890 বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্রঃ চতুর্দশ খন্ড 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.
