To those who knew him, Dr. Cookson was more than an expert -- he was a trusted voice, a mentor, and a steadfast ally. His passing is a profound loss, not only to those who had the privilege of knowing him personally, but also to Bangladesh, a country he served with dedication and genuine affection.
We have long ago given up hoping that our government would do anything for us, and would be content if it simply reined in its worst excesses. As the old Bengali adage has it: We don’t want charity. Just please call off your dog.
The Strait of Hormuz is in crisis, disrupting the global economy. Asia, in particular, faces a coming storm with a prolonged closure -- the Strait carries the lifeblood of Asia's economy.
Failure to act appropriately will have catastrophic consequences, sooner rather than later. The AL had 15 years before their malgovernance caught up with them. The current government won't have 15 months.
It is truly rare for an institution to have played such a prominent role in the founding of a nation during the 1971 Liberation War. Cadet colleges were not exclusively military training schools. These were established with developing both civilian and military leadership in mind.
Respecting the rights, dignity, and freedom of women, and ensuring full equality for women in health, education, employment, and opportunity must be established as the common ground on which all political actors in Bangladesh agree.
There is no better way for the ruling party to signal that it understands this new reality and that recognizes that it is truly a new day in Bangladesh, and that they too have changed their spots accordingly, than for them to quietly walk back the appointment.
We want to live in a country where the jails are not filled with innocent men and women. This is a basic measure of the probity of any government. This is the rule of law. If there is one thing that the government can deliver for the Bangladeshi people it is this.
Only a genuine friend would share his thoughts and his words of wisdom in the larger interest of Bangladesh and its people with such clarity. William B Milam was one such friend.
Your service to the nation can only continue if your well-being is safeguarded. Ultimately, the responsibility also rests with the state’s security apparatus, particularly those entrusted with your protection. When credible threats are perceived, it becomes their duty to act decisively.
All of us who care about Bangladesh have lost a great friend and mentor and a strong voice for the country and its people. The best way we can honour his life and legacy is to continue his life’s work.
Ambassador Milam's connection to Bangladesh was not a chapter of his career -- it was a lifelong commitment. His voice was one of moral clarity in times when many chose silence. Bangladesh has lost a true friend. The cause of democracy has lost a fearless champion. His legacy will endure in the freedom he helped defend.
Your legacy will now be determined not by the years you ruled, but by how you confront the consequences of those years. History punishes arrogance -- but it sometimes honours repentance
The people of Bangladesh do not ask that the government solve all or even any of their problems. They ask only that the government not be the source of their problems and that it simply does its job without favour or fanfare. And above all, they want normalcy, they want civility, they want decency.
At the end of the day, the final test of this government is not whether the referendum passes or not, but whether they have been able to hold a credible election and whether the referendum process itself was managed without a hitch.
The time has come for us to once again turn our attention and divert our resources to a truly global world sport: football.
