered to enjoy the cultural programme at the Bangabandhu auditorium.

Bangladesh Ambassador to the USA H.E. Mr. Mohammad Ziauddin, in his speech,  paid  profound homage to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman – Father of the Nation along with millions of martyrs and the valiant freedom fighters for making Bangladesh free. He also paid tribute to our mothers and sisters who lost their dignity to the Pakistani occupation force and its local collaborators in 1971. He told that the present government in Bangladesh had taken the courageous decision to initiate trial against local collaborators of the invading Pakistani army who committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in 1971.In his speech, Ambassador Ziauddin also mentioned the role of the individuals in the USA to the cause of Bangladesh’s independence, and informed the audience about the government’s initiative to  honor the friends of Bangladesh in different countries of the world. Bangladesh Ambassador also urged the expatriate Bangladeshis to come forward for the socio-economic development of Bangladesh.

Mr. W.  Scott Butcher, who served in US Consulate General in Dhaka in 1971 as Political Officer, in his emotion-choked speech, narrated his experience of those days in 1971. One of the signatories of the famous “Blood Telegram”, he was amongst the select few courageous and self-conscientious persons in US Government to raise voices against the Nixon-Kissinger Foreign Policy towards Bangladesh.  He mentioned that the values that drove Bangladesh to independence were the shared universal values of human rights and dignity. He also mentioned about his personal pleasure of writing the basic draft of the formal recognition statement of Bangladesh signed by President Nixon on April 4, 1972.

A cultural programme presented by a set of local Bangladeshi artists followed the discussion program. Embassy officials and members of their families also put up a segment in the show. The Other participating Groups were Bornomala Shikkhangon, BCCDI Bangla School, Ektara, Dhroopad and Friends & Families. The colorful show created a live image in the minds of the audience of the pain and sacrifice for the nation made by our ancestors and the joy of gaining the long deserved victory in 1971. The vibrant voices and  visual demonstrations of the performers reminded us the fact that  our liberation war was not only about achieving the political and jurisdictional sovereignty, but was also about the rights to practice our own culture and language.

Mrs. Yasmin Ziauddin, wife of Ambassador Mohammad Ziauddin, delivered the Vote of Thanks at the end of the program. The guests were served with traditional Bangladeshi cuisine.