Hon’ble Ministers,

Hon’ble State Minister,

Hon’ble Members of Parliament

Acting Foreign Secretary

Principal, Bangladesh Foreign Service Academy 

Excellencies,

Ladies and gentlemen,

          I would like to express my deep appreciation to all of you for your presence here this morning. Today we gather here in this historic building which now hosts the Foreign Service Academyfor opening the ‘1971 Bangladesh Genocide Memorial Room’. This is important as it will instill in the minds of young diplomats the history of the independence of Bangladesh as they will be the future flag-bearers of this country around the globe.

          In this auspicious moment I recall with deep reverence the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman who declared our Independence and led the nation to our ultimate victory. I pay my solemn tribute to the memory of three million martyrs and 200,000 abused women whose supreme sacrifice had been the price for achieving our independence in 1971.

           I pay my heartiest thanks and gratitude to Bangabandhu’s daughter and Hon’ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasinafor listening to the people’s wishes and redeeming her promise to ensure accountability and justice for victim of the horrific war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity. I thank our people for their overwhelming support to bring to closure a dark chapter of impunity in our national history.

          In parallel toour national efforts, we stand by our commitment to support international efforts to prevent the commission of genocides anywhere around the world, and promote accountability for such crimes. Our Government, during its previous tenure, ratified the Rome Statute on the International Criminal Court. We continue to urge the importance of allowing the Court to function in an independent manner to create a deterrent effect against genocide and other atrocity crimes.

          As I inaugurate the ‘1971 Bangladesh Genocide Memorial Room’, we redouble our commitment to make our future generations better aware of the traumatic and agonizing effect of genocides, and to mobilize our collective strength to prevent such crimes, including through the promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence and promoting knowledge in the minds of men and women all over and thereby join the movement of ‘Never Again’.

Joy Bangla Joy Bangabandhu

May Bangladesh Live Forever.