A huge debt of thanks was finally repaid with state honors yesterday to the many “foreign friends” who lent valuable assistance to the country in its struggle for independence more than 40 years ago. President Zillur Rahman conferred the Bangladesh Liberation War Honor’ and Friends of Liberation War Honor to 83 individuals and institutions yesterday at a special ceremony in Dhaka. Four Catholic priests were among the recipients for their contribution during the liberation war against Pakistan in 1971. American Holy Cross Fathers Richard W Timm and Eugene Homrich attended the event while representatives of martyred priests, Italian Xaverian Father Mario Veronesi, and American Holy Cross Father William P Evans received awards in their memory. The awards included a certificate and a small replica of the National Mausoleum. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expressed her gratitude and respect to all the foreign friends who provided moral, mental, material, political, diplomatic, logistic and military support to the Bangalee (Bengali) people’s struggle for freedom. “We owe you our sincerest gratitude and profound respect,” she told the gathering at the Bangabandhu International Conference Center in Dhaka. “We feel proud ourselves by honoring you,” she added. The premier added that her government will honor a total 561 individuals and institutions for their support during the war. Michael Barnes, a British ex-MP, thanked the government for the awards. “We thank the government for these honors. Today Bangladeshi people are proud of their independence and we are proud to recall those days when they needed support from us,” he said. Around 3 million people died, over 200,000 women were raped and around 10 million fled to neighboring India during the 9-month war which saw East Pakistan break away to become Bangladesh. Related Reports: Tributes for priest who died for Bangladesh
