Month: October 2022

Renowned French photographer Anne de Henning, who documented Bangladesh during its birth and infancy, said she found Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to be “very charismatic”.

 

Talking about her photo of Bangabandhu’s speech at the first council of Awami League in independent Bangladesh, she said it was a strong testimony to the victory of freedom over oppression.

 

An exhibition titled ‘Witnessing History in the Making: Photographs by Anne de Henning’ is being held at Guimet Museum of Asian Art in Paris. The exhibition has been produced by Samdani Art Foundation and Centre for Research and Information (CRI).

 

Radwan Mujib Siddiq, grandson of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and trustee of CRI made a visit to the exhibition.

 

He said, “There was a leader from the subcontinent who led his country to independence based on very progressive ideals. He wanted a country that was secular and equal for all. And the whole of Bangladesh got behind him, fought a war against all odds and Bangladesh emerged independent.”

 

Radwan said Bangabandhu had a connection with the people and he could represent them the way that politicians are supposed to.

 

Read more: Radwan Mujib visits Paris photo exhibit on Bangladesh’s birth, Bangabandhu

 

Henning said she was shocked to learn that three years after she photographed Bangabandhu, he was assassinated with most of his family members.

 

The exhibition is being held from October 19, 2022 to January 23, 2023 in partnership with Asia Now Paris Art Fair and Guimet Museum of Asian Art, according to a press release.

 

“The whole art world is in Paris right now and we’re so honoured that this exhibition has been invited by the Guimet Museum,” said Nadia Samdani MBE, President and Co-founder of Samdani Art Foundation

 

Reminiscing the days of Bangladesh’s Liberation War, Anne De Henning said, “You just had to walk through the streets and you would see the people gearing up, poorly equipped, but they expressed such a will and determination of achieving freedom for their country that it was extremely moving.”

 

Henning said the images at the exhibition should inspire the feeling that courage and determination can get you a long way.

 

The first iteration of the exhibition was held in Dhaka from December 10, 2021 to March 31, 2022 to celebrate 50 years of Bangladesh’s independence.

 

Henning’s photographs from 1972 feature Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. She captured Bangabandhu giving a speech at the first Council Meeting of Awami League after the independence of Bangladesh. “I came specifically from Calcutta to photograph the event,” she said. Although at the time she favoured shooting in black and white, she chose to capture this event in colour because of the vibrant blue, white and red stripes of the shamiyana — ceremonial tent — that housed the event.

 

Source: United News of Bangladesh

 

Bangladesh and Thailand on Sunday stressed the importance of maintaining the momentum of the friendly and constructive bilateral engagements for raising the relations to a strategic level.

 

The two sides called for further exploring the untapped potentials for mutual benefits of the two countries.

 

Read more: Ted Kennedy Jr. meets PM Hasina along with his family

 

Bangladesh and Thailand are celebrating the 50 years of diplomatic relations in a befitting manner and with fervor through a series of events throughout this year.

 

As part of this celebration, an event to unveil a commemorative stamp and launching of an e-Book was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday.

 

Read more: Bangladesh, Myanmar border guards meet Sunday to discuss tension

 

Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen and visiting Thai Permanent Secretary-designate Sarun Charoensuwan jointly unveiled the commemorative stamp and launched the e-Book.

 

The Foreign Secretary paid his tribute to the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and to the martyrs of the great War of Liberation, and paid his homage to the late King Bhumibol of Thailand for his historic role in relation to the independence.

 

Both the Foreign Secretary and the Permanent Secretary expressed happiness at the friendly and multidimensional bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Thailand that flourished over the last five decades and evolved from strength to strength.

 

Thailand recognised Bangladesh on October 5, 1972 being one of the few countries that extended recognition to an independent and sovereign Bangladesh very early into her independence, according to the MoFA.

 

Source: United News of Bangladesh

Myanmar officially expressed regret after Bangladesh on Sunday strongly protested its security forces flying helicopters over the Bangladesh-Myanmar border areas , firing of small arms and heavy weapons in the border area and loss of life and property caused by it.

 

The protest was raised by the head of the Bangladesh delegation during a flag meeting between members of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and Myanmar’s Border Guard Police (BGP) held at Teknaf in Cox’s Bazar on Sunday.

