পাতা:বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্র (পঞ্চম খণ্ড).pdf/৪৬৯

445 বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্রঃ পঞ্চম খন্ড of United States. Malcolm Browne in this dispatch from Bangladesh writes "under the precepts of warfare laid down by such Asian strategists as Mao Se-tung, Bangladesh is a guerillas haven, with the terrain mostly on the side of the fighters of the Mukti Bahini". He further writes quoting the Mukti Bahini leader of the area saying "If you foreigners would send us the arms and ammunitions we need we could throw out the Pakistan army in 7 days. The correspondent further writes "traveling on a motor launch and a Shampan I was escorted to the hamlet which is south of Dacca by a guerilla guide. This guerilla I hamlet, in common with many rural communities in the deltaic flood plain of Bangladesh, is a good 20 miles from the nearest road or footpath. It is accessible only through a maiz of shallow canals clogged with water plains with innumerable positions for ambushing intruders." "Guerillas in liberated zones like this one feel completely secure from army operations and houses displayed Bangladesh posters and portraits of the imprisoned Bengali leaders Sk. Mujibur Rahman". The correspondent further appreciates the organisation of the Mukti Bahini by saying "when traveling with guerilla agent in Dacca and elsewhere, an elaborate system of signals and clandestine arrangements smoothed the way past any potential military obstacle. He further writes an exact knowledge of where won liberated zones ends and the other begins is important to everyone in Bangladesh. As a rule of thumb, foreign diplomats and military observers consider that about a quarter of the region is in the control of the guerillas who claim a force of at least 100,000 men. But even in the heart of army occupied territory Pakistani control is tenuous". Malcolm Browne further writes that the guerrilla commander told me "in common with all guerilla movements we captured our arms from the enemy". He further mentions "communications between guerilla districts are said to be rapid and reliable". During my visit a guerilla arrived from a distant zone carrying a plastic case sealed against the mud and rain and containing battle directives propaganda posters and copies of the mimeographed Mukti Bahini Newspaper. "Bangladesh forces take down in drive to gain control on vital communications link" were the headline of the Times of London on Nov. 18. It says, Bangladesh guerillas have captured the town of Darshana. The Mukti Bahini's aim in this sector seem to be to push further east to gain control of the main road link between the port of Chalna and districts in the north and the east. The Road is also vital for control of the important towns of Kushtia, Jessore and Khulna. John Stonehouse in a debate in the British Parliament on Nov. 18 again demanded of the British Government to recognize Bangladesh. In this debate in the House of Commons the former Cabinet Minister of the last Labor Government said the United Nations has through inactivity completely failed to do anything about the rape of Bangladesh and that some initiative must be taken to get Yahya Khan to call off the repression carried on by the army in East Bengal, to release Sk. Mujib and to allow the people of East Bengal to decide their own future.