(CNN) -- The legacy of U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, who died on Tuesday, spreads far and wide, and across the ocean to now-independent Bangladesh. There, he is still revered for calling attention to what many deemed an unfolding genocide. Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy, known as the "Lion of the Senate," died Tuesday at 77. It may have started as a politically prudent move by a Democratic senator eyeing the White House during a Republican regime. But Kennedy stood up to the Nixon administration in 1971 and alerted the world to the bloodshed that was engulfing then-East Pakistan. "In 1971, there were very few leaders from the so-called free world who were paying any attention to what was going on in Bangladesh. And for Ted Kennedy to come forward and to personally visit, the impact was huge," said Akku Chowdhury, founder and director of Bangladesh's Liberation War Museum.
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Kennedy spoke out about Bangladesh when U.S. policy was supporting Pakistan
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Kennedy visited east India, then wrote report on displaced Bangladeshis
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In report, he accused Pakistani army of "systematic campaign of terror"
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Beatle George Harrison also highlighted refugees' plight with benefit concert
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Thus, it made strategic sense for the United States to align itself with @placeholder's neighbor, Pakistan.
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The United States turned a blind eye to reports of atrocities committed by the @placeholder army to suppress the independence movement -- even as U.S. diplomats urged the administration to speak up.
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"Nothing is more clear, or more easily documented, than the systematic campaign of terror -- and its genocidal consequences -- launched by the @placeholder army on the night of March 25th," he wrote.
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But Kennedy's focus on the mass killings came as everyday @placeholder began to share in the outrage.
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"Even though the @placeholder government does not recognize you, the people of the world do recognize you," Kennedy told the crowd.