পাতা:বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্র (ত্রয়োদশ খণ্ড).pdf/৯৮৬

958 ংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্রঃ ত্রয়োদশ খন্ড where those articles come, they will not divert the world's attention from the massive war that has descended upon the sub-continent. And while the war goes on, blame is unimportant. Each of us in this Council can have his views as to who is to blame; and certainly, our colleague from India is entitled to his. But at this critical moment in history, blame is unimportant; stopping the slaughter, stopping the invasion, somehow seems to our people to be desperately important. At our meeting last night, I noted that the Council had been convened because it was faced with a clear and present threat to the peace of the world, because the area and the scope of the fighting had broadened and had intensified, and because the Council had a responsibility under the Charter to stop the fighting and preserve the territorial integrity of Member States. Eleven Members of this Council-a clear majority-signified on two separate occasions their desire to exercise the responsibilities of the Security Council under the Charter. They voted in favor of two draft resolutions which called upon the Governments of India and Pakistan to take measures forthwith for an immediate cease-fire and withdrawal of their armed forces from the territory of the other to their own side of the borders. They recognized the need to intensify efforts to bring about speedily and in accordance with the principles of the Charter conditions necessary for the voluntary return of the East Pakistan refugees to their homeland. But unfortunately-as our colleague from Argentina mentioned and as we pointed out last night-one Permanent Member of this Council did not support that approach and exercised, under the rules, its veto over those two draft resolutions. In the midst of this grave situation, the action of that Member has rendered the Council unable to act in order to restore peace and security in South Asia, and we are not able in this crisis even to call for a halt to the fighting and the return of troops to within their own borders. In these circumstances, we are faced with the prospect that the world will conclude that the United Nations is unable to fulfill its Charter obligations to restore international peace and security where they are threatened. This Council must do all within its power to ensure that this does not happen. It must explore every feasible avenue for action. And, to judge by statements made by most Members at our last meeting, it is also clear that a large majority is agreed that we cannot leave the matter where it is ; the status quo is intolerable. The threat to peace is too real and the plight of the refugees and the civilian population in general is too urgent for us to engage in further demonstrations of the inability of this Council to carry out its duties under the Charter. Fortunately, there are additional steps that we can take to permit the full Membership of the United Nations to examine this urgent question and bring its influence to bear in favor of restoring peace in South Asia. The "Uniting for Peace" resolution provides that: to . . ... if the Security Council, because of lack of unanimity of the Permanent Members, fails to exercise its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, in any case where there appears to be a threat to the peace, breach of the peace or act of aggression, the General Assembly shall consider the matter immediately with a view to making appropriate recommendations......