664 ংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্রঃ ত্রয়োদশ খন্ড copies of their election manifesto must have been distributed during the election campaign. Thus, the demand for autonomy of the Awami League after the recent elections was neither a sudden development nor any secret move. What happened was that the military rulers of Pakistan under-estimated the popularity of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his Awami League in the Eastern region, and with his overwhelming victory got so panicky that they could not think of anything but repression of the popular forces. This was not a statesman-like response and after having started the insane massacre from the night of March 25, 1971, onwards, the military rulers of West Pakistan now find themselves on a suicidal path resulting in the break-up of the country. These developments in East Pakistan (Bangladesh) have resulted in an unprecedented flow of refugees into neighboring India with about 8 million refugees having already crossed over. Come to think of it, the number of these refugees is more than the total population of Switzerland and New Zealand put together! The arrival of such a vast number of refugees in India threatens the social, political and economic fabric of that country. This is a terrible thing. Also, India cannot be expected to provide food, shelter and medical facilities for such a vast number of refugees for an indefinite period. Some international help (including some from the United States) has been extended but so far the amount of assistance received in this gigantic task is a pittance as compared to the expense and efforts required. It is bearing the above facts in mind that we in Korea decided to organize a Bangladesh Relief Committee, with the hope that a poor man's penny is worth more than a rich man's pound. We are conscious of our limitations but we must help even if we happen to be comparatively poor.... A few months back, it was the 167 elected members of Eastern region of Pakistan who declared that henceforth their area would be known as "Bangladesh ". Therefore, it is only proper for us to respect the wishes of the democratically elected representatives of that area. It is relevant to recall that during the Japanese occupation of our country, Koreans were referred to as "Japanese from the peninsula" and in the same way people of Taiwan were referred to as "Japanese from the island". I remember how happy we used to feel when outsiders would refer to us as Koreans and not as "Japanese from the peninsula, etc." We have not forgotten those days. The least that we can do for the freedom-fighters of East Pakistan (Bangladesh) is to call them by the name that they want to be known by.
