পাতা:বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্র (ত্রয়োদশ খণ্ড).pdf/৩২২

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বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্রঃ ত্রয়োদশ খণ্ড

 শিরোনাম  সূত্র   তারিখ
বাংলাদেশে দুর্ভিক্ষের হুমকি মোকাবেলার জন্য সিনেটর কেনেডীর আহবান সিনেটের কার্যবিবরণী ৩ মে, ১৯৭১

May 3, 1971 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATES 6089 CONCERN OVER DEVELOPMENTS IN EAST PAKISTAN

 Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, on April 1,1 spoke in the Chamber to express my deep concern over developments in East Pakistan.

 Suppressed reports to ours Government were telling of a heavy toll being paid by the civilian population as a result of the violence. It was a story of indiscriminate killing, the execution of students and dissident political elements, and the suffering of tens of thousands of innocent civilians. It was a story of families dislocated and homes lost. It was a story of little food and water. And coming in the aftermath of tragedy by natural disaster, the outbreak of violence and the near total disruption of government services were compounding an already difficult situation. Conditions were threatening famine for millions-and the spread of epidemic and disease.

 Over the last month I have communicated my concern in this matter to officials in the Department of State and elsewhere, in an effort to encourage and support reasonable initiatives by our Government and the international community to help meet the urgent political and humanitarian problems of East Pakistan,

 Regrettably, the record will show that little has been done. And so the plight of the people in East Pakistan is rapidly deteriorating into a nightmare of more suffering and death for millions.

 Although reports suggest that violence has subsided considerably, reports also indicate that feelings are tense between the people and the army of the central government. The great bulk of the population is alienated as a result of the army's violent repression-which, as events in Dacca last week underscore, continues sporadically.

 Moreover, reports also indicate that the army effectively controls little ground-and that except for Dacca, and Jessore, and the area immediately surrounding these cities, government services and administration are practically nonexistent. The transportation and distribution of available food stocks and medical supplies is at a standstill-even in the area ravaged by last fall's natural disaster, where conservative estimates say a million persons are solely dependent for an effective relief survival operations. The tragedy of the Bengali people in East Pakistan has now spilled over into India, which so far has found it necessary to give asylum to well over a million refugees.

 Mr. President, hundreds of thousands of people in Hast Pakistan-perhaps millions of people-are slowly reaching the point of starvation and death.

 We are conditioned in the world we have created, to accept such suffering and injustice-especially in our time when violent conflict and oppression are active in so many