 

Lt Col Khalid Mohammad Iftekhar, commanding officer of BGB-2 Battalion, led an 8-member Bangladesh delegation while Police Lieutenant Colonel Ye Wai Soe, Commanding Officer, No (1) Border Guard Police Branch, led the 7-member Myanmar delegation at the flag meeting, said Shariful Islam, public relations officer of the BGB headquarters in the evening.

 

During the flag meeting , Bangladesh side also called upon the BGP to maintain a peaceful stand on the border and also to keep a watchful eye so that no shell falls inside Bangladesh in the future as a result of the internal conflict in Myanmar, the BGB PRO said at the flag meeting.

 

BGB-BGP flag meeting ends with Myanmar officially regretting border incidents

 

Besides, as a neighboring border guard force, the BGB hopes that the ongoing internal crisis in Myanmar will be resolved soon and the ongoing border situation will be resolved quickly. The BGB always expects the BGP to play a responsible role in border management and maintaining stability at the border, he said.

 

In this regard, the BGP Battalion Commander officially expressed regret for the recent incidents. During the flag meeting, the leaders of both the countries expressed their determination to work together to ensure the security of the people along the border and to maintain peace and order along the border.

 

Besides the situation arising in the border area of Bangladesh-Myanmar, there was a productive discussion about illegal entry of Myanmar citizens and prevention of drug trafficking in the flag meeting. Emphasis is placed on taking necessary steps in the future to create an environment of mutual communication, trust and confidence between the border guarding forces of the two friendly states.

 

Finally, the flag meeting ended in a very peaceful and cordial atmosphere with mutual farewell greetings and the BGP delegation returned to Myanmar.

 

Source: United News of Bangladesh

 

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen on Sunday sought a pro-active role from Thailand in particular, and from the ASEAN in general, for ensuring an expeditious and sustainable repatriation of the Rohingya people to their homeland in Myanmar.

 

Momen also requested participation of the Thai Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister at the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) Ministerial meeting in Dhaka next month.

 

The issues were discussed when visiting Permanent Secretary-designate of Thailand Sarun Charoensuwan met Momen at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday.

 

During the meeting, they exchanged warm greetings on the occasion of the 50 years of diplomatic ties between Bangladesh and Thailand, which is being celebrated on both sides with fervor and enthusiasm.

 

The Foreign Minister said Bangladesh is firmly committed to maintaining cordial and friendly relations with all the neighboring countries in the spirit of its cardinal foreign policy objective of ‘friendship to all, malice towards none.’

 

He stressed the importance of forging a stronger and more effective regional collaboration by facilitating greater connectivity in the region.

 

Momen called for mutually beneficial initiatives and cooperation to harness the complementarities existing between the two economies.

 

He requested more Thai support and expertise for improving the tourism sector of Bangladesh, which is endowed with immense potentials.

 

Momen also encouraged more Thai investment in the infrastructure development initiatives of Bangladesh, agro-processing sector, health and pharmaceutical sector, to further deepen the economic relations between the two countries.

 

The Thai permanent Secretary-designate lauded the high growth and massive developmental efforts going in Bangladesh currently, which is rapidly transforming the country.

 

He also emphasised on holding the Joint Commission Meeting at a mutually convenient time at the earliest.

 

He suggested to conclude an FTA for further strengthening the bilateral trade and business.

 

Meeting with Foreign Secretary

 

The visiting Thai Permanent Secretary-designate highly praised the interfaith harmony in Bangladesh that he observed during his offering of the Royal Kathina Robe at a temple in Binajuri in Chattogram on Saturday.

 

He shared these views during his meeting with Masud Bin Momen, Foreign Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday.

 

The visiting Thai dignitary also expressed his very positive impression of the huge development process going in the country.

 

Welcoming him on his maiden visit, the Foreign Secretary stressed the importance of strengthening a stronger regional approach to cope with the emerging challenges, particularly caused by the pandemic and the raging conflicts in Europe.

 

In view of the crises stemming from the food and energy insecurity, supply chain disruptions, the looming threats of recession, he called for more synergies and fruitful cooperation among the neighbours.

 

Expressing his satisfaction over the successful holding of the second Foreign Office Consultation (FOC) in Bangkok in March this year, the Foreign Secretary emphasised on continuing such mechanisms to maintain the desired momentum in the bilateral relations.

 

He invited the Thai Permanent Secretary-designate for the Third FOC to be held in Dhaka at a mutually convenient date.

 

The Foreign Secretary also sought a more proactive Thai support to repatriate Rohingya people to Myanmar.

