The Bangladesh contingent of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) peacekeepers in Western Bahr el Ghazal State together with SSPDF’s Fifth Infantry Division and the state government on Tuesday unveiled a friendship monument in honor of Dr. John Garang De Mabior and former Bangladesh leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman who is popularly known as Bangabandhu.
The monument was erected along the Wau town main street which leads to the airport at the junction leading to the SSPDF headquarters.
Speaking during the unveiling of the monument, Major General Nazrul Islam, the Adjutant General of the Bangladesh Army, who traveled to South Sudan for the event, said the monument glorifies the founding fathers of the two nations.
“This monument glorifies the two founding fathers of our nations, John Garang De Mabior and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Although time separates them, but both are similar in their struggle and scarifies which they endured for their nations for which both remain symbols of unity,” he said. “This project proposal was raised on February 2022 during the visit of the Bangladesh Chief of Army Staff to Wau. After the approval from local authorities in South Sudan and the headquarters of the Bangladesh Army, this project was inaugurated on 11 November 2022.”
“This monument is not only to commemorate the fathers of the two nations but also symbolizes the everlasting friendship and possibility of working together for both countries,” Gen. Islam added.
On his part, the SSPDF’s Brigadier General Samuel Manyuon thanked the Bangladeshi peacekeepers for recognizing Dr. John Garang’s long struggle.
“On behalf of the Fifth Infantry Division, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate and pass my gratitude for the structure and the inauguration of the monument which has the pictures of our great leaders, commanders Late Dr. John Garang De Mabior, the signatory of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and the former president of Bangladesh, Bangabandhu Sheikh Rahman,” he said. “We appreciated Banbatt 6 for their cooperation in helping the SSPDF with some materials and construction.”
After the inauguration of the monument, Gen. Islam visited a medical camp, an education support program, and an agriculture project initiated by the peacekeepers from Bangladesh in Sika Haddid Girls Primary School in Wau.
The peacekeepers have also been treating livestock treatment in Wau town.