People's upsurge is crushed by the military, anti-people and anti-democratic junta with the “revolutionaries" champions of the people standing by in obedience to the wishes of that junta?”
J. P. went on an extensive tour of several countries during May-June, 1971 to rouse public opinion abroad on the Bangladesh issue. He visited Cairo, Rome, Belgrade, Moscow, Helsinki, Stockholm, Bonn, Paris, London, Washington, New York, Ottawa, Vancouver, Tokyo, Djakarta, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. On his return, he issued of peace." We give below extracts from the statement. (Emphasis added)
I had undertaken this mission as a servant of peace on behalf of the sarva Seva Sangh and the Gandhi Peace Foundation. I am very thankful indeed, for all the help. financial and other wise that I received from them.
Equally, I must express my warm appreciation of all the help and hospitality that we received from our country's representatives in all the capital we visited. We are most thankful to them particular and to the Government of India in general for all that they did to make my mission as useful as possible.
It was not to beg for aid for refugee relief or only to talk about human suffering and to arouse the moral conscience of the world that I undertook the arduous trip. Succour for millions of refugees who have fled to India, as well as succour for many millions more subjected to terror in Bangladesh and faced with famine and epidemic there, is of course urgent and I naturally spoke about it. As for the moral conscience of the world or what is left of it, the press everywhere, except for Cairo, has donc, and I think is still doing, a wonderful job.
My greater concern was with the political issues involved and the need for their urgent resolution, because as I tried to point out to those whom I met, the refugee problem and the humanitarian problem were only by-products of the underlying political problem.
Thanks to the world press as well as to other sources of information including their own diplomatic channels. I found that governments were fairly well posted in regard to the political aspects of the question. I think it was generally felt that the Government of Pakistan by using its brutal might to suppress the democratic verdict of the people of Bangladesh had put in to jeopardy the very survival of Pakistan as a united nation. Yet, I found the spokesmen of some governments clutching at the straw of hope that some links between the two wings might still be preserved. Therefore, they all seemed to be pressing Pakistan to stop military operations and seek a political accommodation-this was the popular term in Washington-with the leads of Bangladesh. When questioned if they had accommodation with stooges in their mind, they were emphatic in disclaiming any such thought. Again, when confronted with the view that after what the Pakistan army had done in Bangladesh no self-respecting Bengali would accept even a tenuos link" with West Pakistan wishful thinking took the place of hard reason.
