Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has denounced a reported Israeli attack on a hospital in Gaza that killed hundreds of innocent people, including children, reiterating her call to global leaders to stop the war and arms races for the wellbeing of mankind.
"We saw people and children killed in a bombing on a hospital (in Gaza by Israel) and blood-stained faces of children yesterday. I am urging world leaders to stop the war and arms races," she told a program on Wednesday held to mark Sheikh Russel Day and distribute Sheikh Russel Padak and Smart Bangladesh Padak on the 60th birth anniversary of Sheikh Russel, the youngest son of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Sheikh Russel Jatiyo Shishu Kishore Parishad and the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Division jointly organized the program at Bangabandhu International Conference Center (BICC) in Dhaka.
The prime minister said wars and arms races have never brought welfare for humankind except for destruction, and women and children are the worst sufferers of such conflicts.
"We want peace as it gives prosperity while war brings destruction. So we do not want war… We always work to establish peace," she said.
She also said the world witnessed the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war last year and now sees Israeli attacks on Palestine.
People and children are being killed both in Palestine and Israel, the prime minister said.
In such a way, she said, children are losing their parents and becoming orphans, and parents are losing their children in the war.
"We know their pain as we two sisters became orphans in 1975," she said.
The prime minister said they saw seen the dreadfulness of war themselves during the War of Liberation in 1971.
"I saw by my own eyes bodies lying in different parts of Dhaka city," she said.
She said she and her younger sister Sheikh Rehana were in forced exile abroad for six years.
"Spending time as a refugee, without knowing when we could return to our country was the most painful. So we do not want war, we want peace" she said.
Award distribution
At the function, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun and five deputy commissioners (DCs) from Chittagong, Cox's Bazar, Dhaka, Panchagar and Thakurgaon districts received the Smart Bangladesh Padak from the premier.
Sheikh Hasina also distributed Sheikh Russel Padak among the winners of competitions in different categories, including education, painting, sports and culture.
At the same program, the prime minister inaugurated and laid the foundation of some development schemes, including Sheikh Russel Animation Lab and Sheikh Kamal IT Training and Incubation Centers under the ICT Division by swiping a smart card.
She also unveiled the cover of a book titled "Swaroner Aborone Sheikh Russel" edited by ICT Division State Minister Zunaid Ahmed Palak.
A video message on Sheikh Russel's memory of the Indian Army's Col (rtd) Ashok Kuma Tara was broadcast at the event. Tara rescued the family members of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman from the captivity of the Pakistani occupation forces.
Presided over by State Minister Zunaid Ahmed Palak, the program was also addressed, among others, by ICT Division Secretary Md Shamsul Arefin.
A trailer for the three-dimensional animated film “Amader Chhoto Russel Sona,” based on Sheikh Russel's life, written by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was screened on the occasion.
An audio-visual documentary on the life of Sheikh Russel by the ICT Division was also screened and a theme song for Sheikh Russel Day 2023 was played.
Sheikh Russel Day is being observed in the country on Wednesday on the 60th birthday of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's youngest son, Sheikh Russel.
Russel, also the youngest brother of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, was born on October 18, 1964 at the historic Bangabandhu Bhaban on Dhanmondi Road 32 in the capital.
He was brutally assassinated along with most of his family members, including his father Bangabandhu, on August 15, 1975 when he was a fourth-grader at University Laboratory School.
The Cabinet Division in 2021 declared October 18, the birthday of Sheikh Russel, as Sheikh Russel Day.
To mark the day, government bodies, the ruling Awami League, its associate bodies and different sociocultural organizations hold various programs at national and international levels.