পাতা:বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্র (অষ্টম খণ্ড).pdf/৫৮০

○○○ বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্র : অষ্টম খন্ড শরণার্থীদের ওপর আই, আর, সি-র বাংলাদেশ ডকুমেন্টস ২৮ জুলাই, ১৯৭১ একটি রিপোর্ট ESCAPE FROM TERROR A report of the International Rescue Committee Emergency Mission to India For Pakistan Refugees, submitted on July 28, 1971, by its Chairman, Mr. Angier Biddle Duke, to Mr. F.I. Kellog, Special Assistant to the Secretary of State for Refugee Affairs, Government of U.S.A. Introduction. On March 25, 1971 began one of the largest mass movements in our time of people fleeing in terror to a neighboring country. Six million Bengalis, Moslems and Hindus, have streamed out of East Pakistan, their homeland, to West Bengal, Assam, Tripura and Meghalaya. Thousands on thousands of new refugees arrive every day, and the pressures on India generated by this West multitude of destitute refugees are mounting dangerously. On July 5th , Chester Bowles, a former U.S. Ambassador to India, wrote in The New York Times: “Unless two rather unlikely developments occur, South Asia is in imminent danger of erupting into a tragic, needless war. “These developments are: First, that the ruling West Pakistan Government turns away from the path of terror against its own subjects in East Pakistan and agrees to a settlement that will stem the flow of frightened, homeless refugees into India and second, that the world community soon mounts a massive campaign to relieve India of the burned of supporting nearly six million refugees who have already crossed the border.” Political solutions for the return of the Bengali refugees must be found; and it is imperative that other nations and other peoples to create time for such a settlement share India’s shattering burden of caring for the refugees. It is incumbent on American voluntary agencies to assume a reasonable share of this responsibility. Humanitarianism and enlightened self-interest are twin motivations for strong and immediate action toward alleviating one of the most tragic and potentially explosives refugee crises of our time. The State of Pakistan consists of the East and West provinces, which are separated by a thousand miles of Indian territory. The population of the East is 75 million, outnumbering the West, the seat of the national government, by 25 million. Both areas are predominantly Moslem, though eight million Hindus live in the East. In elections held in December 1970, the Awami League of East Pakistan won a majority in the National Assembly for all Pakistan. Negotiations to form a new government resulted in a stalemate. On March 25th the Pakistani