UNITED NATIONS: Bangladesh became free from fascism in 2024, and the government is pursuing a strategy of recovery, restoration and reconstruction to “repair" the country battered by fascist rule and exploitation, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman said at the UN General Assembly.
Rahman, who delivered his speech in the UN assembly in Bangla, became the third member of his family, after his father, former president Ziaur Rahman and mother, former prime minister Khaleda Zia to address the UNGA.
His father, Ziaur Rahman, had addressed the UNGA in 1980, while his mother addressed world leaders in 1993.
"After ending more than a decade and a half of fascist rule and exploitation, Bangladesh became free from fascism in 2024," Rahman said on Thursday in his maiden address.
"Having been freed from the scourges of enforced disappearances, killings, abductions, corruption, plunder and money laundering that had become the norm under fascist rule, Bangladesh is now once again embarking on the path of democracy,” he said at the General Debate of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly.
He said that to repair a Bangladesh battered by fascist rule and exploitation, the Government is pursuing a 3-R strategy: Recovery, Restoration and Reconstruction.
“After more than a decade and a half of movement and struggle against fascist rule and exploitation, and through the sacrifice of thousands of lives, Bangladesh is now free from fascism,” he said.
He added that in a free, fair and impartial national election held in February this year, the people entrusted the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) with the responsibility of governing the country.
He further said that every conflict should be resolved through dialogue, diplomatic processes and cooperation.
“Equality, fairness, protection of mutual interests, and respect and dignity among disputing states should form the basis of bilateral and multilateral relations,” he said.
“We aspire to a peaceful world, a humane global community where, rather than weapons of destruction, reason and debate, diplomacy, education and humanity become the instruments of change,” he said.
On the Rohingya crisis, he said that for more than nine years, Bangladesh has been sheltering more than 1.2 million forcibly displaced Rohingya from Myanmar.
"This has placed immense pressure on our resources, environment, security and local communities.
"As a densely populated country, Bangladesh believes that the source and origin of the Rohingya crisis lie in Myanmar; therefore, its solution also lies there. The only solution to this problem is the early safe return of the displaced Rohingya people to their homeland, Myanmar,” he said.
He called upon the United Nations and the international community to continue life-saving assistance programmes for the displaced Rohingya people until they can be repatriated to their own country, Myanmar.
“If the international community fails to ensure justice for the displaced Rohingya people, this could turn into a humanitarian crisis in the near future,” he said.
