DT e-Paper 21-02-17

4
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2017
DT
News
Abul Barkat museum keeps Language Movement going
• Afrose Jahan Chaity
A visit to the Abul Barkat Memorial
Museum engraves the Language
Movement and its aftermath on visitors’
minds in a way that school books, newspapers
and documentaries cannot.
Right at the entrance is a photograph
of language martyr Abul Barkat,
framed on a mosaic wall with a short
biography of the man.
The ground floor of the two-storey
memorial complex is an open
space showcasing photographs and
documents ranging from 1947 to 1952:
a complete, contextual history of the
Language Movement.
Photographs, painstakingly collected
over the years, adorn much of
the wall space. They tell the story of
the Language Movement in a way that
transports the viewer back to the days
of the martyrs as they fought heart
and soul for the right to speak in their
mother tongue.
A series of pictures depict the
March 11, 1948 student procession,
carrying placards, marching toward
the secretariat as a barricade of armed
policemen form to meet them.
Other photos show male and
UN envoy on Myanmar
meets foreign minister
RAJIB DHAR
female students holding a rally in front
of Dhaka Medical College and Hospital
on February 4, 1952; a meeting held at
the historic Amtala site beside the Department
of Social Sciences at Dhaka
University as students prepare to break
the unlawful assembly and curfew
under Section 144 on February 21,
1952; and a copy of The Azad’s special
February 22, 1952 edition.
To the right of the entrance are photographs
of Abul Barkat and his family.
Photocopies of his university certificate
and personal letters, a 1961 photograph
of Barkat’s mother Hasina Begum inaugurating
the Shaheed Minar, three of
Barkat’s used tea cups and an Ekushey
Padak make up the display of Barkat’s
personal items.
A digital information booth set
beside the stairs is the final stop before
visitors head to the top floor balcony-like
library containing 450 books
on the Language Movement and the
Liberation War.
A reading space invites visitors to
read the available books and publications,
which the museum also sells at a
10% discount.
While reading, visitors can look
down into the main hall space and take
in visual evidence of the aftermath:
heartrending pictures of the nation in
mourning as well as the uplifting declaration
by Unesco on November 17, 1999
marking February 21 as International
Mother Language Day.
Shamima and Anika, college friends
on their first visit to the museum, said
they had learnt much more here than
from text books, but it would be even
better if they could learn about the
other martyrs as well. For them, the
museum has made a lasting impact.
The museum’s Administrative
Officer Gulam Mustafa said: “Thirty
interviews of Language Movement
rebels and related documentaries are
screened on special occasions. We
could do even more if we received
funding for renovations.”
The memorial complex, located at
the Polashi intersection, was inaugurated
on March 25, 2012 and is free and
open for all. •
• Syed Zainul Abedin
The United Nations Special Rapporteur
on the situation of human
rights in Myanmar, Yanghee Lee,
paid a courtesy visit to Foreign
Minister AH Mahmood Ali in Dhaka
yesterday.
Yanghee arrived in Dhaka in
the morning on a four-day tour.
She will be visiting Cox’s Bazar for
three days from today to interact
with Rohingya refugees who came
there fleeing their homes in the
northern state of Rakhine in Myanmar,
following recent military
atrocities.
The minister
highlighted the
endeavours to
bolster regional
connectivity
involving Myanmar
through BCIM and
BIMSTEC
During the meeting, held at State
Guest House Padma, the minister
apprised her of the measures that
Bangladesh had taken vis-à-vis Myanmar
refugees, both documented
and undocumented, who entered
Bangladesh over the years from Rakhine
state.
He informed her about the repatriation
status of the refugees
under an agreement negotiated by
him back in 1992, adding that as
many as 236,599 Rohingya Muslims
had been sent back home under
that agreement until it came to
a halt in 2005.
Mahmood Ali said the constant
presence of the huge number of
Myanmar nationals in Cox’s Bazar
has caused a number of adverse
impacts on the overall socio-economic,
political, demographic,
environmental, and humanitarian
and security situations in the district
and its adjacent areas.
He also informed the envoy
about the initiatives Bangladesh
took to connect with Myanmar
through setting up border liaison
offices and introduction of dialogue
on security cooperation.
The minister also highlighted
the endeavours to bolster regional
connectivity involving Myanmar
through BCIM and BIMSTEC, thus
ensuring sustainable development
in the region.
Mahmood Ali emphasised on
the peaceful resolution of the longstanding
issue of the Rohingya influx,
urging the international community
to take steps to address its
root causes.
Meanwhile, the human rights
expert thanked him for allowing
her to undertake the visit, with
Mahmood assuring her of all sorts
of cooperation during her stay in
Bangladesh.
Upon completion of the mission,
Yanghee will issue a statement on it
and share her findings with the UN
Human Rights Council, which will
go online from March 13. •
Bangladesh Cultural Activists Association brings out a procession in the Dhaka University Area yesterday to honour all
languages on the occasion of International Mother Language Day
RAJIB DHAR
Norwegian FM: Middle-income
status achievable for Bangladesh
• Syed Zainul Abedin
Foreign Minister of Norway, Børge
Brende, arrived in Dhaka yesterday
morning to experience the impressive
development of Bangladesh
over the last 45 years.
He was received at Hazrat Shahjalal
International Airport by Secretary
(Bilateral & Consular, Foreign
Ministry) Kamrul Ahsan and Bangladesh
Ambassador to Norway Md
Golam Sarwar, said a foreign ministry
press release.
During a round-table meeting
with Young Global Leaders,
Brende said Bangladesh’s aim to
become a middle-income country
is within reach, but to reach that
goal, the country needs to ensure
Børge Brende
transparency in all sectors and curb
corruption.
The meeting was attended by
more than 50 young leaders and
moderated by Lutfey Siddiqi.
Brende also held meetings with
the staff of the Royal Norwegian
Embassy in Dhaka and the Norwegian-Bangladeshi
business community
and witnessed the signing
of a collaboration agreement between
solar power producer Scatec
Solar and the AK Khan Company.
Today, Brende will place a floral
wreath on the Central Shaheed
Minar in order to pay homage to
the Language Movement martyrs,
making him the first ever foreign
minister from a Nordic country to
do so.
He will leave Bangladesh on
Thursday. •