889 বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্রঃ চতুর্দশ খন্ড 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.
