The US-Bangladesh partnership is like the banyan tree at the Dhaka University campus, Edward M Kennedy Jr, son of late US Senator Edward M Kennedy and nephew of late US President John F Kennedy, said on Monday.
“It (the relationship) has weathered storms and it has grown strong and broad,” he said referring to a banyan tree planted by his father on the Dhaka University campus in 1972.
He was speaking at an event organized by the US embassy to commemorate 50 years of US-Bangladesh ties at Nawab Ali Chowdhury Senate building of Dhaka University.
Edward M Kennedy Jr, also known as Ted Kennedy Jr, said his father planted the tree to replace the one the Pakistan army blew up. The original tree was a popular student gathering place and a “hotbed of rebellion and independence”.
In his speech, Ted Kennedy Jr recalled his father's unique role in Bangladesh's struggle for independence.
Edward M Kennedy Jr, along with his family members pose for a photo under the banyan tree planted by his father on the Dhaka University campus in 1972, on October 31 Mehedi Hasan/Dhaka Tribune
“Observing the refugee crisis, and other atrocities that were committed by the Pakistani army, my father was one of the very few political leaders to stand up to call the conduct of the Pakistani army a genocide,” Ted said.
He also called on the international community to take note of “what is happening in your country.”
Ted Kennedy Jr said that the Kennedy family has always felt a very special kinship with the people of Bangladesh because of all the stories it has heard from Senator Edward Kennedy while he and the younger Kennedys were growing up.
“He told us, his family, each of the stories while growing up which is one of the reasons why we heard about the great nation of Bangladesh.”
Edward M Kennedy Jr speaks with Dhaka Tribune's Associate Editor AS Asiful Islam under the famous ‘Bottola' at Dhaka University on October 31, 2022 Mehedi Hasan/Dhaka TribuneDuring his time in the United States Senate in 1971, the late Senator from Massachusetts, who died in 2009, opposed the Nixon-Kissinger administration's policy of unwavering support for Pakistan and backed Bangladesh's War of Liberation.
In his assessment report after returning from India in 1971, Senator Kennedy called the Pakistan army's conduct a ‘campaign of terror'.
For his contribution to Bangladesh's independence in 1971, Bangladesh awarded the late senator with the ‘Friends of Liberation War Honour'.
During his visit to Bangladesh in early 1972, Edward M Kennedy planted a banyan tree at the famous "Bottola'' on the Dhaka University campus, where he famously declared: “Even though the United States government does not recognize you, the people of the world do recognize you.” He quoted Rabindranath Tagore's poem ‘Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high.' Senator Kennedy and his wife called on Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at the old Ganobhaban.
The future of US-Bangladesh relationship
Ted Kennedy Jr in his speech at the Senate building of the Dhaka University said that he hoped the relationship between Bangladesh and the United States will continue to grow.
He called the banyan tree a symbol of US-Bangladesh ties.
“Although there have been some areas of disagreement and concern over the years between the governments of Bangladesh and the United States, the important thing is that our two nations continue to build the relationship and engage in areas of mutual interest,” Kennedy Jr said.
DU Vice Chancellor Professor Mohamamd Akhtaruzzaman hands over a plaque to Edward M Kennedy Jr with the presence of US Ambassador to Dhaka Peter Haas at Nawab Ali Chowdhury Senate building of Dhaka University on October 31, 2022 Mehedi Hasan/Dhaka Tribune Kennedy Jr expressed his gratitude to the people of Bangladesh for hosting more than a million Rohingya people from Myanmar. He also appreciated Bangladesh for its contribution towards global peace by being the largest contributor to the UN peacekeeping operations. In his speech, he praised Bangladesh's leadership in highlighting the devastating impact of climate change at various international platforms.
Edward M Kennedy Jr, along with his family, is on a weeklong visit to Bangladesh to commemorate 50 years of US-Bangladesh bilateral relationship.
Peter Haas, US Ambassador to Dhaka, and DU Vice Chancellor Professor Mohamamd Akhtaruzzaman also addressed the event.
“Bangladesh has a kinship with the United States of America and we hope it will develop more in the future,” said the VC.
Later, Ted Kennedy Jr gifted an original copy of the report authored by his father, ‘Crisis In South Asia', to the library of Dhaka University.
Earlier in the day, Ted Kennedy and his family members visited the banyan tree planted by his father.
“Visiting the tree was a very powerful and emotional experience for me and I felt my father's presence while I was there,” he said.
His accompanying family members included his wife Dr Katherine "Kiki" Kennedy, daughter Dr Kiley Kennedy, son Teddy Kennedy, niece Grace Kennedy Allen and nephew Max Allen.
