812 ংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্রঃ ত্রয়োদশ খন্ড শিরোনাম সূত্র তারিখ পূর্ব বাংলার পরিস্থিতি সম্পর্কে জাতিসংঘের জাতিসংঘ ডকুমেন্টস ১৭ সেপ্টেম্বর, ১৯৭১ কার্যধারার উপর প্রণীত বার্ষিক প্রতিবেদনে মহাসচিবের মুখ বন্ধের অংশবিশেষ EXTRACTS FROM U. N. SECRETARY-GENERAL S INTRODUCTION TO THE ANNUAL REPORT ON THE WORK OF THE U. N. ORGANISATION RELATING TO THE SITUATION. IN EAST BENGAL SEPTEMBER 17, 1971 The civil strife which erupted in East Pakistan in March 1971. 'and its aftermath, are matters of deep concern to me as Secretary-General of the United Nations. While the civil strife in itself is an internal affair of Pakistan, some of the problems generated by it are necessarily of concern to the international community. The recent events in East Pakistan, following on the cyclone disaster of last November, have resulted in extensive loss of life, destruction and disruption. The plight of much of the population is serious, and millions of people have fled to the adjacent states of India, bringing to the Indian authorities overwhelming health and relief problem and imposing an intolerable burden upon their already strained resources. International assistance on an unprecedented scale was urgently needed both for the relief of the distressed people in East Pakistan and for aid to the East Pakistan refugees in India. I expressed my concern over this situation to President Agha Mohammed Yahya Khan shortly after the events of Match. 1971, and have been in continuous touch with the Governments of Pakistan and India, both through their Permanent Representatives at the United Nations and through other contacts. In these exchanges I have been acutely aware of the dual responsibility of the United Nations, including the Secretary-General, under the Charter both to observe the provision of Article 2, paragraph 7. and to work, within the framework of international economic and social co operation, to help, promote and ensure human well-being and humanitarian principles. It was with this latter responsibility in mind that I appealed for assistance both for the East Pakistan refugees in India and for the population of East Pakistan. In order to channel the assistance given in response to those appeals. I designated the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees as the Focal Point for assistance to the refugees in India and assigned, with the agreement of the Government of Pakistan, a representative in Dacca in order to make as effective use as possible of the international assistance made available for the relief of the population of East Pakistan. In addition to those two emergency relief operations, the High Commissioner has initiated, with my full concurrence, an effort to facilitate the voluntary repatriation of the refugees now in India. At its meeting on 16th July, 1971, the Economic and Social Council held a lull discussion of these operations, based on the statements made in the Council by the High Commissioner and the Assistant Secretary-General for Inter-Agency Affairs. At the
