Renewing her firm stance against terrorism and militancy, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday said there will be no place for terrorism and militancy in Bangladesh as her government wants to establish it as a peaceful country in South Asia.
“We don’t want anymore chaos, militancy and terrorism in the country, and there’ll be no place for terrorism and militancy. We want to build Bangladesh as a developed nation at the global stage and a peaceful country in South Asia,” she said.
The Prime Minister was addressing a function after distributing the Independence Award 2014 at city’s Osmani Memorial Auditorium.
In the last five years, Hasina said, Bangladesh has made a marked progress, is now moving ahead and will continue to move.
This year, nine distinguished personalities and a renowned organisation was given the Independence Award 2014 (Swadhinata Purashkar), the highest national award, in four categories.
In the category of ‘Independence and Liberation War’ the award was given to Mohammad Abul Khayer (posthumous), Shahid Munsi Kabir Uddin Ahmed (posthumous), Shahid Qazi Azizul Islam (posthumous), Lt. Col. Abu Osman Chowdhury (retd), Dr Khrasuzzaman Chowdhury (posthumous), Shahid SBM Mizanur Rahman (posthumous), and Dr Mohammad Haris Ali (posthumous).
Principal M Quamruzzaman was given the award posthumously for his contribution to education while noted artist Quiyum Chowdhury was given in the category of culture.
The Swadhinata Award was conferred to Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute (BARI) for its outstanding contribution to Research and Training.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina formally handed over the award to the recipients and their relatives at a function at Osmani Memorial Hall here today.
Cabinet Secretary M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan read out the citation on the award recipients and conducted the function organised by the Cabinet Division.
Each award carries a gold medal weighing 50 gram, TK two lakh each and a citation.
About Wednesday’s ‘Lakho Kanthe Sonar Bangla’ programme where some three lakh people are expected to sing the national anthem at the National Parade Square marking the Independence Day, Hasina urged all to sing the national anthem from their respective positions in their respective organisations and areas.
Referring to the January 5 polls through which the Awami League formed the government for the second successive period, the Prime Minister said that this is for the first time, there is a continuity of government in Bangladesh, and now those are in power who had led the nation to victory.
“Those who know to create and make sacrifice know well how to save their creations as well as to develop that. But, those who assume something all of a sudden and get everything without any effort, have no passion and sympathy,” she added.
In this connection, Hasina alleged that those who captured power after the killing of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman with most of his family members in 1975 had only paid attention to changing their own fates, not to developing the country.
The Prime Minister also extended her heartfelt thanks, and lauded highly the civil administration, members of the Armed Forces, police, BGB, RAB alongside the people of the country for putting up their concentrated efforts in successfully holding the last general election and thus save public life and property.
“The whole nation like in 1971 resisted those (BNP-Jamaat-Shibir) who had unleashed terrorist and militant acts over the last election. As a result, the election could have taken place and peace restored in the country, and we’ve started marching towards economic progress,” the Prime Minister told her audience.
Hasina also blasted the BNP-Jamaat-Shibir men for unleashing terrorist and militant acts like killing presiding officers, police and BGB men, making arson attacks on buses and railways tracks and thus killing people to thwart the last general election.
Turning to the ongoing war crimes trial, she said soon after the killing of Bangabandhu in 1975, the trial of the war crimes was stopped and the war criminals were freed from jail, and they were also rehabilitated politically and socially.
In the next 21 years after 1975, the PM alleged, the defeated forces stampeded the glorious history of the country and people could not know the genuine history of the War of Liberation.
After assuming office in 1996, Hasina said, the man aim of her government was to turn the country into a dignified nation keeping its head high in the global arena.
But, after the taking over of power by the BNP-Jamaat alliance in 2001, Bangladesh was established as a country of terrorism and militancy.
Recalling with deep respect the contributions of Bangabandhu, the four national leaders, the freedom fighters, the war heroines and those who have sacrificed their lives for gaining the hard-fought independence, the Prime Minister said her government has been able to create good-working environment for all through which the country has been able to move ahead.
Cabinet members, PM’s special envoy, PM’s advisors, the Chief Justice, parliament members, Supreme Court judges, the chiefs of the three services, high civil and military officials, diplomats and relatives of the award recipients were present.
Source: UNBConnect
