Hasina asks Awami League leaders to face situations with patience

“Bangladesh is a country built in the spirit of secularism. People of all religions are equal here,” she said at the party’s Victory Day meeting via video conferencing from the Ganabhaban in Dhaka on Wednesday.

Noting that hardline Islamist groups are objecting to Bangabandhu’s statues, she said, “We can’t subject people of other religions to neglect just because we are a Muslim-majority country. We must remember that people from all groups sacrificed their lives to earn independence for this country.”

“So everyone will live in this country with equal rights regardless of their religion and race. We believe that everyone will have the freedom to practise their own religion.

Islam teaches us that. Prophet Mohammad has also taught us that.

“So, you must face any situation showing tolerance,” Hasina told her colleagues.

“And rather than listening to whatever the people say, we will focus on how much we’re doing for the country. This is what we should keep in mind so we will be able to make the right decision and do the right things,” she said.

Hasina went on to thank the members of her party and its affiliates to help the people combat the coronavirus pandemic.

She also brought up different steps taken by her government to facilitate socio-economic development of the country and its people.

“While undertaking programmes, we take into account the future of a child who will be born today. This is the party’s duty and obligation. The Father of the Nation has taught us (to think) this way.”

“I request all of you to help strengthen our organisation. We must reach the ideals of the Father of the Nation to the people,” she said.

Describing the UNESCO announcement of an award named after Bangabandhu as a “huge gift” on his birth centenary, she said the efforts to erase Bangabandhu from history will never succeed.

She remembered the role played by other nations, particularly India and the then Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, in Bangladesh’s victory over Pakistan in the 1971 war.

She also mentioned the former Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, and Marshal Josip Broz Tito.

“People of the countries that opposed our independence were actually on our side,” Hasina said.

Besides Bangabandhu, Hasina remembered the four national leaders, three million martyrs, and 200,000 women who were raped during the war.

She also shed light on Bangabandhu's life of struggle, mourned the martyred intellectuals and recalled losing most of the members of her family on Aug 15, 1975.

“I know the pain of losing. We could not find the body of many.”

Hasina then highlighted the pandemic measures and reiterated the importance of following the health rules.

The government hopes to get COVID-19 vaccines soon, she said.

She also regretted not being able to attend the meeting in person. "I feel very sad. Everyone is sitting there, and I'm sitting far away in a place which is like a prison.”