Victory Day celebrated in Bangladesh Embassy in Washington, D.C.

Shamim Ahmad, Washington D.C., 16 December 2019: The 49^th glorious Victory Day was celebrated at Bangladesh Embassy in Washington, D.C. Monday amid patriotic zeal and enthusiasm to build “Golden Bangla” imbibed with the spirit of 1971War of Liberation.

The daylong celebration started with the hoisting of national flag and playing of national anthem on the embassy premises.

Bangladesh Ambassador to the USA H.E. Mohammad Ziauddin hoisted the national flag. All officers and employees of the embassy attended the flag hoisting ceremony in the morning.

Later, the Ambassador accompanied by officers and employees of the embassy placed wreath at the bust of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and stood in silence for a while as a mark of respect for the great leader.

The V-Day messages of the Hon’ble President, Hon’ble Prime Minister, Hon’ble Foreign Minister and Hon’ble State Minister for Foreign Affairs were read out. Defence Attaché Brig General M Moinul Hassan, SPP, ndc, psc, Minister (Press) Shamim Ahmad, Minister (Economic) Md.  Mahadee Hassan and Minister (Political) Md. Nural Islam read out the messages respectively. A special prayer was offered seeking divine blessings for the departed souls of the Father of the Nation and members of his family assassinated

on August 15, 1975, the four national leaders and martyred freedom fighters.

Speaking on the occasion, the Ambassador briefly recalled the history of Bangladesh’s liberation war. He said after losing the political battle against Bangabandhu’s Awami League, the Pakistani occupation army launched brutal genocide on 25^th March, 1971 against the unarmed Bengalis to silence the Bengali nation from seeking a liberal, democratic and secular society.

“The ruthless brutality of the genocide stunned the conscience of the world,” he said, adding in the USA, the American people took the side of the brutalized Bengalis. He mentioned the names of Senator Edward Kennedy, former US consul general in Dhaka Archer Blood, famous musician George Harrison and poet Allen Ginsberg, along with many other personalities, who played an active role in support of Bangladesh’s independence.

Characterizing Dhaka-Washington bilateral relation as excellent, the Ambassador stressed the need for expanding the present multifaceted cooperation to newer areas for mutual interests of the two countries.

In the evening, a cultural soiree was organized highlighting Bangladesh’s long struggle for the independence.  The embassy families, artists of Bornomala School and Sristy Nrityangan presented songs and dances at Bangabandhu auditorium. The event was largely attended by foreign diplomats, officials from different departments of the US government, businessmen, journalists and leading figures of Bangladesh diaspora.