বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্রঃ ত্রয়োদশ খণ্ড
Washington, D.C., May 10, 1971
Chairman, Subcommittee on Refugees
Committee on the Judiciary
U. S. Senate
Washington, D. C.
DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: I want to bring you up to date on developments since my letter of April 20 which affect our mutual interest in helping to meet the humanitarian needs produced by the situation in East Pakistan. I am focusing primarily on emergency relief efforts for the growing number of refugees from East Pakistan in India.
East Pakistani Refugees in India
The refugee flow from East Pakistan to India has increased substantially in the past three weeks. The Government of India says the total is now 1.8 million. Although we have no exact figures, at least 526,000 are said to be in camps-most of them in West Bengal.
In a letter from India's UN Ambassador Sen to UN Secretary General U Thant. India on April 23 formally requested UN assistance for the refugees. The Secretary General has referred this request to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, who had sent a special three-man team to New Delhi May 5 to assess needs and develop a plan of international action. We have formally told both the Government of India and the High Commissioner that we will participate in an international relief effort for these refugees. We believe this relief effort should be truly international and non-political, with the international and voluntary agencies involved given facilities to make objective assessments of needs and reasonable inspections of the use of the relief supplies.
While this UNHCR effort is being organized, we have concurrently begun to provide emergency food assistance for 217,000 refugees in West Bengal. This assistance is being distributed by three American voluntary agencies already operating in India-CARE, Catholic Relief Services and Church World Service/Lutheran World Relief. These voluntary agencies are drawing on existing PL-150 Title II stocks in India, which are being replenished. Food will likely continue to be the most useful item we can supply in this situation, and we are taking steps to assure that additional food is available to meet expected requirements. All this food assistance will be provided as a part of the international relief program organized by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. We have informed the Pakistan Government of the Title II assistance to the refugees and it has expressed no objection to American voluntary agencies engaging in the distribution of relief supplies to the refugees.
To date we have authorized up to $25 million in food and other assistance as our initial contribution to the international relief effort.
Representatives of American voluntary agencies who have visited some of the refugee camps report no serious food shortages as of that time, and no unusual evidence of disease.
