Staff Reporter:
Bangladesh yesterday celebrated the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers with due dignity, joining the rest of the world in paying tribute to the invaluable contributions of peacekeepers serving under the UN flag across the globe.
As the public holiday for Eid-ul-Azha coincided with the official observance date of May 29, all pro-grammes marking the day were held yesterday, according to a press release issued by the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) Directorate yesterday evening.
The theme of this year’s observance was “Invest in Peace”.
Messages marking the day were issued by the President, the Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister, the chiefs of the three services, the Principal Staff Officer of the Armed Forces Division, the Inspector Gen-eral of Police, the UN Secretary-General and the UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh.
As part of the day’s programs, a reception was held at Senakunja in Dhaka Cantonment this morning in honor of the family members of fallen peacekeepers and those injured while serving in UN peacekeeping missions.
Prime Minister Tareque Rahman attended the function as the chief guest.
The programme began with a one-minute silence in memory of peacekeepers who made the supreme sacrifice while serving in missions abroad.
A special presentation on UN peacekeeping operations was also arranged on the occasion.
UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh Carol Flore-Smereczniak delivered the welcome address, while Bangladesh Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman spoke as the senior-most peacekeeper. Defence Ad-viser Brigadier General (retd) Dr AKM Shamsul Islam and State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam also spoke at the program.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister handed over special commemorative honors to the families of fallen peacekeepers and injured personnel.
