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US ambassador James F Moriarty Wednesday hinted that his country made a "tragic mistake" by opposing the birth of Bangladesh in 1971, reports bdnews24.com.
"Senator Kennedy helped my country to correct a tragic mistake back in 1970 and 1971.
"We expressed that by quickly recognising Bangladesh after the end of the war, you all recall that," Moriarty told reporters after a discussion in memory of the late Senator Edward Kennedy, who personally supported Bangladesh''s war of independence despite the then US administration''s opposition.
"We were one of the first countries to recognise (Bangladesh)," Moriarty said at the Liberation War Museum.
But the envoy avoided saying directly that US policy on Bangladesh was wrong.
"Ambassadors never say that their countries made a tragic mistake. They just imply it," he said.
Bangladesh came into being as an independent country on December 16, 1971 through a nine-month bloody war against the occupying Pakistan army. India and the former Soviet Union directly supported Bangladesh''s freedom struggle.
The US administration then headed by President Richard Nixon opposed the war against Pakistan, an ally of the US, and provided military support to Islamabad to crush Bangladesh''s fight for independence.
Senator Edward Kennedy extended total support to Bangladesh''s war of independence from the start. He visited refugee camps in West Bengal as millions of Bangladeshis took refuge in India to escape massacres by Pakistan forces and their local collaborators. Moriarty said Senator Kennedy''s pro-Bangladesh stance moulded the US public opinion in favour of Bangladesh.
The US recognised Bangladesh on April 4, 1972.
The passing of Edward Kennedy, who died at 77 at his home in Massachusetts, Boston on Aug 26, was mourned in Bangladesh as around the world.
Prime minister Sheikh Hasina, leader of the opposition Khaleda Zia and foreign minister Dipu Moni all paid tribute to Kennedy as "a global champion of liberty and human values", remembering his support during the birth of Bangladesh.
"The country lost a true friend with his demise," former foreign secretary Faruk Chowdhury told bdnews24.com on the day.
"Edward Kennedy brought the woes of the Bangladeshi refugees during the liberation war in 1971 before the eyes of the world," said Chowdhury.
The senator also submitted a report to the US senate on the plight of Bengali refugees in India, added the former bureaucrat, who was chief of protocol during Kennedy''s visit to Bangladesh in 1972.

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