Army welcomes Hasina

Army welcomes Hasina

DHAKA (AFP): Bangladesh's more than 100,000-strong armed forces yesterday officially welcomed new Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed -- 21 years after her father was killed in a military coup.

Defense officials said Sheikh Hasina was given a guard of honor by the three services at the National Parade Ground.

Army chief Lieutenant General Mohammad Mahbubur Rahman, accompanied by navy and air force chiefs, welcomed her warmly at the ceremonies.

Sheikh Hasina, also the defense minister, briefly visited her Armed Forces Division office, and later joined senior officials at the Army Headquarters.

"We need your support in the government efforts in nation- building, like in the past, and Bangladeshis are grateful to you for your assistance in times of disaster," she was quoted by a defense official as saying.

The premier, whose Awami League under the country's founding father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, led Bangladesh to its independence from Pakistan in 1971, also praised the role of armed forces in the United Nations' peacekeeping missions.

Rahman and most of his family members were killed in a 1975 military coup, but the premier and her younger sister survived as they were abroad at the time.

Sheikh Hasina was sworn in as the prime minister June 23 after leading her Awami League to victory in hotly-contested general elections held June 12.