The Hague: The prestigious Diplomat Magazine of the Netherlands unveiled its cover story “Sheikh Hasina: The Mother of Humanity” edition on 12 September 2019 in The Hague. The edition was introduced to members of The Hague-based diplomatic corps, international media, think-tanks, business personalities, etc. in a simple ceremony at a local hotel. Ambassadors of China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Iran, Republic of Korea, Uzbekistan, State of Palestine, Yemen, Morocco, Tunisia, Angola, Tanzania, Sweden, Finland, Luxembourg, Ukraine, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Holy See, Brazil, Cuba, Peru, Chile, Venezuela, and Ecuador; Charge d’ Affaires, a.i. of the Russian Federation, Georgia, Argentina, and Azerbaijan; and representatives from the Embassies of the USA, Kenya, Poland and Panama joined the occasion.
Publisher of the Diplomat Magazine, Dr. Mayelinne De Lara and Bangladesh Ambassador to the Netherlands, Sheikh Mohammed Belal along with the participating Ambassadors introduced the edition to the audience.
Ambassador Sheikh Mohammed Belal, while thanking the Diplomat Magazine for their cover story on Hon’ble Prime Minister’s unique face dedicated to humanity, highlighted to the audience how the world came to know Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina as the ‘Mother of Humanity’ after her bold decision to open Bangladesh-Myanmar borders for the fleeing persecuted Rohingya people from Myanmar’s Rakhine State and thereby saving thousands of lives. The Ambassador also explained how Bangladesh government has been extending all sorts of humanitarian assistance including shelter, food, healthcare, water and sanitation, etc. to the persecuted Rohingya people solely on humanitarian ground despite numerous challenges to the economy, ecology and security of Bangladesh. The Ambassador appealed to the international community to come forward to facilitate early repatriation of the displaced Myanmar residents to their homeland in Rakhine with safety, dignity and basic rights in a time-bound manner and also to eliminate the culture of impunity for the sake of a durable solution to the protracted Rohingya problem.