Mrs. Gandhi dissatisfied at UN role
crossed into in question of wency she acom
NEW DELHI, Aug. 20-Mrs. Gandhi has expressed dissatisfaction at the role played by the UN in the Bangladesh crisis, says UNI.
In an interview to a Swiss news agency she accused the UN of having ignored the basic question of why millions of people of East Bengal had crossed into India.
Answering a question by the agency’s correspondent, Mr. Jorg Obenz, Mrs. Gandhi said : “I am afraid the UN has not done much. It has ignored the basic question of why these people have come. They would not have left their homes unless there was compelling reasons. The UN should see why these people are coming and create conditions by which this exodus will stop”.
While reiterating India’s stand that the refugees, numbering more than 75 million, must return to Bangladesh. Mrs. Gandhi said that they could not, however, be sent back only to be slaughtered.
She said the burden of providing relief to the enormous number of refugees, which ought to have been borne by the world as a whole had fallen almost entirely on Indian shoulders. The total foreign assistance received so far “adds up to one week’s requirements”.
She said Parliament’s allocation of Rs. 260 crores for refugees relief would help the Government arrangements to continue until the end of December
Mrs. Gandhi did not think a decision by India to recognise Bangladesh would mean war. Pointing out the “very great feeling.” in the country over the developments and nothing that all political parties had demanded grant of recognition, she said: “We have to carefully assess the pros and cons. I do not see why such a ecision should imply war. We ourselves have never sought war.”
In West Pakistani provinces against continued military rule and the denial of political rights to the people.
Mrs. Gandhi expressed the gratitude of the Government and the people of India to the Swiss Government for its good offices in the repatriation of Indian personnel from Dacca.
When her attention was drawn to reports that private foreign helpers in the refuges camps had been asked to leave Mrs. Gandhi said all of them had not been sent away. Observing that manpower was one item of which there was not shortage in the country she said alowing volunteers from abroad had added to difficulties as they were not familiar with Indian conditions and did not know the language. Time and energy had to be spent in making arrangements for them too.
She said the Government was trying to place as much of the administrative and relief work as possible under the charge of the refugees themselves, among whom were doctors, teachers and otber qualified persons.
Mrs. Gandhi was asked if she could confirm that Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was alive and what her Government’s reaction would be to an execution of the Bangabandhu by the Pakistan military regime she replied: “We have no news of the Sheikh. We fervently hope that he is alive and well.”
She believed that many nations had taken up the issue with Pakistan. “We ourselves have appealed to the heads of Governments and to the UN Secretary-General to impress upon the military rulers of Pakistan the grave consequences of the court-martial trial of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.”
Mrs. Gandhi pointed out that the Bangladesh issue is not between India and Pakistan but between the military regime of West Pakistan and the people of Bangladesh. The questions which arise are: ‘Do the 75 million people of Bangladesh have the right to live? Can a majority be tyrannised and brutally massacred by a small minority? Is if right that this minority should continue to receive arms and political comfort from others countries?”
She wanted every nation to think of these questions and find answers.
Reference: Hindustan Standard 21.8.197171