Desk Report:
Foreign diplomats based in Dhaka visited the July Mass Uprising Memorial Museum on Tuesday, days before it is set to open to the public.
Cultural Affairs Adviser Mostofa Sarwar Farooki briefed the diplomats and guided them through the museum’s key sections. At the start of two-hour long visit, the diplomats observed a minute of silence in memory of the nearly 4000 people who were martyred during the fascist regime Sheikh Hasina.
Farooki said the July Museum would collaborate with similar institutions in other countries. “The idea behind the museum is to prevent the recurrence of such misrule—not only in Bangladesh, but anywhere in the world,” he said.
Foreign Adviser M Touhid Hossain, who was also present, said the museum reflects the people’s struggle against the misrule of Sheikh Hasina. “The museum showcases the climax of the 36 days of the July uprising, but it also highlights the elements of years of misrule,” he said, adding that the true lesson of history is to ensure it is not repeated.
Chief Curator of the July Museum Tanzim Wahab described the various features of the museum to the visiting diplomats and guests.
“I am delighted to have visited the July Museum. It is both inspiring and a powerful reminder of how important it is to understand history, how mass uprisings occur, and the genesis of the 2024 mass uprising in Bangladesh,” said Michael Miller, Ambassador and Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Bangladesh.
Distinguished members of the diplomatic corps present at the event included Dr Abdelouahab Saidani, Ambassador of Algeria; Marcelo Carlos Cesa, Ambassador of Argentina; Dasho Karma Hamu Dorjee, Ambassador of Bhutan; Christian Brix Møller, Ambassador of Denmark; Omar Mohie Eldin Ahmed Fahmy, Ambassador of Egypt; Jean-Marc Séré-Charlet, Ambassador of France; Jalil Rahimi Jahanabadi, Ambassador of Iran; Wisam Hussein Ali Al Ithawi, Chargé d’Affaires of Iraq; Antonio Alessandro, Ambassador of Italy; Lulzim Pllana, Ambassador of Kosovo; Abdulmutalib S. M. Suliman, Ambassador of Libya; Bouchaib Ez Zahri, Chargé d’Affaires of Morocco; Ghanshyam Bhandari, Ambassador of Nepal; Håkon Arald Gulbrandsen, Ambassador of Norway; Imran Haider, High Commissioner of Pakistan; Yousef S. Y. Ramadan, Ambassador of the State of Palestine; Alexander Grigoryevich Khozin, Ambassador of the Russian Federation; Mitchel Lee, Chargé d’Affaires of Singapore; Gabriel María Sistiaga Ochoa de Chinchetru, Ambassador of Spain; Ramis Şen, Ambassador of Türkiye; Monica, Public Diplomacy Counselor, and Scott, Public Diplomacy Officer of the Embassy of the United States of America; Dr Liu Yuyin, Deputy Chief of Mission of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China; Aoyagi Yu, Second Secretary and Chief of the Cultural Section of the Embassy of Japan; and the Press Attaché of the High Commission of Brunei Darussalam.
Also present were Farouk Adatia, Diplomatic Representative of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN); Hoe Yun Jeong, Country Director of the Asian Development Bank (ADB); Indra Mani Pandey, Secretary General of BIMSTEC; P. Chandra Shekara, Director General of CIRDAP; Jiaoqun Shi, FAO Representative in Bangladesh; Muntasir Saqib Khan, Country Director of the International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC); Lance Bonneau, Chief of Mission of the International Organization for Migration (IOM); Syed Iftikhar Ali, Officer-in-Charge of UNHCR; Coco Ushiyama, Resident Representative and Country Director of the World Food Programme (WFP); and Sudhir Muralidharan, Country Manager of UNOPS.
Senior Secretary for SDG Affairs Lamiya Morshed, Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam, and Cultural Affairs Secretary Md Mofidur Rahman were also present.
Ganabhaban, the former residence of ousted autocrat Sheikh Hasina, has been converted into the July Museum, which is set for soft opening next week.