 

Source: United News of Bangladesh

 

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen on Sunday said various unintended incidents including mortar blasts and violation of airspace have occurred inside Bangladesh due to the ongoing conflict inside Myanmar between its army and the insurgent Arakan Army.

 

Momen said this while replying to a question from ruling Awami League MP Momtaz Begum in the Parliament.

 

However, he said that Bangladesh has so far shown patience in dealing with these provocative activities.

 

The foreign minister said that as a neighbouring country, Bangladesh is interested in peaceful coexistence with Myanmar.

 

“For this reason, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is trying to resolve the ongoing problems through diplomatic initiatives in view of the behaviour of Myanmar,” he said.

 

He also said that as part of the diplomatic initiative, Bangladesh has strongly protested these incidents by summoning the Myanmar ambassador in Dhaka four times, and organizing a briefing for ambassadors of ASEAN countries in Dhaka.

 

He mentioned that the Chinese Ambassador was separately briefed and the Bangladesh Embassy in Yangon has informed the Myanmar government about Bangladesh’s deep concern over the prevailing border situation.

 

In response to a question from Jatiya Party’s Rustom Ali Farazi, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said Bangladesh is not a drug producing country but is under the grip of drug problem due to geographical reasons.

 

“Illegal drugs enter our country from neighbouring countries,” he said.

 

He also said after preparing the list of godfathers and syndicates involved in drug business, actions have been taken against them.

 

The Home Minister said that in 2021, 93,190 cases were filed and 1. 22 lakh illegal drug dealers were arrested and brought under the law.

 

Meanwhile in 2022, the minister said that till August, 66,554 cases have been filed and 83,123 illegal drug dealers have been arrested and brought under the law.

 

Source: United News of Bangladesh

The 1971 Liberation War of Bangladesh is deeply moving for the Kennedy family, Edward M Kennedy Jr, son of late US Senator Edward M Kennedy and nephew of late US President John F Kennedy, said Sunday.

 

“My father was with the people of Bengal during the war. As a member of his family, I am very proud of Bangladesh’s independence and progress,” he said while visiting the Bengal Foundation in Dhaka’s Dhanmondi.

 

Kennedy Jr and his wife Katherine “Kiki” Kennedy, daughter Kiley Kennedy, son Teddy Kennedy, niece Grace Kennedy Allen, and nephew Max Allen visited the Bengal Foundation as part of their weeklong visit to Bangladesh to celebrate the 50th anniversary of US-Bangladesh diplomatic ties organised by the US Embassy.

 

Bangladesh’s Liberation War deeply moving for us: Kennedy Jr

 

Visiting the ongoing travelling exhibition “Voices of Bangladesh: the Journey to 50” at Bengal Shilpalay, he said: “The images from the exhibition are very powerful for anyone, especially for us, our family because we have seen the whole footage of my late father standing with the people in the refugee camps. What he saw 50 years ago were atrocities and catastrophes.”

 

“So it’s very moving for us and our family, and that is one of the reasons I wanted my children to come with us on this trip – so they can learn not just the history, but the important role that my father was able to play during the most critical time of Bangladesh’s Liberation War.”

 

Before visiting the exhibition, the Kennedy Jr family enjoyed a traditional Bengali sarod performance by the students of Bengal Parampara Sangeetalay.

 

They also visited the exhibition “The Work of Creation 2” by eminent artist Kazi Ghiyasuddin at Bengal Gallery and visited Bengal Boi.

 

“I and my family are overwhelmed to see Bengal Foundation’s multi-dimensional approach to promote art, literature and culture,” Kennedy Jr said.

 

US Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission in Bangladesh Helen La-Fave, Counselor for Public Affairs Sean McIntosh, Cultural Affairs Officer Sharlina Hussain-Morgan, Bengal Foundation President Abul Khair, Director General Luva Nahid Chowdhury, trustees Zeenat Chowdhury and Nawshin Khair; Emeritus Professor of Black Hills State University Ahrar Ahmed accompanied the Kennedy Jr family.

 

A joint initiative of the US Embassy of Bangladesh and the Bengal Foundation, the Voices of Bangladesh: the Journey to 50 is an exclusive oral history collection programme which is showcasing the unknown stories of current Bangladesh, created through various political and social evolutions from the independence to the next five decades.

 

The travelling exhibition is being held as part of the programme across Rajshahi, Khulna, Dhaka, Chattogram, and Sylhet districts.

 

Source: United News of Bangladesh