Handout                                                                                                                          Number : 2301

National Mourning Day observed in Washington with renewed pledge to build

 “Sonar Bangla” dreamt by Father of the Nation

Washington, D.C, August 15 :            

            The National Mourning Day was observed in Bangladesh embassy in Washington, D.C. paying homage to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, marking the 43^rd anniversary of his martyrdom.

            Officers and employees of the embassy led by Bangladesh Ambassador to the U.S.A. Mohammad Ziauddin took the fresh vow to finish the unfinished task of the great leader under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

            The Day’s program began with ceremonial hoisting of national flag at half-mast by Ambassador Mohammad Ziauddin with the playing of national anthem.

            Later, the Ambassador along with the embassy officers and employees placed wreath at the bust of the Father of the Nation on the chancery premises, and one minute silence was observed in memory of the martyrs of the August 15 tragedy.

            A special prayer was offered seeking salvation of the departed souls of the Father of the Nation and members of his family who embraced the martyrdom on the fateful night of August 15, 1975.

            In the evening, the program began with reading out verses from the Holy Books and messages from Hon’ble President, Hon’ble Prime Minister, Hon’ble Foreign Minister and Hon’ble State Minister for Foreign Affairs at the Bangabandhu auditorium. The messages were read out by DCM Mahbub Hassan Saleh, Defence Attaché Brig Gen Shamsuzzaman, Minister (Press) Shamim Ahmad and Counsellor (Commerce) Sk. Aktar Hossain respectively.

            A discussion on the life and achievements of Bangabandhu was held. Paying rich tributes to the memory of the Father of the Nation, Ambassador Mohammad Ziauddin termed Bangabandhu the greatest ever Bengali and the architect of independent Bangladesh who liberated the Bengali nation by breaking the shackles and subjugation of thousands of years.

            He said when Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was rebuilding the war-torn Bangladesh, a group of disgruntled and renegade army officers committed the heinous crime in which Bangabandhu along with most members of his family was brutally assassinated. The Ambassador hoped the convicted killers of Bangabandhu who are hiding abroad would be brought back to Bangladesh to face justice.

            In observance of the 43^rd anniversary of death of the Father of the Nation, a special prayer will be offered during the Jummah prayer on August 17 at the “Islamic Center of Washington” in D.C., and food will be served by the embassy among the participants in the prayer.

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Shamim/Nice/Mosharaf/Joynul/2018/2300 hours