বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্র (ত্রয়োদশ খণ্ড)/৮৬
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SUSPENSION OF MILITARY ASSISTANCE TO, PAKISTAN
MAY 13, 1971.
Mr. MANSFIELD (for Mr. FULBRIGHT), from the Committee on
Foreign Relations, submitted the following
REPORT
[To accompany S. Con. Res. 21]
The Committee on Foreign Relations, to which was referred the concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 21) calling for the suspension of military assistance to Pakistan, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon with amendments and recommends that the concurrent resolution as amended do pass.'
PURPOSE
The purpose of S. Con. Res. 21, as amended, is to express the sense of the Congress that all American, military assistance and licenses for military sales to Pakistan should be suspended until the conflict ill East Pakistan is resolved and the distribution of relief supplies in that area is undertaken.
BACKGROUND
As a result of long standing differences between political factions in West and East Pakistan, the Pakistan army took control of Dacca, the, capital of East Pakistan on March 25, 1971. Although all foreign news correspondents were expelled from East Pakistan, reports received from various sources indicated that the Pakistan army was engaged in indiscriminate killing of civilians with military equipment furnished by the United States Publicly, at the, outset at least. State Department spokesmen said they were unable to confirm that U.S. military equipment was being used to kill East “Pakistanis. It was not until 1971, almost a month after the Pakistan army took control in East Pakistan that a letter was received from the Department in response to a Committee inquiry stating that reports had been received indicating that M-24 tanks and F-85 aircraft have been observed in use in East Pakistan in recent weeks"This was the first official communication on the subject which was received by the Committee on Foreign Relations. The correspondence referred to is reprinted in the appendix to this report.
U.S. MILITARY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
With very few exceptions, the types and, amounts of military assistance which the United States has furnished to the Government of Pakistan are classified. Nevertheless, it can be said that prior to the war between India and Pakistan in 1965, American grant military aid to Pakistan, including military training for thousands of Pakistanis, amounted to hundreds of millions of dollars. As a result of the India-Pakistan conflict, in September 1965 the United States placed an embargo on further shipments of military equipment to both countries. Since that time, however, although the Communist Chinese have been the main source of arms supplies for Pakistan, the Unified States has also furnished certain military equipment to the Pakistanis. For example, in the letter dated April 23, referred to above, it is stated.
Since we terminated MAP grant assistance and suspended military sales to Pakistan and India in 1965, we have supplied no lethal end-items to Pakistan. After resuming a limited military sales program to both countries in 1966-67, we have sold to Pakistan, predominantly for cash, only non lethal equipment and spare parts and ammunition for arms previously supplied by us. Non-lethal items have included trainer and transport aircraft; transport equipment such as trucks and jeeps and communications, medical and engineering equipment. Ammunition in various calibres for weapons supplied prior to the embargo in 1965 has comprised less than 15 percent of the total sales program since 1966. We have continued to sell spare parts and ammunition in order to keep previously supplied U. S. equipment operational, in the belief that to allow this equipment to become inoperative would compel Pakistan to purchase more expensive and modem replacements, diverting resources from economic development to defense and fueling an arms race in the Subcontinent.
The April 23 letter also states that in October 1970 the Administration announced a “one-time exception to our military supply policy to sell Pakistan a limited quantity of arms.” As Senator Case pointed out when he introduced S. Con. Res. 21. the equipment involved consists of armored personnel carriers, modified patrol aircraft, fighter planes (F-104's) and bombers (B-57's). None of these items have been delivered and nothing is in the pipeline. It should be noted, however, that although U. S. officials have suspended discussions on these sales, the offer to sell the equipment has not been resinded.
INACCESSIBILITY OF INFORMATION
Wafaturately because the State Department refused to furnish curtained developments the Committee has had to rely on unofficial sources for information relating to developments in East Pakistan. In this connection, the Committee received a letter (dated April 9, 1971) written by Mr. Jon E. Rhode, an employee of the United States Public Health Service, which states in Part as follows:
আমেরিকান সরকারী দলিল পত্র অধ্যায়ে দ্রষ্টব্য।
*** As a result of complete press censorship and expulsion of journalist banning of the major political party in Pakistan, and repressed information about the military campaign against the civilians of East Pakistan, it probably has been difficult for you to obtain a clear picture of events since that date. From the outset of the army action, the American Consul General. Mr. Archer Blood, and his staff in Dacca have continued to send detailed factual accounts enumerating first hand reports of the situation. These reports have been carefully collected and verified before transmission to the State Department.
