BANGLADESH

President Mohammad Zillur Rahman and prime minister Sheikh Haisna on Tuesday expressed gratitude to the foreigners who had supported the causes for the birth of Bangladesh in 1971.

"I am offering my gratitude to all those, who offered us humanitarian and moral aids during our fight for freedom," president Mohammad Zillur Rahman told a function organised to honour the foreign friends at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre.

"You stood by us from across the globe and encouraged us," he said.

Prime minister Sheikh Hasina said, "It is a singular honour for me to be in your midst at this solemn ceremony of awarding Bangladesh Liberation War Honour and Friends of Liberation War Honour to those who we owe a debt of gratitude for our hard-earned freedom." Hasina told the honouring function.

"In our pride, the foreign contributors to our liberation war in 1971 have been equal partners," she added.

The president and the prime minister gave the awards to 83 of the foreigners who stood for Bangladesh in the fight against Pakistani forces in 1971. Many had raised their voices against repression, genocide and put pressure on then the West Pakistan.

While India took bold steps in support of Bangladesh's struggle, many foreign politicians, diplomats, artistes, authors, journalists and students from across the world had come forward to back Bangladesh's causes for freedom in the face of widespread violation of human rights and war rules.

"It is matter of pride for us that many of our foreign friends sympathised with us, many took part in the 1971 liberation war," the prime minister said.

Representatives of heads of state or government of eight countries received the Liberation War Honour from the president.

Bangladesh, then the eastern wing of Pakistan, gained independence through a nine-month bloody war that ended with the surrender of thousands of Pakistani soldiers on Dec 16, 1971. The war cost the lives of about 3 million people while about 200,000 women were raped and nearly 10 million people took shelter in refugee camps in India.

Foreign minister Dipu Moni helped the president and the prime minister give the awards on Tuesday.

The chief justice, ministers, advisors to the prime minister, MPs, chiefs of the three forces and top government officials attended the programme.