পাতা:বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্র (ত্রয়োদশ খণ্ড).pdf/৩৮৪

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356 ংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্রঃ ত্রয়োদশ খন্ড শিরোনাম ਸ੍ਰੋ। তারিখ পাকিস্তানে অস্ত্রের নতুন চালানঃ সিনেটর সিনেটের কার্যবিবরণী ২৩ জুন, ১৯৭১ হাটের মন্তব্য S 9764 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD–SENATE Jun, 23, 1971 Renewed U. S. Aid to Pakistan Mr. Hart, Mr. President, I am appalled to read in today's press that the administration has given approval to renew shipment of U. S. military equipment to Pakistan. In the face of eye-witness accounts that wholesale slaughter is being inflicted on the people of East Pakistan, it is inconceivable to me that our Government would place additional military material in the hands of the Government of Pakistan. Mr. President, this is not a time or a place for "business as usual." It is dismaying to me that our Government has not yet perceived that the overwhelming majority of the American people are sickened by U. S. involvement in mass killing. Surely this is a situation where restraint on our part would be not only the humane thing to do, but might also serve as a turnabout step away from world chaos and toward world peace. Equally alarming is the State Department's apparent lack of candor in its repeated insistence that "no military items have been provided to the Government of Pakistan or its agents since the outbreak of fighting in East Pakistan March 25 and nothing is now scheduled for such delivery." Certainly in the past week, the grave dangers of such lack of candor and misleading statements of official policy have been highlighted all too vividly. It appears that the Departments of State and Defense, knowing full well the thrust of public and congressional inquiries about continued military assistance to Pakistan, either attempted simply to ignore the stated official position of our Government or employed very questionable criteria in permitting the shipment. Either explanation raises grave questions about the executive department's reliability in its dealing with the Congress and the public-at a time when it is asking for the utmost trust and reliance upon its disclosure policy. I commend the Senator from Idaho for his discussion of this matter on the Senate floor yesterday and join him in asking that the executive branch provide a full explanation of this disturbing incident. Specifically, I request an explanation of what criteria were used in reaching the conclusion that the State Department could represent that no arms had been "provided" since March 25, and that no shipments were "scheduled."