The reports of the American Consul, Mr. Blood (available to Senators and Congressmen), contain a more detailed, and complete account of the situation. In addition, he has submitted concrete proposals for constructive moves our government can make. While in no way suggesting that we interfere with Pakistan's internal affairs, Mr. Blood asserts, and we support him, that the U. S. must not continue to condone the military action with official silence. We also urge you read the Dacca official community's open cable to the State Department. It is for unlimited distribution and states the facts about the situation in East Pakistan. By not making a statement, the State Department supports the clearly immoral action of the West Pakistani army, navy and air force against the Bengali people.
In view of the foregoing, and contrary to the assumption of the correspondent, Mr. Rhode, that Senators and Congressmen had these reports, the Committee asked the Department of State to furnish it with reports it had received from its posts in West and East Pakistan, as well as the “open cable" sent by the official community of Dacca. The Department replied that it was unable to accede to the request “without departing from established practice." (The exchange of correspondence is appended to this report.) This refusal is contrary to past practice. There have been a number of occasions when classified reports and messages have been shown to Committee members in the past, especially when it has served the interests of the Department of State to do so.
In the Committee's view, if it does not have access to the type of information requested, it has no basis upon which to exercise independent judgment and therefore is not in a position to carry out its constitutional foreign policy responsibilities. This practice of the State Department in denying information has serious implications, not only for the Senate as a whole, but for the people the Members of that body were elected to represent. Accordingly, the Committee cannot acquire in this practice of denying information to the Committee. In the absence of increased, cooperation in the future, the Committee will find it necessary to develop to appropriate measures to rectify the situation.
COMMITTEE ACTION
S. Con. Res. 21 was introduced by Senator Case (for himself, and Senators Bayh, McGovern. Mondale, Muskie and Saxbe), on April 15, 1971, and was referred to the Department of State for comment on April 21. Subsequently, the following Senators co-sponsored the resolution: Senators Brooke, Church, Eagleton, Hartke, Hatfield, Hughes, Javits, Kennedy, Pearson, Pell, Proxmire, Ribicoff, and Stevenson.
The resolution was discussed briefly during an executive session held on April 30, when Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Van Hollen and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense James Noye tesified on the situation in Pakistan. At that time, Mr. Van Hollen informed the Committee that the Executive Branch had not formulated a position on the resolution. The Committee met in executive session on May 6, and by a voice vote ordered S. Con. Res. 21 reported favorably to the Senate with amendments. Comments on the resolution were received from the Department of State Shortly before the Committee acted.Distribution of Relief. Supplies
The Committee added an amendment to S. Con. Res. 21 which is designed to encourage the administration to take such measures as may be appropriate to expedite the distribution of relief supplies in East Pakistan. According to the Department of State, adequate food supplies are available. However, unless facilities and other channels of distribution are cleared, there is a potential danger that a serious food shortage could develop and result in a famine.
Executive Branch Position
The department of State is opposed to the enactment of S. Con. Res. 21. In a letter dated May 6, 1971, the Department points out that “Much has already been done *** that parallels the basic concern expressed in the concurrent resolution." In addition, the Department states that it would appear desirable to continue to supply military items to Pakistan in order to “maintain a constructive bilateral political dialogue and to help ensure that Pakistan is not compelled to rely increasingly on other sources of supply." The State Department letter is incorporated in the appendix to this report.
Conclusions and Recommendations
Pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 2 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. as amended, military assistance is authorized to be furnished to foreign countries for the purpose of strengthening the security of the United States and promoting world peace (Sec. 503). In addition Section (a)(1) (C) of the Act provides that “no defense articles shall be furnished to any country on a grant basis unless it shall be agreed that it will not * use or permit the use of such articles for purposes other than those for which furnished." Moreover, sub-section (d) of Section 505 provides as follows.
(d) Any country which hereafter uses defense articles or defense services furnished such country under this Act, the mutual Security Act of 1954, as amended, or any predecessor foreign assistance Act, in substantial violation of the provisions of this chapter or any agreements entered into pursuant to any of such Acts shall be immediately ineligible for further assistance.
