Dhaka: Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain on Tuesday emphasized the significance of the July Mass Uprising Memorial Museum, portraying it as a symbol of the Bangladeshi people’s resistance against the misrule of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. ‘The museum showcases the climax of the 36 days of the July uprising, but it also highlights the elements of years of misrule,’ he explained, emphasizing the importance of learning from history to prevent its repetition.
According to United News of Bangladesh, the Foreign Adviser made these remarks during a visit by foreign diplomats stationed in Dhaka to the museum on Monday, ahead of its public opening. Cultural Affairs Adviser Mostofa Sarwar Farooki provided a briefing and tour of the museum’s key sections to the diplomats.
The event also saw the presence of Senior Secretary and SDGs Affairs Principal Coordinator Lamiya Morshed, Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam, and Cultural Affairs Secretary Md Mofidur Rahman. In a communication dated January 29, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had invited Ambassadors, High Commissioners, Charg© d’Affaires, and heads of international organizations and UN agencies to tour the museum, as noted by a senior official at the ministry.
Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam and Deputy Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad Majumder were among the attendees. Previously, on January 20, Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus had visited the museum. Gonobhaban, the former residence of Sheikh Hasina, has been transformed into the July Museum, with a soft opening planned for next week, as stated by the Chief Adviser’s press wing.
During the two-hour visit, a minute of silence was observed by the diplomats in memory of the nearly 4,000 people martyred during Sheikh Hasina’s regime. Farooki mentioned that the July Museum aims to collaborate with similar institutions globally to prevent the recurrence of such misrule worldwide.
Chief Curator of the July Museum Tanzim Wahab provided insights into the museum’s features. Michael Miller, Ambassador and Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Bangladesh, expressed his admiration for the museum’s powerful reminder of the importance of understanding history and the genesis of mass uprisings.
The diplomatic corps attending the event included ambassadors from Algeria, Argentina, Bhutan, Denmark, Egypt, France, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Kosovo, Libya, Morocco, Norway, Pakistan, the State of Palestine, the Russian Federation, Singapore, Spain, Trkiye, and representatives from the United States, China, and Brunei Darussalam. Additionally, representatives from the Aga Khan Development Network, Asian Development Bank, CIRDAP, FAO, International Fertilizer Development Center, IOM, UNESCO, UNHCR, World Food Programme, and UNOPS were present.