Dhaka, Aug 17 (bdnews24.com)--Senator Edward Kennedy was a supporter of Bangladesh's liberation war, when the US administration opposed it; the country lost a true friend with his demise, former foreign secretary Faruk Chowdhury told bdnews24.com.

"Edward Kennedy brought the woes of the Bangladeshi refugees during the liberation war in 1971 before the eyes of the world," said Chowdhury as he paid his tribute.

The senator also submitted a report to the US senate on the plight of the Bengali refugees in India, added the former bureaucrat.

"I am saddened at the death. He will remain always in every Bengali's heart for his deeds."

Edward, brother of John F Kennedy, died at the age of 77 early Wednesday (BdST), at his home in Boston, Massachusetts, after a long battle with cancer.

One of the most influential and longest-serving senators in US history, who came to be known as the "Lion of the Senate", Edward Kennedy took the helm of one of America's most fabled political families after his brothers' assassinations.

Prime minister Sheikh Hasina and leader of the opposition Khaleda Zia issued condolence messages on Wednesday, recalling his role in mobilising world opinion for Bangladesh.

"The people of Bangladesh will remember his contribution forever," said Hasina.

She expressed her deep sympathy for the members of the Kennedy family, the US government and people.

Khaleda Zia said the late senator was "a humanist and democratic personality".

"The people of Bangladesh will remember him forever for the role he played in mobilising world opinion in favour of Bangladesh liberation war".

'Champion of human values'

Foreign minister Dipu Moni, in a statement, said Kennedy's ability to work across the political divide had earned him respect from all across the globe, not his name.

"His absence will be felt not only in the United States, but far beyond".

In Bangladesh, Dipu Moni said, Kennedy would be rated as a "legend and a true champion of freedom, liberty and human values".

"Senator Kennedy will be particularly remembered in Bangladesh for his unqualified support to our struggle for freedom and his empathy for the distressed millions in the refugee camps in 1971.

Kennedy personally supported the struggle of the Bengalis when the US administration sided with the Pakistanis.

"He went to the post-war refugee camps in Bangladesh on February 14-15, 1972 and visited mass graves to pay homage for our martyrs," Faruk Chowdhury, who was chief of protocol in the newly born nation that year, told bdnews24.com.

He described Kennedy's arrival in the old airport: "Commerce minister M R Siddiquee along with his wife were present at the airport to welcome Edward Kennedy. He came with his wife Jenny Kennedy."

"Kennedy was on the first list of our foreign friends, who visited Bangladesh soon after independence," he said.

"Kennedy met with then the prime minister Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on February 14 at Ganabhaban. The next day he visited president justice Abu Sayed Chowdhury at the Bangabhaban."

Having accompanied Kennedy during his two-day trip to Bangladesh, Chowdhury remembers his schedule to this day.

"Kennedy went to Kushtia as a foreign friend of our liberation struggle. He the war refugees there, talked to them and witnessed their sufferings."

"He also went to visit injured freedom fighters at Dhaka Medical College Hospital," he added.

Twilight of a political dynasty

When he first took the Senate seat, previously held by his brother John, in 1962, he was seen as something of a political lightweight with a 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 helping to enact measures to protect civil and labour rights, expand healthcare, upgrade schools, increase student aid and contain the spread of nuclear weapons.

Kennedy's death marked the twilight of a political dynasty and dealt a blow to Democrats, who felt they had "lost their patriarch" as tributes poured in from global leaders on Wednesday.

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