One of the justifications for furnishing military assistance to Pakistan is to enable that country to combat the external threat of Communist aggression and to prevent internal communist infiltration and subversion.
By no stretch of the imagination, however, was it intended that such assistance would be used for the purpose of suppressing freely elected representatives of the people and killing innocent civilians. In the words of Senator Mondale.
There is something very wrong when guns, tanks, and planes supplied by the United States are used against the very people they are supposed to protect.
In the Committee's view, the manner in which U. S. military equipment was used in East Pakistan is in “substantial violation" of Chapter 2 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended, and it recommends that the Senate approved S. Con. Res. 21 without delay.APPENDIX
Secretary of state,
Washington, D.C.
DEAR MR. SECRETARY: In view of disturbing reports from East Pakistan of seeming military excesses. I would appreciate receiving urgently a full account of the extent to which United States supplied Military grant assistance has been used in Pakistan.
I have particularly in mind the provisions of Chapter II, Part II, of the Foreign Assistance Act which define the purposes for which military assistance is granted to a country and the accountability of recipients for the use of such equipment.
In addition, I would like to know the current status of discussion with Pakistan concerning the proposed sale of military equipment to Pakistan by the United States. I would be helpful, if, in your reply you could also include the state of any current shipments of U. S. military parts, supplies or equipment, lethal or otherwise, to Pakistan.
J. W. FULBRIGHT, Chairman.
Secretary of State,
Washington, D.C.
DEAR MR. SECRETARY: In preparation for an executive hearing which the Committee on Foreign Relations expects to schedule next week, it is requested that the Department of State furnish the committee with those reports (including cables and telegrams) which it has received from Posts in West and East Pakistan regarding the current crisis in that country. In addition, I am informed that the official community of Dacca sent an open cable to the State Department earlier this month. It would be appreciated if this cable could also be made available to the committee. I would be grateful if you could comply with these requests at the earliest practicable date,
J. W. FULBRIGHT, Chairman.
Chairman Committee on Foreign Relations,
U. S. Senate, Washington, D.C.
DEAR SENATOR FULBRIGHT: As Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relation of the Senate, I know you must be deeply concerned about the civil war that has been raging in East Pakistan since March 25th. My husband and I have recently returned to the United States after a five-week visit with my son who has been living in Dacca for the past three Years. Although we left before the outbreak of hostilities, we were fully aware of the strained political relations that had developed following the elections of last December. We have just received a letter from my son, Jon, who was evacuated to Tehran, Iran along with many other Americans on April 7th. He has asked me to forward the attached letter to you as well as to other members of the Foreign Relations Committee. The letter speaks for itself, but I would like to quote one paragraph (page three) with which my husband and I are in complete agreement.
"Fully recognizing the inability of our Government to oppose actively or to intervene in this desperate oppression of the of the Bengalis, urge you to seek and support a condemnation by congress and the President of the United States of the inhuman treatment being accorded the 75 million people of East Pakistan. The silence of our government is being widely regarded as tacit approval of the action being taken by the Pakistan Military."
EDGAR F. ROHDE.
APO New York, N. Y. April 9, 1971.
Two days ago my wife and I were evacuated from Dacca, East Pakistan where I have been posted for the past three years under a L". S. AID program. I am certain that you are aware of the political events preceding the army crackdown on March 25th. As a result of complete press censorship and expulsion of journalists banning of the major political party in Pakistan, and repressed information about the military complain against the civilians of East Pakistan, it probably has been difficult for you to obtain a clear picture of events since that date. From the outset of the army action the American Consul General Mr. Archer Blood and his staff in Dacca have continued to send detailed factual accounts enumerating first hand reports of the situation. These reports have been carefully connected and verified before transmission to the State Department. Publicity the State Department claims they do not have enough facts; but I have been the facts sent at length daily from Dhaka. The American Consul in Karachi also stated to me that only recently had he begun to receive the accounts about the situation in East Pakistan, when the Consulate in Dacca has been transmitting information from the start of the action.
