Editorial
Honouring foreign friends of 1971
An important gesture
IN the fifth phase of bestowing honours upon those who supported our cause during the war of independence, Bangladesh has presented 68 individuals with the Liberation War Honour and Friends of Liberation War Honour. This phase's awardees include Cuban revolutionary leader and former president Fidel Castro, former British prime minister Harold Wilson, former chief minister of West Bengal, Jyoti Basu and 13 Pakistanis. Among the Pakistanis were a poet, a pilot and a politician, a lawyer and a journalist, all of whom actively wrote and or rallied against Pakistani atrocities committed against the Bangalees.
The honours, as we have said before, may have come late, that is, over 40 years after the war, but are significant in recognising the contributions of our foreign friends who helped to create awareness and support for the Bangladeshi cause around the world in 1971.
This time, the honouring of Pakistani nationals has especially demonstrated the maturity of Bangladesh. While the wounds of war are yet to heal, we cannot deny the contributions of those among the 'enemy camp' of the time who went against their own government, army and people to stand strong for right and for justice for the Bangalees.
We hope the honouring of our foreign friends during the war of independence will continue as it has been in phases thus far. The war may be over, but the wounds are yet to heal -- if they ever can -- and, perhaps most importantly, justice is yet to be served with the trial of war criminals undergoing. Not only is it high time we recognise the contributions of our friends around the world in 1971, but it is also important to remind the world about the genocide perpetrated at the time and that justice is yet to be served to the millions of victims and their families. This is one grand step towards closure, in the process of making peace with the past and ensuring justice.
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