DHAKA: 24th
March- Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro; former British Prime
Minister Lord Harold Wilson; and former West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu
were among the 69 ‘foreign friends’ honoured by Bangladesh on Sunday for their
contribution to the country’s liberation war in 1971.
This is
the sixth phase of the awards, given out to ‘foreign friends’, a process that
began during the current government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Friends
from Cuba, United Kingdom, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Japan, the United States,
Australia and Sweden have been awarded in two categories — ‘Friends of
Liberation War Honour’ and ‘Liberation War Honour’.
Fidel
Castro and Harold Wilson have been awarded ‘Liberation War Honour’.
Representatives of Mr. Castro and two-time British Prime Minister Mr. Wilson
received the honours. Jyoti Basu has been awarded ‘Friends of Liberation War
Honour’.
The
highest honour was awarded to former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in
July 25 last year. Her daughter-in-law Sonia Gandhi accepted the honour on her
behalf. Indian President Pranab Mukherjee was awarded ‘Liberation War Honour’
on March 5 this year.
Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina presented them with the citations and the awards in a
ceremony at the capital’s Bangabandhu International Conference Centre on
Sunday.
Ten
prominent Pakistani nationals were honoured this time. They included: Begum
Naseem Akhtar, Dr. Iqbal Ahmed, Mir Ghaus Bakhsh Bizenjo, all politicians;
Zafar Malik, a lawyer; Faiz Ahmed Faiz, a poet; and Begum Tahira Mazhar Ali,
Human rights activist among others. Human rights activist Asma Jahangir,
daughter of former politician and civil servant Malik Ghulam Jilani and journalist
Hamid Mir, son of Waris Mir, another journalist, received the awards on behalf
of their fathers.
Several
prominent Indian military and civil personalities, including Lt. Gen. Jagjit
Singh Aurora; Lt Gen. Sagat Singh; Vice Admiral Swaraj Prakash; Major General
Antony Harold Edward Michigan received ‘friends of liberation war awards’ this
time.
So far,
206 individuals and organisations have been given the honour for their
contributions to Bangladesh’s liberation war.
THE HINDU, Published: March
24, 2013 23:08 IST
