Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina conferred the prestigious ‘Friends of Liberation War’ honour on former US Senator Edward M Kennedy posthumously in Dhaka for his contribution to the liberation of Bangladesh. The honour was handed over to his son Edward M Ted Kennedy Junior.
Kennedy took a bold stand against the genocide committed by Pakistan on innocent Bengali people despite the US government role during the 1971 liberation war. Recalling the strong opposition mounted by Kennedy Senior against the US government policy of supplying arms to Pakistan, Prime Minister Hasina said that Kennedy worked hard to stop US military and economic aid to Pakistan till the end of the war.
She recalled that Kennedy visited the refugee camps in West Bengal where a large number of people from the then East Pakistan had fled to escape from Pakistan army brutality. Earlier, Kennedy Junior with his family called on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday at her official residence in Dhaka. Ted Kennedy Junior, is a former member of Connecticut State Senate, USA. He is currently on a seven-day visit to Bangladesh to join the yearlong celebration of the 50th anniversary of US-Bangladesh relations.