পাতা:বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্র (ত্রয়োদশ খণ্ড).pdf/৫৩০

502 ংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্রঃ ত্রয়োদশ খন্ড A spokesman said, however that the commission would not take any action immediately but would study the situation. In its communication to the regulatory agency, the shipping agency said the Padma's cargo includes the following shipments by the Agency for International Development: pharmaceutical supplies, pesticides, firefighting equipment, and electric generators. The State Department, however, confirmed that the cargo included an arms shipment for which an export license was issued before the March 25 ban on such shipments for Pakistan became effective. The following is an enumeration and valuation of the military shipments in the Padma's cargo as given by the State Department: aircraft spare parts S924,329 spare parts for military vehicles, $184, 187; electronic spare parts, $25,417; spare parts for vessels, $45,117 and artillery spare parts, $2,830. All the military material, which included 2, 200 rounds of 22-caliber ammunition as part of the artillery supplies, was loaded on the Padma in New York late last month, the State Department said. The ship then sailed for Montreal, where it was to receive 46 crates of spare parts for the United States-supplied Sabre jets. The loading of the crates was prevented by the Canadian government. In Baltimore the Padma, which is riding high and appears half-empty, was Scheduled to load non-military goods, its shipping agents said. These goods included an unknown amount of electrolytic tinplates, which now stand in a warehouse on the pier bearing the familiar AID symbol of crossed hands on their packages. Another shipment of steel products awaits the ship in Mobile, maritime sources said. About 30 members and sympathizers of the Philadelphia-based Friends of East Bengal yesterday continued their protest of the arms shipment, picketing the gate of Port Covington and holding their signs from a small flotilla of canoes near the ship. Night In Jail When the Padma-the name means "lotus" in Urdu-arrived at Port Covington Wednesday night, city police in two boats arrested three canoes full of demonstrators. After spending the night in a Southern district lockup, six of them-all of Philadelphia-received probation without verdict for interfering with naval passage and disobeying a policeman's order. One other demonstrator was not charged. In a press conference near the gate to Port Covington yesterday, the demonstrators said they were planning to extend their protest action. (The Bultimore Sun, July 16, 1971)