[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 42 (Tuesday, March 27, 2001)]
[House]
[Page H1177]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   CONGRATULATING BANGLADESH ON ITS 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF INDEPENDENCE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I come to the House floor tonight to 
celebrate the anniversary of the struggle the Bengalis went through to 
become an independent nation 30 years ago on March 26, 1971.
  I visited Bangladesh a year ago with President Clinton at this time 
and was impressed with the progress that the country has made. The 
people and the government received us very warmly as we visited the 
capital Dhaka and the surrounding cities.
  Madam Speaker, the independence of Bangladesh was hard fought. In 
1970, a strong opposition within the masses arose in east Pakistan 
against the injustices and discrimination levied on the Bengali people. 
In the early spring of 1971, Pakistani forces moved in and ruthlessly 
tried to suppress the uprising with death squads and indiscriminate 
killings. Indira Gandhi, the prime minister of India, became very vocal 
in her opposition to Pakistani oppression and in 1971 the Indian army 
was sent in to help the Bengali fighters.
  In 12 days' time, the Bengali liberation force, with the help of the 
Indian army, drove the Pakistani forces out of the region and 
Bangladesh was born. I salute the brave Bangla fighters, as well as the 
soldiers of the Indian Army who stood firm together to help the dream 
of a free Bengal nation become a reality.
  Madam Speaker, U.S./Bangla relations have been developing positively 
since Bangladesh's declaration of a free republic in 1972. Current 
U.S./Bangla relations are excellent as demonstrated in several visits 
to Washington by the Bangladeshi premiers over the last 20 years.
  In 1995, First Lady Hillary Clinton visited Bangladesh. The current 
prime minister of Bangladesh, Ms. Sheikh Hasina, also visited the 
United States in 1996 and 1997.
  Relations between Bangladesh and the United States have further 
strengthened since the participation of Bangla troops in the 1991 Gulf 
War Coalition. The Bangladeshi soldiers also served jointly with the 
1994 multinational force in Haiti.
  The current government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, elected in 
June 1996, has indicated that it will continue along the path of 
privatization and open market reforms but progress has been slow.
  In the government's first year, real GDP growth of 5.7 percent and 
inflation of 2.6 percent were the best figures in the 1990s. We must 
collaborate in many ways with Bangladesh and continue our aid package 
to Bangladesh, and I want to congratulate my colleague, the gentleman 
from New York (Mr. Crowley) for starting the Bangladeshi caucus.
  I have joined the same and hope to work with him for Bengali issues.
  Under Madam Hasina, Bangladesh pursues a positive foreign policy 
based on friendship with all and malice towards none. While relations 
between the United States and Bangladesh are good, clearly there is 
ample room for improvement. One such area I believe U.S./Bangla 
relations can be improved is trade.
  Madam Speaker, I would like to draw your attention to the African-
Caribbean trade initiative that was introduced last year. The 
initiative gives only textile industries in Africa and the Caribbean 
duty free access to U.S. markets. A stark reality has to be understood 
that presently Bangladesh derives 76 percent of its foreign reserves 
from these exports. Taking this market away, most of which is the U.S. 
market, would deal a very heavy blow to the democracy of Bangladesh as 
it struggles to improve the conditions of its people.
  Another important area where we can help, and I think my colleague, 
the gentleman from New York (Mr. Crowley) again has drawn attention to 
this, is the arsenic poisoning occurring in the drinking water wells in 
the Nawab Ganj district in Bangladesh. In the early 1970s, UNICEF, in 
an attempt to bring clean drinking water to the Bengali people, dug two 
wells to access shallow water ducts. At that time, arsenic testing was 
not conducted and arsenic's inherent slow-working poisonous effects 
were not recognized.
  I ask my colleagues to urge the current administration to work on a 
long lasting solution for this problem affecting a great number of 
Bangladeshis.
  Madam Speaker, on this historic occasion of Bangladesh's 30th 
anniversary of independence, we must show our sincere appreciation for 
all that Bangladesh is doing to improve itself and express solidarity 
with its democratic principles of governments in progress. I ask my 
fellow colleagues to join me in celebrating this occasion in wishing 
Bangladesh the very best of success in the years to come.




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