Although Consul Blood's reports contain a more. Detailed account of the current situation, I wish to bring to your attention the observations I have made in the past weeks in Dacca. My wife and I watched from our roof the night of March 25th as tanks rolled out of the Cantonment illuminated by the flares and the red glow of fires as the city was shelled by artillery and mortars were fired into overcrowded slums and bazaars. After some days of loud explosions and the ceaseless chatter of machine gun we took advantage of a break in the curfew to drive through the city. Driving past streams of refugees. We saw burned out shacks of the families living by the rail-road tracks. A Bengali friend living close by had watched the army set fire to the hovels, and as the families ran out, he saw them shot “like dogs". He accepted our offer to take him and his family of 12 into our home. In the Old City of Dhaka, we walked through the remains of Nayer Bazaar. Where Moslem and Hindu woodcutters and worked, now only a tangle of iron sheet and smoldering ruins. The Hindu shopkeepers and craftsmen still alive in the bombed ruins of Shankari Bazaar begged me to help them only hours after the army had moved in to kill all the inhabitants. On the 29th of March at Ramna Kali Bari, an ancient Hindu village of 200-300 people in the center of the Dacca Ramna Race Course, we saw the stacks of machine-gunned, burning remains of man, women and children butchered in the early morning hours of the day. I photographed the scene hours later, although the following day three British citizens suspected of photographing a church were set against a wall after grilling by an Army officer and were saved from execution by the timely arrival of the British Consul.
At the Dacca University area on the 29th, we walked through Jagannath Hall and Iqbal Hall, two of the student dormitories, which had been shelled by army tanks and all residents were slaughtered. We saw the breach in the wall where the tank broke through, the mass grave in front of the hall where one man who was forced by the army to help drag the bodies outside, counted 103 of the Hindu students buried there. We saw the massive holes in the walls of the dormitory, the smoking remains of the rooms, and the heavily blood stained floors.
The two ensuing weeks have documented the planned killing of much of the intellectual community, including a majority of the professors at Dacca University and many families of these professors were shoot as well. Full documentation of the names of people killed is difficult due to the army's thorough search of people leaving Dacca. Complete censorship was facilitated when three prominent mass circulation daily newspapers were burned: The people, The Ittefaq, and the Sangbad. While Radio Pakistan continued to broadcast that life had returned to normal, we witnessed the daily movement of thousands of civilians fleeing the terrorized city.
In Gulshan, one of the suburbs of Dacca where we lived, we witnessed the disarming of the Last Pakistan Rifles stationed in the Children's Park across the street, the army looting the food supplies from the market nearly, and finally the execution of several EPR as they were forced by Punjabi soldiers onto a truck to be “taken away.” The mass execution of several thousands of Bengali policemen and the EPR is already documented. We also witnessed from a neighbor's house, army personnel fire three shots across Gulshan Lake at several little boys who were swimming. Almost every night there was sporadic gunfire near our home, adding to the fear of the 26 refugees staying with us.
It would be possible for me to chronicle many specific atrocities, but we have left close friends behind whose lives might be more endangered. It is clear that the law of the jungle prevails in Hast Pakistan where the mass killing of unarmed civilians, the systematic elimination of the intelligentia, and the annihilation of the Hindu population is in progress.
The reports of the American Consul, Mr. Blood (available to Senators and Congressmen) contain a more detailed and complete account of the situation. In addition, he has submitted concrete proposals for constructive moves our Government can make. While in no way suggesting that we interfere with Pakistanis internal affairs. Mr. Blood asserts, and we support him, that the U.S. must not continue to condone the military action with official silence We also urge you to read the Dacca official community's open cable to the State Department. It is for unlimited distribution and states the facts about the situation in East Pakistan. By not making a statement, the State Department supports the clearly immoral action of the West Pakistani army, navy and air force against the Bengali people.
Fully recognizing the inability of our government to oppose actively or to intervene in this oppression of the Bengalis. I urge you to seek and support a condemnation by Congress and the President of the United States of the inhuman treatment being accorded the 75 million people of East Pakistan. The silence of our government is being widely regarded as tacit approval of the action being taken by the Pakistan military. No political consideration can outweigh the importance of a humanitarian stand reiterating the American brief in the value of individual lives and a democratic process of government. The action of President Yahya banning the democratically elected majority party who had 98 % of the East Wing's electorate backing them, ought to arouse a response from a country who prides itself on the democratic process.
We urge you to speak out actively against the tragic massacre of civilians and take the humanitarian stand which must override any consideration of power politics.