বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্র (ত্রয়োদশ খণ্ড)/৮০
| শিরোনাম | সূত্র | তারিখ |
| বাংলাদেশে দুর্ভিক্ষের হুমকি মোকাবেলার জন্য সিনেটর কেনেডীর আহবান | সিনেটের কার্যবিবরণী | ৩ মে, ১৯৭১ |
May 3, 1971 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATES 6089 CONCERN OVER DEVELOPMENTS IN EAST PAKISTAN
Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, on April 1,1 spoke in the Chamber to express my deep concern over developments in East Pakistan.
Suppressed reports to ours Government were telling of a heavy toll being paid by the civilian population as a result of the violence. It was a story of indiscriminate killing, the execution of students and dissident political elements, and the suffering of tens of thousands of innocent civilians. It was a story of families dislocated and homes lost. It was a story of little food and water. And coming in the aftermath of tragedy by natural disaster, the outbreak of violence and the near total disruption of government services were compounding an already difficult situation. Conditions were threatening famine for millions-and the spread of epidemic and disease.
Over the last month I have communicated my concern in this matter to officials in the Department of State and elsewhere, in an effort to encourage and support reasonable initiatives by our Government and the international community to help meet the urgent political and humanitarian problems of East Pakistan,
Regrettably, the record will show that little has been done. And so the plight of the people in East Pakistan is rapidly deteriorating into a nightmare of more suffering and death for millions.
Although reports suggest that violence has subsided considerably, reports also indicate that feelings are tense between the people and the army of the central government. The great bulk of the population is alienated as a result of the army's violent repression-which, as events in Dacca last week underscore, continues sporadically.
Moreover, reports also indicate that the army effectively controls little ground-and that except for Dacca, and Jessore, and the area immediately surrounding these cities, government services and administration are practically nonexistent. The transportation and distribution of available food stocks and medical supplies is at a standstill-even in the area ravaged by last fall's natural disaster, where conservative estimates say a million persons are solely dependent for an effective relief survival operations. The tragedy of the Bengali people in East Pakistan has now spilled over into India, which so far has found it necessary to give asylum to well over a million refugees.
Mr. President, hundreds of thousands of people in Hast Pakistan-perhaps millions of people-are slowly reaching the point of starvation and death.
We are conditioned in the world we have created, to accept such suffering and injustice-especially in our time when violent conflict and oppression are active in so many areas. But-the newer world we seek will not evolve if we ignore these challenges to leadership, and lake comfortable refuge in the mundane patterns and attitudes of the past.
In the ease of East Pakistan-in the effort to help her people caught in the passion of conflict-I cannot believe that our Government and the international community stand paralyzed in face of great tragedy. The situation can no longer be ignored. At stake are human lives-innocent lives-Pakistani lives thousands, even millions of liveswhose destruction will burden the conscience of all mankind, unless something more is done to save them.
It is easy to deplore the repression and political disorganization in East Pakistan. It is easy to deplore the deteriorating conditions of the people. It is easy to proclaim a policy of concern. It is easy to advocate meaningful steps to ameliorate the conflict and bring relief to the people.
But such rhetoric is no alternative to action. And I strongly feel that whatever our own Government has done on the humanitarian needs in East Pakistan, has fallen short of what should have been done and, like so much of our moral and humanitarian leadership in recent years, has been done without a sense of urgency, creativity, and deep compassion for those in dire need.
And so today, as an American concerned about the dignity and preservation of the ultimate resource on our planet. I appeal for immediate action by the United Nations, which so far has chosen silence over leadership. I appeal to the leaders of Pakistan, to the leaders of other countries, and to our own Government, to support a mercy mission and airlift into areas in need. And, hopefully, the appeal of the Indian Government for assistance to meet refugee needs within her borders, will receive a sympathetic response by all concerned.
Let us leave no stone unturned in accomplishing this objective. But let us do so with meaningful action to meet immediate needs, and with the urgency a serious crisis of people demands.