Chief adviser professor Muhammad Yunus on Thursday said that the interim government wanted to build Bangladesh in such a way that the people were the true source of all power.
He was addressing a reception accorded to the gallantry award winning freedom fighters and their inheritors arranged by the armed forces division in Dhaka Cantonment on Armed Forces Day, reported Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha.
鈥榃e want to establish the idea that we are all equal. None is above anyone and none is below anyone in national life. There will be聽 differences of opinion in the family...but we will not be enemies to each other,鈥� he said.
Recalling the contribution of the armed forces to the Great War of Liberation, Yunus said that on this day in 1971, the valiant members of the armed forces and the common people of Bangladesh jointly launched a coordinated attack against Pakistani occupation forces.
鈥榃e will maintain friendship with all states. Mutual respect, trust, confidence and cooperation will be the base of our foreign policy. We must work together to address climate crisis and consolidate global peace and economy,鈥� he said.
Professor Yunus said that the armed forces were recognised as a symbol of confidence by standing beside the people of the country.聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽
鈥業n recent anti-discrimination movement and post movement, the armed forces stood beside the people,鈥� he said.
He said that in the last several months, the armed forces played a very laudable role in addressing natural disasters and maintaining the law and order.
He also commended the armed forces for its role in welfare-oriented activities, economic activities and infrastructural development.
The chief adviser hoped that by remaining loyal to democratic leadership, the armed forces would be active in serving the country.
鈥榃e are always ready to protect our country from aggression or attacks of external enemies,鈥� he said, adding that efforts were on to reorganise the armed forces, provide advanced trainings and introduce modern technology in the forces.
About Bangladesh鈥檚 contribution to global peacekeeping, Yunus said that Bangladeshi peacekeepers accomplished 63 United Nations missions in 43 countries, while Bangladeshi peacekeepers were deployed in 12 UN missions then.
鈥業t is important to note that Bangladesh has been recognised now as one of the largest women-peacekeeper sending counties to the UN missions,鈥� he added.
Earlier, the chief adviser and president Mohammed Shahabuddin, also the supreme commander of the armed forces, paid glowing tributes to the armed forces martyrs, who made supreme sacrifices during the War of Liberation in 1971, by placing a wreath at the altar of Shikha Anirban (flame eternal) in Dhaka Cantonment on the occasion of the day, BSS reported further.