Road to Dacca airport ‘a mass grave
Singapore, April 20 “The road from my home to Dacca airport was a mass grave.” a British woman refugee from the East Pakistan capital said tonight, claiming that reports of 300,000 deaths in the conflict were no exaggeration.
“The roadside laness were filled with killed men, mostly women and children, ” she told reporters shortly after arriving in Singapore with 101 other evacuees.
“I asked a Pakistan Air Force officer why they had to kill children. He replied: “If you see the child as an orphan, he will grow up to be anti-West Pakistan. That is the best way to curb revenge.”
The woman was one of Britons with smaller groups of Canadians, Australians, New Zealanders, Sweds and Dutchmen. arrived from Dacca on an R.A.F Hercules transport.
The refugees had any films, note books or other documents confiscated by the Pakistan authorities before they boarded the aircraft.
The British woman, however, disregarded warnings from R.A.F. officers to keep silent, and spoke of seeing“ decomposed bodies strewn all over the streets in Dacca.”
The evacuees were professional men or their families, for the most part. Many arrived in pajamas. saying they had received only a few minutes’ notice before leaving. More evacuees are expected here tomorrow and the next day-A.P. and agence France Press.
Reference: Time, 3 April, 1971