546 ংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্রঃ ত্রয়োদশ খন্ড United States on the side of a government which is deliberately flouting the results of a national election, denying East Bengal the most elementary rights of selfdetermination, and committing wanton massacres against an unarmed people. Nor can U.S. policy be justified on the grounds of hard national interests. It is utter folly to support an authoritarian military regime in a brutal and bitter struggle against the majority of its own people, a struggle it cannot win. Every consideration of justice, humanity, and national interest plainly calls in this case for another application of the demonstrated capacity of the United States Government to be flexible in the making of radical shifts in policy. We propose that the United States Government; I. Inform the Pakistan Government that the United States will not provide military or economic assistance, will not continue aid currently in the pipeline, nor postpone debt repayment, until there is a political settlement with the elected Awami League leadership of East Bengal. 2 Transfer such aid as would have been given to Pakistan to East Bengal refugees now in India until such time as the refugees are able to return to East Bengal and significantly increase aid to India to provide for the cost of refugee relief. 3. Provide economic assistance to the people of East Bengal under the auspices of the United Nations. 4. Inform Pakistan that in the event of a war with India. Pakistan should not assume that the United States would necessarily suspend assistance to India as we did in the 1965 war. 5. Indicate to concerned Muslim-majority states, especially Indonesia. Malaysia. Iran and Turkey that we would welcome any effort on their part to encourage the Pakistan Government to negotiate a political settlement with Awami League leadership of East Bengal. Both our political self-interest and our moral concern should lead us to deny support to the military-led Government of Pakistan, demonstrate our appreciation of the Bengali claim, and assist India on a far larger scale than we have thus far to handle the refugee burden. The United States is now engaged in an historic process of rearranging our relations with China. Conditions also demand that we re-examine and revise our current policies in South Asia where an immediate threat to peace now confronts us.
