Navy chief asks men in uniform to be alert
BANGALORE, JUNE 12.—The Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral S. M. Nanda, today called upon the “men in uniform” to keep themselves ready to meet any challenge from Pakistan, says PTI.
“The country today is passing through a very challenging time. We have troubles all round and the country looks towards the defence services to provide the necessary guarantee for peace and progress”.
Hindustan Standard 13.6.71
Swaran Singh meets French Foreign Minister
PARIS, JUNE 12.-The External Affairs Minister, Mr. Swaran Singh, met for nearly an hour today with the French Foreign Minister. Mr. Maurice Schumann, says AP.
Mr. Singh is scheduled to leave here tomorrow for Ottawa and Washington.
“Mr. Schumann and I had a general talk on the world situation.” Mr. Singh told newsmen. “We talked about bilateral problems and of course, the situation in East Bengal.”
Mr. Singh had discussions with President Pompidou yesterday.
In a Press statement issued in Canberra yesterday, the Education and Social Welfare Minister, Mr. Siddhartha Sankar Ray, said that the situation created by the continuing onslaught of the Pakistani Army against its own people in East Bengal was a threat to India’s security which one would be entitled to look upon “as an act of aggression.”
In Paris. Mr. Singh yesterday called on the Western countries to withhold economic and military aid to the Pakistan Government until it stops what he described as a “policy of genocide” in East Pakistan, adds.
He told a Press conference. “The international community should do nothing to condone acts of genocide.”
Mr. Singh called on the Western Governments to make a clear statement of their assessment of the situation.
“What they tell us privately, they should say publicly because we have a feeling that the true facts are unknown to Pakistani citizens because there is no free Press there.”
Mr. Singh said that if timely action were taken to deny Pakistan means to strengthen its military machine “then I have no doubt there will be a reversal in their way of thinking”.
At the same time the Minister said that India did not wish to see a weak and divided Pakistan.
Trapada Basu writes from Lapland : The Swaran Singh mission seems to have met with broad based successes from capitals so far the Foreign Minister has covered before his trip to other capitals and talks with India’s heads of missions in Europe on June 20 in London.
His conference with India’s envoys is expected to cover subjects of his mission concerning refugees and Bangladesh and of newly oriented policy directives which before leaving He lsinki for Lapland was gathered would entail India’s forward looking initiatives particularly in respect of Pakistan and Bangladesh.
The idea behind the new orientation is to see that nothing should be allowed to pass over and that India’s case must not go by default. India’s initiatives should be sustained in certain international spheres particularly where her vital interests are concerned.
Although the 20th IPI General Assembly ended on June 9 in Helsinki without any bitter feeling at least overtly, the IPI executive board meeting today left a sour note after the Finnish delegation leader, Mr. Atos Erkko’s defest in the contest for IPI chairmanship with the Present chairman. Miss Aw Sian of Hongkong. Uness this open division is harmonised a serious threat of split to IPI will effect the institute it self. The executive board noted formally how the freedom of Press had been denied in West Pakistan and East Bengal. Pakistan’s delegation leader.
Mr. Khalilur Rahman, offered his good offices to facilitate an IPI sponsored visit of foreign journalists to West Pakistan and East Bengal. The provisional Government of Bangladesh is being approached by some delegates to let IPI and main newspapers of the world know formally the case of publishers and journalists of Bangladesh against Pakistan’s occupation forces. India’s good-offices may be sought for this purpose, according to some delegates.
The case of Bangladesh has been sympathetically heard in this remotest areas of Arctic Circle where newspapers have often published news agency reports and the people have seen television pictures on refugees and Bangladesh.
Reference: Hindustan Standard 13.6.1971