পাতা:বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্র (ত্রয়োদশ খণ্ড).pdf/৪৬

| 8 ংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্রঃ ত্রয়োদশ খন্ড শিরোনাম সূত্র তারিখ উাংলাদেশ পরিস্থিতির প্রত্যক্ষদর্শি কমনস সভার কার্যবিবরণী ১৪ মে, ১৯৭১ এমপিদের বিবরণ ও বিবৃতির ভিত্তিতে বিতর্ক এবং কমনস সভার প্রস্তাব HOUSE OF COMMONS Friday, 14" May, 1971 EAST PAKISTAN 11 : 5 a.m. Mr. Bruce Douglas-Mann (Kensington, North): I beg to move, That this House, deeply concerned by the killing and destruction which has taken place in East Pakistan, and the possible threat of food shortages later this year, calls upon Her Majesty's Government to use their influence to secure an end to the strife, the admission of United Nations or other international relief organizations, and the achievement of a political settlement which will respect the democratic rights of the people of Pakistan. This Motion is a little more specific than Early Day Motion No. 509 which I tabled, calling on the Government to use all their influence to secure a cease-fire in East Pakistan. That Motion has been signed by 300 Hon. Members, which I believe is a record for this Parliament, and it reflects the concern felt in the House and the country about the situation in East Pakistan. I hope that the change in the wording of the Motion will not detract from the support which that previous Motion gained. This second Motion only spells out in more detail what is implicit in the first-that there is a tragic situation in East Bengal, over which the British Government can and should exert some influence. The nature and extent of the tragedy are well-known. Estimates of the numbers who have died vary widely. The official estimate of the West Pakistan Government is that only 15,000 have died, but the lowest independent estimates start at 100,000, and many estimates are that over a million have died already. But whatever the numbers who have died, what is certain is that over 2 million people have thought that the situation in their country was so terrifying, that they have left their homes and taken refuge in India in absolutely appealing conditions. On 22nd April. I and my Right Hon. Friend the Member for Wednesbury (Mr. Stonehouse) visited a number of the refugee camps in West Bengal. The camps were appallingly overcrowded. They consisted of roofs of tarpaulins slung on poles, with corrugated iron laid on the ground and a straw mat on the top. The space allocation at that time was 10ft. by 10 ft. per family. The camps are nearly all situated in flat, lowlying ground, and at the time that I was there the rain were just starting. Immediately one stepped off the corrugated iron? one was in soft mud,