Armed forces should keep vigil against social menaces: PM
Prime minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday requested the armed forces to enforce a vigil against some existing social menaces alongside their routine duties, saying that her government would continue to follow ‘zero tolerance’ policy to eliminate the curses.
‘There are some social menaces like narcotics, terrorism, extremism and corruption…I am drawing your special attention to these,’ she said at an armed forces graduation ceremony in the capital.
The prime minister added, ‘We have already announced the ‘zero tolerance policy’ against terrorism, extremism, narcotics and corruption, the on-going drives against the menaces will be continued.’
Sheikh Hasina said that elimination of these menaces was a must to protect society as ‘we do not want to allow them to destroy our children’s lives’.
Defence Services Command and Staff College staged the ceremony to confer on the graduation degree to 235 army, navy and air force officers of Bangladesh and 21 other countries at Sheikh Hasina Complex in Mirpur Cantonment.
Of the recipients, 125 were from army, 34 from navy, and 22 from air force of Bangladesh while the rest 54 were from foreign countries.
The countries were China, India, Indonesia, Kuwait, Malaysia, the Maldives, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palestine, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tanzania, Turkey, Uganda, the United States, and Zambia.
Commandant of DSCSC, a prime national defence institution, Major General Md Enayet Ullah delivered the welcome speech at the function while the prime minister handed over certificates among the graduates.
Senior officials from the three services, high officials and vice-chancellors of several public and private universities were present at the graduation ceremony.
DSCSC provides professional military education to selected mid-career officers of the three armed services and prepares them for assumption of increasing responsibilities both in command and staff appointment.
The prime minister said that her government continued to work to make the armed forces as modern and well-equipped ones so it could move ahead keeping the pace with the modern world.
She recalled the armed forces’ contribution to the country’s socio-economic development alongside protecting the national independence and sovereignty.
Sheikh Hasina said that alongside the noble responsibility of protecting sovereignty, the members of the armed forces had also been assisting the civil administration in the country’s development activities and construction of infrastructures.
The members of the armed forces had also earned name and fame in foreign lands with their honesty, dedication and professional acumen and humanitarian qualities in missions abroad, the prime minister said.
Stating that the armed forces of Bangladesh had been contributing to the United Nations peacekeeping missions now, she said, ‘I want to develop the armed forces as modern ones so that they can move keeping pace with any country and can face any situation.’
The prime minister said, ‘Our armed forces have earned fame wherever they work and I feel proud for that.’
She said that the armed forces had won the heart of the local people of different countries through rendering humanitarian services there.
Describing the foreign graduates as goodwill ambassadors, the prime minister hoped that they would play the role of goodwill ambassadors of Bangladesh in their respective countries and never forget Bangladesh.
In this connection, Sheikh Hasina said that the government was running the state with the policy ‘friendship to all, malice to none.’
‘I can now say that all of the countries have harmonious and friendly relations with Bangladesh,’ the prime minister added.
Spelling out her government’s initiatives for the development and modernisation of the armed forces, Sheikh Hasina said that in pursuance of the defence policy of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the government had formulated the Forces Goals 2030.
Sheikh Hasina said that in the last more than a decade her government increased the capabilities of the armed forces and made splendid infrastructural development combined with modern training and equipment.
Greeting the graduates of the Bangladesh Military Academy, the prime minister said, ‘The necessity of army for an independent and sovereign country is immensely needed and is inevitable.’
Therefore, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman inaugurated the Bangladesh Military Academy at Cumilla Cantonment in a war-ravaged country aimed at developing Bangladesh Army as a trained, strong and efficient force.
Quoting Sheikh Mujib’s speech in the first passing out parade of the cadets in Cumilla on January 11, 1975, the prime minister said, ‘If our boys get the full opportunity, they will flourish to compete with any soldier of any country in the world. I believe we would be able to establish such an academy to showcase the institutional capacity to the outer world.’
The prime minister called upon all to accomplish their respective duties sincerely to make Bangladesh a developed and prosperous country.
‘Our economy is strong enough. So, we want to build our country by ourselves and it is the duty of all to work from their respective positions with sincerity to build the country as a developed and prosperous one,’ she said.
The prime minister also elaborated achievements of her government in various sectors in the last more than a decade and said, ‘Bangladesh is marching ahead.’
The poverty rate had come down to 20.5 per cent while the GDP growth rate increased to 8.15, the per capita income increased to $2000 and the inflation rate is contained within 5 per cent.
Ninety five per cent people of the country had been brought under the electricity coverage, she said.
To materialise the dream of Sheikh Mujib to build a hunger and poverty free Sonar Bangla, the prime minister said that her government had taken a 100-year-long programme like Delta Plan-2100 so that generation after generation get a prosperous and developed country.
News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net
