Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has extended her thanks to UNESCO for recognition of Bangabandhu's historic 7th March speech as a world documentary heritage.
“I'm extending my heartfelt thanks and gratitude to the UNESCO and its Director General and all concerned on behalf of Bangladesh and the Bengali," she said through a statement on Wednesday.
Hasina said Bangabandhu delivered the speech on March 7, 1971 after a long historical struggle of the Bengali nation in the background.
"His speech in a human sea was in fact the declaration of Bangladesh’s independence as Bangabandhu, in his fierce voice, called upon Bengalis to wage a struggle against the Pakistani oppressors until freedom was achieved," the Prime Minister said.
She alleged that following the assassination of Bangabandhu the military rulers and subsequently the BNP-Jamaat clique banned this speech.
Even its broadcast was banned at the state-owned media, Hasina said.
"But, this speech was never erased from the hearts of the common people,” the Prime Minister said.
Hasina mentioned that Bangabandhu's 7th March speech has made its place in the book, 'We Shall Fight on the Beaches: The Speeches that Inspired History', authored by written by writer and historian Jacob F Field.
This speech has also been translated in 12 languages of the world, she said.
The Director General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, announced on Monday to include the historic 7th March speech in the memory of the World International Register, UNB reported Tuesday citing a press release of Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
