পাতা:বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্র (ত্রয়োদশ খণ্ড).pdf/৭২১

693 ংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্রঃ ত্রয়োদশ খন্ড responding to these needs. It is not too much to say that the future economic and social development of the entire sub-continent depends upon the alleviation, to the greatest extent possible, of the massive stresses and strains end engered by the present situation. All efforts that you can make to keep this in the forefront of the attention of governments and the public will be of immense importance. Please redouble the pressure that you are able to exert nationally and internationally to this end. As far as concerns ICVA as a collective voice of voluntary agencies in addition to regular contact with the international governmental and other bodies engaged in these programmes of humanitarian assistance, we have recognized a responsibility to demonstrate our collective concern to the governments concerned. The officers of ICVA have therefore agreed that advantage should be taken of the presence at the UN General Assembly in New York the representatives of all member governments and of a host of other institutions to press in the strongest possible terms: (a) for greatly increased humanitarian action and contributions for Pakistan refugees in India and rehabilitation needs in Pakistan; (b) for a meaningful General Assembly Resolution on this subject leading to further humanitarian action. In implementation of this we were glad that the Chairman of one of ICVA's member agencies, Mr. Micheal Rowntree of Oxfam, was able on our behalf to spend some time in New York shortly after the opening of the General Assembly. To carry on from this beginning, the Executive Director of ICVA, Mr. Cyril Ritchie, will be going to New York this week to maintain liaison with Assembly participants. Subsequent to that, Mr. Jacques Beaumont of IRFED and IORD, will canyon the mission, and will be followed by Mr. Leslie Kirkley, Director of OXFAM. Mr. Beaumont is currently a Vice-President of the ICVA General Conference, and Mr. Kirkely was of course President of the 1971 ICVA Conference. We hope to continue this mission until the end of November with the same, or with other representatives. While we cannot claim in advance that the influence we shall exert will be decisive, nevertheless we feel that to do any less would be in some way failing in our duty to the millions enveloped in the tragedy that has unfolded on the Indian sub-continent. I appeal to those of you who have your own NGO representation at the United Nations General Assembly to give every assistance possible to the members of the ICVA mission. I also ask you to have your own representation accord the highest priority to pressure for humanitarian action on the scale I have described. Yours sincerely, James E. Edgar Chairman, Governing Board.