French President writes to Hasina lauding Bangalis courage during 1971

French President Emmanuel Macron has sent a letter to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina admiring the courage Bangalis showed during 1971 Liberation War. 

The letter was sent on occasion of an exhibition showcasing the photographs taken in December 1971 by French photographer Marc Riboud.

As a part of celebrating fifty years of Bangladesh's independence, the month-long photo exhibition titled "Bangladesh 1971: Mourning and Morning" has begun on 16 October at the Liberation War Museum in Dhaka and will continue till 16 November.  

In the letter, Emmanuel Macron said, "This year Bangladesh is celebrating fifty years of independence. I am pleased that as part of these celebrations, an exhibition of photographs taken in December 1971 by French photographer Marc Riboud will take place next October at the magnificent Liberation War Museum in Dhaka."

"I am pleased in this regard that this exhibition also contributes to commemorate the fifteenth anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations of our two countries that followed very closely the end of the war, as well as a never disproven relationship of trust and friendship," he contended. 

About Marc Riboud's photographs, he said, "They soberly illustrate, with great humanity, the events that lead to the independence of Bangladesh. Marc Riboud had then spent a month with the 'mukti bahini', the freedom fighters, and was one of the very first to enter Dhaka, freed on December 16th 1971." 

"These pictures show the admirable courage of Bengali people defending their freedom, their language, their culture, responding to the call of the Father of the Nation, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. They also witness the interest of France and French people for a determined nation and a country full of promises, as André Malraux expressed right after the declaration of independence," he added. 

The second phase of the exhibition will take place at Alliance Française de Dhaka in January next.