IV 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 239 Commemorating the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh’s independence. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 16, 2021 Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ (for herself, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. GOMEZ, and Mr. MEEKS) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs RESOLUTION Commemorating the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh’s independence. Whereas the region of Bengal in South Asia is home to an ancient civilization with a rich cultural and literary tradi- tion; Whereas the 1947 partition of India created an East Bengal province, which became part of Pakistan, and in 1954, as part of the One-Unit program, East Bengal became East Pakistan; Whereas, in December 1970, Pakistan held its first election, and despite East Pakistan winning a majority of seats in Parliament, the West Pakistan-based military leadership refused to cede power to the majority and instead im- posed martial law in East Pakistan; VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:33 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR239.IH HR239 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HRES 239 IH Whereas, on March 26, 1971, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman de- clared Bangladesh’s independence from West Pakistan; Whereas, in December 1971, following a nine-month long war that resulted in millions of displaced people and deaths, the Pakistani Army surrendered to Indian and Bangladeshi allied forces; Whereas, on February 14, 1972, the late Senator Edward Kennedy at a speech at Dhaka University said, ‘‘The struggle of the people of Bangladesh . . . evokes the greatest memories of our past’’ and exemplifies a shared love of freedom with the American people; and Whereas, in August 2017, citing parallels between the dis- placement of Bengalis during the 1971 war, the Govern- ment of Bangladesh accepted more than 700,000 Rohingya refugees fleeing genocide in Burma: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 (1) recognizes the people of Bangladesh on the 2 50th anniversary of their independence; 3 (2) recognizes the historical significance of this 4 milestone to those of Bangladeshi heritage; 5 (3) recognizes the courage of freedom fighters 6 in the struggle for independence and democracy; 7 (4) expresses support for the principles of 8 democratic governance to which the people of Ban- 9 gladesh are committed; and 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:33 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR239.IH HR239 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HRES 239 IH (5) recognizes the contributions of Bangladesh 1 for hosting Rohingya refugees fleeing genocide in 2 Burma. 3 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:33 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR239.IH HR239 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS