Congressional Statements on 30th Independence Day

Statements in the US Congress on the 30th Independence Day of Bangladesh (Made on March 27th, 2001 as Congress was in recess on March 26th)

BANGLADESH NATIONAL DAY -- HON. JOSEPH CROWLEY
(Extensions of Remarks - March 27, 2001)

HON. JOSEPH CROWLEY
OF NEW YORK
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Tuesday, March 27, 2001

Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of the 30th Independence Day of the People's Republic of Bangladesh.

On this important occasion, we should all remember the people who sacrificed their lives and others who endured immense suffering to achieve political self-determination. Despite this, and since achieving independence, the people and government of Bangladesh have played an increasing role in global peacekeeping and democratic consolidation.

Bangladesh is roughly the size of the State of Wisconsin but has a population estimated at roughly 130 million. It is bounded by India from the north, east and west and by the Bay of Bengal and Myanmar from the south. Bangladesh has a rich historical and cultural past as a consequence of the influx of varied races and nationalities, including the Dravidian, Indo-Aryan, Mongol-Mughul, Arab, Persian, Turkic, Dutch, French and the English cultures.

The area that is now Bangladesh was under Muslim rule for five and a half centuries, followed by British rule for another two centuries. It was, most recently, a province of Pakistan for 26 years. The people of Bangladesh achieved their Independence through a difficult nine month long war of liberation in 1971.

Since Independence, the people of Bangladesh have overcome formidable challenges, including rapid population growth and food shortages. The country is consolidating democratic principles at home, is a partner in global peacekeeping efforts, has vast amount of undeveloped gas resources, and has become an exporter of development best practices abroad.

The U.S.-Bangladesh bilateral relationship is deepening through trade and investment partnerships and an ongoing high-level official dialogue. President Clinton made a historic visit to Bangladesh in March 2000 and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina made a reciprocal visit in October of that year.

To build on these achievements, I have established a bipartisan Congressional Bangladesh Caucus and invite all of my colleagues to join me in this endeavor. The Caucus will examine issues relevant to our bilateral relationship with the Bangladeshi government, and issues affecting the Bangladeshi-American community in order to facilitate the formation of coherent foreign policy with regard to Bangladesh.

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the people of Bangladesh on the milestone of their 30th Anniversary as an Independent nation.

(Extensions of Remarks - March 27, 2001)
HON. GARY L. ACKERMAN
OF NEW YORK
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Tuesday, March 27, 2001

Mr. ACKERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to salute and congratulate the nation of Bangladesh for thirty years of independence.

Founded in 1971 after gaining its independence from Pakistan, Bangladesh has evolved into a moderate Muslim democracy where the United States enjoys high prestige and respect. Bangladesh plays a moderating and welcome role in international fora like the G-77, the Nonaligned Movement and the Organization of the Islamic Conference.

Since independence, Bangladesh has struggled with an enormous population of 128 million crowded into a nation the size of Wisconsin. Subject to regular monsoons and flooding, Bangladesh has made significant social and economic progress in a number of areas. In particular Bangladesh has made major strides to meet the needs of its growing population and is now largely self-sufficient in rice production. Bangladesh is also a leader in microenterprise lending. The world famous Grameen Bank has provided small business loans to more than 2.4 million customers in 39,000 villages. The bank has a 98 percent loan recovery rate from its customers, 94 percent of whom are women. In a recent and promising development, 40-50 trillion cubic feet of natural gas have been discovered giving Bangladesh a long term source of energy and enough to become a natural gas exporter.

U.S.-Bangladesh relations have also grown in recent years. The United States is Bangladesh's number one trading partner. U.S. investment in Bangladesh has grown from $25 million to over $750 million in the last four years. But economic interests are not the only ties that bind the U.S. and Bangladesh.

Bangladesh has played a significant role in international peacekeeping activities. Several thousand Bangladeshi military personnel are deployed overseas on peacekeeping operations. Under U.N. auspices, Bangladeshi troops have served or are serving in Somalia, Rwanda, Mozambique, Kuwait, Bosnia, Haiti, and East Timor. Regionally, Bangladesh is a nation at peace with its neighbors and focused on regional integration through the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation.

