Dhaka, Aug 26, (
bdnews24.com)--US Senator Edward Kennedy, brother of President John F Kennedy who died at 77 early on Wednesday BdST, was a great friend of Bangladesh -- he had backed to the hilt the war of independence from Pakistan when the US administration vehemently opposed it.
Senator Kennedy, who took the helm of one of America's most fabled political families after two older brothers were assassinated, flew down to new-born Bangladesh in 1972, attended a rally and gave a speech at Dhaka University.
He traveled to refugee camps throughout West Bengal where some 9,000,000 refugees streamed across the border. He reported back to the Senate in an extraordinarily passionate document about the plight of the refugees in India and what he called the "reign of terror which grips East Bengal." (Source:
http://open.salon.com/blog/smithbarney/2009/01/21/ted_kennedy_a_true_friend_of_the_wretched_of_the_earth)
Kennedy concluded: "America's heavy support of Islamabad (West Pakistan) is nothing short of complicity in the human and political tragedy of East Bengal."
Kennedy not only bore witness, he jolted the world into taking notice and aiding the refugees if not the independence fighters in East Bengal, according to the site.
One of the most influential and longest-serving senators in US history -- a liberal standard-bearer who was also known as a consummate congressional dealmaker -- Kennedy had been battling brain cancer, which was diagnosed in May 2008.
"We've lost the irreplaceable center of our family and joyous light in our lives, but the inspiration of his faith, optimism, and perseverance will live on in our hearts forever," the family statement said.
His death marked the twilight of a political dynasty and dealt a blow to Democrats as they seek to answer President Barack Obama's call for an overhaul of the healthcare system. Kennedy had made healthcare reform his signature cause.
Known as "Teddy," he was the brother of President John Kennedy, assassinated in 1963, Senator Robert Kennedy, fatally shot while campaigning for the 1968 Democratic presidential nomination, and Joe Kennedy, a pilot killed in World War Two.
When he first took the Senate seat previously held by John Kennedy in 1962, he was seen as something of a political lightweight who owed his ascent to his famous name.
Yet during his nearly half century in the chamber, Kennedy became known as one of Washington's most effective senators, crafting legislation by working with lawmakers and presidents of both parties, and finding unlikely allies.
At the same time, he held fast to liberal causes deemed anachronistic by the centrist "New Democrats," and was a lightning rod for conservative ire.
He helped enact measures to protect civil and labor rights, expand healthcare, upgrade schools, increase student aid and contain the spread of nuclear weapons.
"There's a lot to do," Kennedy told Reuters in 2006. "I think most of all it's the injustice that I continue to see and the opportunity to have some impact on it."
After Robert Kennedy's death, Edward was expected to waste little time in vying for the presidency. But in 1969, a young woman drowned after a car Kennedy was driving plunged off a bridge on the Massachusetts resort island of Chappaquiddick after a night of partying.
(With inputs from Reuters)
bdnews24.com/mi/bd/1430h.
