পাতা:বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্র (চতুর্দশ খণ্ড).pdf/৯১২

880 বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্রঃ চতুর্দশ খন্ড শিরোনাম সূত্র তারিখ ৩৬৮। ইউরোপে বাংলাদেশের ভাবমূর্তি হিন্দুস্তান ষ্টান্ডার্ড ৯ সেপ্টেম্বর, ১৯৭১ HINDUSTAN STANDARD, SEPTEMBER 9, 1971 BANGLADESH IMAGE IN EUROPE MRS. GANDHI TO FACE WESTERN INHIBITIONS From S. Nihal Singh Mrs. Gandhi's projected visit to West Europe and the USA next month is an appropriate backdrop to size up where India stands today on Bangladesh, More than five months after the West Pakistan army went into East Bengal to subdue the people the diplomatic front presents a strange picture. Far from being an outcast in the international community General Yahya Khan is well on his way to winning acceptability. Simple Device To understand the West's view of Bangladesh one must accept the fact that Pakistan has succeeded in a measure in presenting the issue as an Indo-Pakistan problem. This was achieved by the simple device of raising tension between the two countries up to a pitch and for the West the tragedy of Bangladesh was quickly submerged by the danger of an Indo-Pakistan overtones are more apparent to the West then the Bangladesh struggle. The brutality and scale of the West Pakistan army's repression in East Bengal hit the west not when they happened but weeks and months later. It was only when millions of refugees poured into India and there was the fearful prospect of a mass cholera epidemic that the horror and tragedy of the Pakistani military intervention was brought home to the West. The refugees continued to make headlines for a time but then the interest waned, to be revived momentarily by the defection of East Bengalis in Pakistan's diplomatic service. There is much sympathy for the suffering of the people of East Bengal and some sympathy for India's burdens in coping with the continuing stream of refugees. But the west is only half convinced of the inevitability of Pakistan's break-up, even those who accept that an independent East Bengal will come into being are not quite clear about the time scale in which it will occur. Meanwhile General Yahya is still President of both the wings of Pakistan and they have to do business with him. However, there has been a change in Whitehall's approach to the Bangladesh problem a change indicated not so much by what has been said but by what has been left unsaid. This change is reflected by the new official mood- that Whitehall has gone far enough in censuring Islamabad and would rather mend its fences with President Yahya. It has been left to Labor M.P.s like Mr. Peter Shore and church leaders and fiery editorial writers to call a spade a spade-and to bring before the British public the new danger of a colossal famine in East Pakistan. To add to these inhibitions of the West and a central part of these inhibitions is that the west does not wish to see the break-up of Pakistanis the Indo-Soviet treaty. Even