In addition, Bangladesh has demonstrated its commitment to environmental preservation by becoming the first country to participate in a debt for nature swap under the Tropical Forest Conservation Act of 1998. This program allowed Bangladesh to exchange a portion of its concessional debt to the United States in return for the preservation of more than 3 million acres of tropical forest home to the world's last genetically viable population of Bengal tigers.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to join me in commending the nation of Bangladesh for 30 years of independence.

CONGRATULATING BANGLADESH ON ITS 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF INDEPENDENCE
(House of Representatives - March 27, 2001)

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. PALLONE) is recognized for 5 minutes.

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I come to the House floor tonight to celebrate the anniversary of the struggle the Bengalis went through to become an independent nation 30 years ago on March 26, 1971.

I visited Bangladesh a year ago with President Clinton at this time and was impressed with the progress that the country has made. The people and the government received us very warmly as we visited the capital Dhaka and the surrounding cities.

Madam Speaker, the independence of Bangladesh was hard fought. In 1970, a strong opposition within the masses arose in east Pakistan against the injustices and discrimination levied on the Bengali people. In the early spring of 1971, Pakistani forces moved in and ruthlessly tried to suppress the uprising with death squads and indiscriminate killings. Indira Gandhi, the prime minister of India, became very vocal in her opposition to Pakistani oppression and in 1971 the Indian army was sent in to help the Bengali fighters.

In 12 days' time, the Bengali liberation force, with the help of the Indian army, drove the Pakistani forces out of the region and Bangladesh was born. I salute the brave Bangla fighters, as well as the soldiers of the Indian Army who stood firm together to help the dream of a free Bengal nation become a reality.

Madam Speaker, U.S./Bangla relations have been developing positively since Bangladesh's declaration of a free republic in 1972. Current U.S./Bangla relations are excellent as demonstrated in several visits to Washington by the Bangladeshi premiers over the last 20 years.

In 1995, First Lady Hillary Clinton visited Bangladesh. The current prime minister of Bangladesh, Ms. Sheikh Hasina, also visited the United States in 1996 and 1997.

Relations between Bangladesh and the United States have further strengthened since the participation of Bangla troops in the 1991 Gulf War Coalition. The Bangladeshi soldiers also served jointly with the 1994 multinational force in Haiti.

The current government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, elected in June 1996, has indicated that it will continue along the path of privatization and open market reforms but progress has been slow.

In the government's first year, real GDP growth of 5.7 percent and inflation of 2.6 percent were the best figures in the 1990s. We must collaborate in many ways with Bangladesh and continue our aid package to Bangladesh, and I want to congratulate my colleague, the gentleman from New York (Mr. CROWLEY) for starting the Bangladeshi caucus.

I have joined the same and hope to work with him for Bengali issues.

Under Madam Hasina, Bangladesh pursues a positive foreign policy based on friendship with all and malice towards none. While relations between the United States and Bangladesh are good, clearly there is ample room for improvement. One such area I believe U.S./Bangla relations can be improved is trade.

Madam Speaker, I would like to draw your attention to the African-Caribbean trade initiative that was introduced last year. The initiative gives only textile industries in Africa and the Caribbean duty free access to U.S. markets. A stark reality has to be understood that presently Bangladesh derives 76 percent of its foreign reserves from these exports. Taking this market away, most of which is the U.S. market, would deal a very heavy blow to the democracy of Bangladesh as it struggles to improve the conditions of its people.

Another important area where we can help, and I think my colleague, the gentleman from New York (Mr. CROWLEY) again has drawn attention to this, is the arsenic poisoning occurring in the drinking water wells in the Nawab Ganj district in Bangladesh. In the early 1970s, UNICEF, in an attempt to bring clean drinking water to the Bengali people, dug two wells to access shallow water ducts. At that time, arsenic testing was not conducted and arsenic's inherent slow-working poisonous effects were not recognized.

I ask my colleagues to urge the current administration to work on a long lasting solution for this problem affecting a great number of Bangladeshis.

Madam Speaker, on this historic occasion of Bangladesh's 30th anniversary of independence, we must show our sincere appreciation for all that Bangladesh is doing to improve itself and express solidarity with its democratic principles of governments in progress. I ask my fellow colleagues to join me in celebrating this occasion in wishing Bangladesh the very best of success in the years to come.