পাতা:বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্র (দ্বাদশ খণ্ড).pdf/৮১২

ԳԵՆ বাংরাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্রঃ দ্বাদশ খন্ড GANDHI): Mr. Speaker, Sir, first of all if, I may say so. you have the House, some news we have received. . . . . . MR. SPEAKER: I thought the office had sent it to me to announce it. I do not know. SHRIMATI INDIRA GANDHI: The point is that this news has come through Radio Pakistan and, therefore, I cannot say whether it is true or not. We should not Automatically take it as true because it could be just propaganda. Sir, strength does not lie in words. If my colleague Sardar Sahib has not spoken with passion, it is not due to lack of feeling either on his part or on the part of the Government but because of the fact that we are deeply conscious of the historic importance of this movement and the seriousness of the situation. Something new had happened in East Bengal-a democratic action where an entire people had spoken with almost one voice. We had welcomed this, not because we wanted to interfere in another country's affairs, but, because those were the values, as one of my Hon'ble friends pointed out, for which we have always stood and for which we have always spoken out. And we had hoped that this action would lead to a new situation in. our neighboring country which would help us to get closer, which would help us to serve our own people better and create an entirely new situation in this sub-continent. As our statement has said, this did not happen and a wonderful opportunity for even the strengthening of Pakistan has been lost and has been lost in a manner which is tragic, which is agonizing and about which we cannot find strong, enough words to speak. This again is a new situation but in a different way. It is not merely the suppression of a movement, but it is meeting an unarmed people with tanks. We are in close touch, as close touch with the events as is possible in such a S1fuldt IOI). I am sure Hon'ble Members will understand that it is not possible for the Government to say very much more on this occasion. I would like to assure the Hon'ble Members who asked whether decisions would be taken on time, that obviously that is the most important thing to do. There is no point in taking a decision when the time for it is over. We are fully alive to the situation and we shall keep constantly in touch with what is happening and what we need to do. I agree with him also that we must not take merely a theoretical view. At the same time we have to follow proper international norms. Various other suggestions have been made about genocide and so on, about which we are fully conscious and which we have also discussed with the leaders of the Opposition. At this moment I can only say that we do fully share the agony, the emotions of the House and their deep concern over these developments. We have always believed that freedom is indivisible. We have always raised our voice for those who have suffered, but in a serious situation like this, the less we, as a Government say, I think the better it is at this moment. I can assure the House that we shall keep in close touch with the situation and also we shall keep in close touch with the leaders of the Opposition so that they can continue to give us their suggestions and we can also give them whatever knowledge we are able to.