US Ambassador in Dhaka Mercia Stephens Bloom Bernicat handed over the original copy of \'Blood Telegram\' to the trustee board members of Liberation War Museum in the capital during a visit there on Sunday. — Focus Bangla
US ambassador to Bangladesh, Marcia Stephens Bloom Bernicat, stressed on Sunday the need for freedom of speech and ample space for oppositions' activities for consolidating democracy in the country.
"Democracy in the country can be flourished through holding meaningful dialogue and ensuring freedom of expression," said the US ambassador while addressing a meeting at the Liberation War Museum in the city.
"A democracy can be flourished fully when there will be ample space for freedom of expression and enough room for opposition voices and political activities," she added.
The US ambassador visited the Liberation War Museum on Sunday and handed over a telegram co-signed by former US Consul General in Dhaka Archer K Blood and his colleagues, to the trustees of the museum, including Sarwar Ali, Rabiul Hussain, Ziauddin Tariq Ali and Akku Chowdhury.
The telegram during the 1971 War of Liberation reflected dissenting voice against the Nixon administration tilted to Pakistan's Yahiya Khan regime.
Terming it a special gift she identified the message as an authenticated copy of 1971 telegram signed by the Foreign Service officers who raised their dissenting voices against the prevailing US policy towards Bangladesh.
She felt that Archer K Blood and his fellow diplomats who co-signed the telegram embodied the importance of dissent and its role in sustaining an operational democracy.
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