পাতা:বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্র (তৃতীয় খণ্ড).pdf/৬৭

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বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্রঃ তৃতীয় পত্র
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বাংলাদেশের আর্থ-সামাজিক অবস্থার উপর বাংলাদেশ সরকারের অর্থনৈতিক উপদেষ্টার একটি প্রতিবেদন বাংলাদেশ সরকার ১০ মে, ১৯৭১

BANGLADESH:

SITUATION AND OPTIONS

BY

REHMAN SOBHAN

Economics Advisor to the Government of Bangladesh.

May 10, 1971.

 In the light of the facts as available, the silence and inertia of the major powers and international bodies is difficult to understand. Whilst it is regarded as idealistic to appeal to the conscience of the world on the planned genocide of at least 200,000 Bengali’s to date, it is sad that their political judgment should be so distorted as to inhibit response.

 Today we are witnessing an attempt by a military junta, whose own position is somewhat tenuous, to crush a popularly elected party and the political forces which sustained it. Whilst the representative status of most leaders of insurrections has been ambiguous there can be no doubt that Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the Awami League speak for Bangladesh. An electoral mandate which gave them 167 out of 169 seats and 80% of the popular vote puts their credentials beyond question. They represent 75 million people or 55% of what once constituted Pakistan. To confer legitimacy on Yahya and his Junta by accepting his right to talk for Bangladesh effectively writes off 75 million Bengalis who constitute the eighth largest conglomeration of people in the world. This not only makes a mockery of any commitment to democratic principle but is without political sense.

 Today the Pakistan government is trying desperately to convince the world that it is in effective control of Bangladesh. They point to the fact that they are in possession of the major towns and that effective resistance has ceased. They draw witness to the fact that administrators are to be found in their offices in the Dacca Secretariat.

 What they do not say is that even today the secretariat is not functioning because most of the subordinate staff are still away from Dacca for fear of random killing by the army. That only about 50% of those shops not burnt by the army are open and these function with some trepidation for fear of looting by the army. That even up to the end of April curfew was in force at night in Dacca and those streets after dusk arc largely deserted. That a week ago the army had to mortar villages on the outskirts of Dacca to dislodge “miscreants”. That the army has had to issue martial law order 148 on April 27, which imposes the death penalty on all acts of sabotage on government installations and which states: