NEWSWEEK, AUGUST 16, 1971
PAKISTAN: MOMENT OF DECISION
In an opening statement at his press conference last week, President Nixon argued for continued U.S. support of the Pakistani Government, despite its harsh attempts to suppress the Bangladesh Independence movement in the eastern portion of the country. “We feel”, explained the President, “that the most constructive role we can play is to continue our economic assistance to West Pakistan and, thereby, to be able to influence the course of events ” But even as Mr. Nixon spoke, fourteen Bengali diplomats were coming to a far different conclusion.
At a news conference held just three blocks from the White House, the diplomats announced their resignation from the Pakistani Embassy and United Nations mission. “It is no longer possible.,” said Sayid F. Karim deputy permanent representative to the U.N., “to remain silent spectators to the barbarous actions of the Pakistan Government, which has turned Bangladesh into a land of death and terror. This is our moment of decision.” The decision will probably lead to political asylum in the U.S. for the fourteen Bengalis. And the defectors were hoping that their example would prompt similar resignations at other Pakistani missions around the world.