পাতা:বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্র (দ্বাদশ খণ্ড).pdf/৮৭১

br8○ বাংরাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্রঃ দ্বাদশ খন্ড First of all, I would just like to remind the External Affairs Minister that while we are very much benefited. of course, by this kind of reminders that one Member of his party has just given us-that there are certain technical norms which are generally accepted in the international community as the criterion for determining whether a particular government is worthy of recognition or not-we are not now at this stage nor are we in a mood when we would like this thing to be repeated ad nauseam. I am sorry to have to say this. But if one seeks to base one's argument on the standards and accepted canons of international behavior, then the hon. Minister knows very well that actually the world does not move like that. A country which is smaller than Pakistan, Israel, has been asked by a unanimous resolution of the United Nations Security Council long ago to vacate the territories which they occupied by military action. But Israel has not taken the slightest step to carry out that decision of the United Nations Security Council. Has the world been able to do anything about it? The UN has more than once recommended that nobody should sell arms to South Africa. The UK Government goes on blatantly selling arms to South Africa. Can you do anything about it? So, let us be realistic and see the world we live in. It is no use trotting out hypothetical and theoretical canons and conditions to be fulfilled before you dare to give recognition. The world is not a place like that. You have to act according to your own national self-interest. It is not an act of generosity towards the people of Bangladesh. I do not want you to look it from that point of view. I want you to look at it from the point of view of our own national interest. That is the only criterion and that is what our Government spokesmen keep on telling us. When we say that they act under pressures, they say indignantly, "We are never pressurized. We act according to our national self-interest". Now is the testing time for it. We want to see what they will do now. Conditions have changed since last Monday. Two factors have emerged on the scene which have changed completely the line of thinking which the Government was pursuing so long. One is Yahya Khan's broadcast. I need not go into the details of it. So long, the line of thinking was, we must strive to bring about political settlement, rouse international public opinion and put pressure on other Governments, so that Yahya Khan is forced to come to a political settlement. Now he has given his reply to that in his broadcast. For an indefinite time, the military regime will continue. Martial Law will continue. East Pakistan will be colonized. No political settlement of any kind is visualized by them. The general elections are practically going to be nullified. All Awami League people who have been elected are going to be disqualified and bye-elections are going to be held. The Awami League will continue to be prescribed and banned. In all this business, there is not a single word-I regret to say in Sardar Swaran Singh's statement also which he made last Friday, there is not a single wordabout the release of Mujibur Rahman. All this slogan of political settlement is dead as a dodo now. Please do not go on repeating it. Yahya Khan has told you bluntly in so many words that is not the way he is going to go. Secondly, almost before our Minister had set his foot on his native soil, the United States Government has come out openly in the last few days with repeated statements issued in America that they have not the slightest intention of stopping or restricting