THE STATESMAN, SEPTEMBER 19, 1971
RELEASE MUJIBUR UNCONDITIONALLY
CALL BY 24-NATION CONFERENCE
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BANGLADESH
From Our Special Representative
New Delhi, Sept. 18. – Delegates from 24 nations attending the international conference on Bangladesh gave a unanimous call here today for unconditional release of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman whom they described as the unquestioned leader of the people of Bangladesh.
The three-day conference which began its deliberations by observing two minutes’ silence in memory of those killed in Bangladesh, appealed to people of the world and its governments to bring pressure on the military Government of Pakistan to desist from the grave violation of all canons and laws governing civil liberties and human freedom recognized in all civilized communities.
The resolution moved by the chairman of the conference Mr. Jayaprakash Narayan, was adopted with the entire assembly standing to signify its unanimous support.
Mr. Narayan, in his address indicated “the world outside India, except Soviet Russia”, for failing to condemn the rulers of Pakistan for their crimes. Urging that the conference unequivocally condemn these rulers he added that, “condemnation alone will not do however”. As far as he was persuaded that the refugees would never return home until every Pakistani soldier had departed from Bangladesh and Bangladesh itself had become an independent sovereign country.
Different Case
He was aware he added, that his brief would immediately raise the specter, particularly in the minds of delegates from the Third World of disintegration of established nation-States. No sensible person would really want that he said, “but it would be wrong to generalize”. The case of Bangladesh was different in important respects from all other cases that had occurred in recent history.
First, there is no other nation-State in the world like Pakistan the two parts of which are separated by over 1,000 miles not of sea-some 700 miles-as in the case of Malaysia, but of Indian territory. Secondly there is nothing in common between the eastern and western wings of Pakistan except religion. Thirdly, the eastern wing had the majority nearly 60%, of the total population of Pakistan. Fourthly, due to a number of circumstances political and economic power was always held by a small oligarchy of West Pakistani military officers with the result that East Pakistan was reduced to the status of a colony.
Yet Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had never thought of secession. In fact, the Sheikh is on record as saying that a majority never secedes from a minority. Accordingly, the platform on which he had fought the last general election did not go beyond the demand for full internal autonomy. His victory however, threw the rulers of Pakistan into a panic, because it meant two major changes in the balance of economic and political power within the State-power to pass over from the military-civil oligarchy to the people and shifting of the centre of power from the west to the east. The rest was recent history and Mr. Narayan wondered how anyone could blame the Bengalis for having proclaimed independence in the face of the unprecedented tyranny let loose by the West Pakistani Army.
The Bengalis he added, had no alternative after what the Pakistanis had done to them since the midnight of March 25-26, As a freedom fighter myself I have no hesitation in saying that I would have done the same had I been in their position. In fact, I doubt if any self-respecting person or people anywhere in the world would act differently in similar circumstances.
“Pakistan No More”
Therefore Mr. Narayan added, it should be clearly understood that Pakistan as the world knew it was no more. Quoting Mr. Tajuddin Ahmed Prime Minister of Bangladesh, he said the country lay buried under a mountain of corpses.
While welcoming action on humanitarian and political levels Mr. Narayan commended to the delegates the formation of an armed international brigade like the one during the Spanish Civil War. In this connexion the reported offer of Mr. Andre Malraux who besides being a renowned author was also a guerrilla leader in the Spanish Civil War and a Maqui leader in France during World War II to come to the aid of Bengali guerrillas should be warmly welcomed and further explored.
Mr. Narayan also suggested that the conference consider “concrete proposals for governments of the world,” or such of them as we can hope to influence in some manner for extending moral, political and material support to the Bangladesh Government and its war of liberation. What Bangladesh was fighting against was the “Hitlerian junta in power in Islamabad which is keeping in subjugation the people of West Pakistan no less than the people of Bangladesh,” he said.
Ceylon’s Mr. Gunawardene, who had represented his country in the U.N. for over a decade, said: “Recognition of Bangladesh would be the victory of morality, the victory of right”, adds UNI.
He said Ceylonese were deeply moved by the tragedy of Bangladesh and did not view the happenings there as Pakistan’s internal matter. The people of Bangladesh had exercised their right to self determination and it was the duty of the world community to ensure that they got their legitimate right.
Mr. Gunawardene, along with nearly all the other speakers called upon the U.N. to take effective measures for the freedom of Bangladesh and ensure that there was not a single soldier of the “occupation force” left in East Bengal and that their beloved leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was freed.
He said: “There can of course be no military solution to the problem and even for a political solution it is too late now. The only solution is recognition by the international community of Bangladesh.”
“Dignity of Man”
The former Nepal Prime Minister Mr. B. P. Koirala, warned “If the lights go out in Bangladesh many other lights in the rest of the world are sure to go out.” The freedom fighters in Bangladesh were fighting not only for their freedom but also to uphold the “dignity of man”.
Mr. Gani Fawehinmi, of the Nigerian Lawyers’ Association, said “We will not allow the millions of people of Bengal to be crushed.” He called upon the world community to ensure that bombs and guns did not succeed in crushing the aspirations of the people of Bangladesh who he said were victims of continued exploitation and were now demanding what was just.
The Vice-President of War on Want, Sir George Catlin (Britain), said the conference should press the U.N. to take effective measures to ensure that the democratic wishes of the people of Bangladesh were fulfilled and an end put to their unparalleled misery.
Prof. Tsuyoshi Nara (Japan), who had come to the conference despite a protest by the Pakistani Ambassador in Japan, called for steps to ensure that the Bangladesh problem did not erupt into a major Asian war aided by the World Powers.
Mr. Clovis Maksoud (Egypt), also speaking for Libya and the Sudan said the problem of Bangladesh must not be made a part of the Indo-Pakistan dispute.
In an impassioned speech he said the release of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was the concern of an humanity. Denying justice to the people of East Bengal meant perpetrating a racialist policy.
Mr. Maksoud told the people of West Pakistan that the fight by the Bengalis for their dignity was the concern of the people of West Pakistan as well as the Third World and that the people of West Pakistan must realize that any denial of justice to the people of East Bengal would be continuation of racial colonialism.
He said, he had come to see for himself along with other representatives of the Arab world the real state of affairs. The Arabs were not as fully informed as they should been since they were deeply involved in the crises in their own homelands.
The World Federalists through their two representatives Mr. Neilson of Denmark and Mrs. Sigrid Hannisdahl of Norway, joined the delegates in expressing concern at the denial of the right to self determination to the people of East Bengal.
Mr. Herdad of the Afghan Millat of Kabul assured the Bengalis of the solidarity of the Afghan people with them. He said the Afghans fully supported the desire of the East Bengalis to shed the shackles of exploitation.
Dr. Homer A. Jack, general secretary of the World Conference of Religions for Peace, narrated incidents of unparalleled cruelty which he came to know during his stay in Bangladesh.