462 বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্রঃ পঞ্চম খন্ড colonial empire, it clearly becomes a case of national liberation struggle. A case of struggle for freedom from colonialism. Human history is replete with many, many such instances. The United States of America, China or the Soviet Union-all have go through this unavoidable and irreversible stage of national liberation from foreign domination. Today if the same slates oppose or even play the part of a silent onlooker they become guilty of betrayal of the same cause that they once cherished-a cause for which they laid down lives by millions. ১৩ জুলাই, ১৯৭১ CAUSES OF ARAB APATHY TOWARD BANGLADESH When misfortunes come they come in battalions-so goes the proverb a la Shakespeare. But never could one think that nature would pick the people of Bangladesh to make the proverb come true even if it is only for once in a century. No human being with a heart in the right place would ever want such grisly extermination campaign to take place in a Country that was still groggy' from century's worst cyclonic calamity that claimed not less than two million lives only a few months ago. But it did happen and to rub it in further came that inexplicable international apathyparticularly from governments of super powers who could do so much to stop this mad, heinous crime of the Pakistani junta against the civilization as a whole. As if that was not enough. Soon the Bengalees heard that some Arab government are finding it difficult even to express some sympathy for the disgraced humanity in Bangladesh let alone condemning the beastly crimes of the killer junta. Such a shocking antipathy caused in them more heartache than Nixon administration's open collusion with the murderers because, dating from Suez Crisis. Bengalees never missed an opportunity to stand behind the Arabs in their hour of need despite the fact that all the Pakistani regimes followed a dubious policy that actually supported the imperialist plot against Arab freedom. This was never forgotten by President Nasser as long as he was alive. Every time he had a visitor from Pakistan he would point out the sofa on which the then Pakistani foreign minister sat just before he went to London to intimate the support of his regime for British aggression in the wake of Egyptian nationalization of the Suez Canal. But things have changed radically since the disappearance of Nasser. We'll come back to that later. I must put the facts vis-a-vis Arab response to Bangladesh freedom movement in their correct perspectives. Things are not really all black for us there. We must clearly recognize who are really giving tacit approval to Pakistani crimes and who are not. Saudi Arab government has been the first to come to Pakistan's aid. She was followed by other medieval monarchies of the desert land. We must not hasten to condemn these governments outright because we must try to understand why, for what interest would (hey approve of such a horrible massacre of a people-an overwhelming majority of whom are devout Moslems. Their reaction to Pakistani appeal for support was somewhat natural. Being thoroughly feudal in outlook these monarchies have little concern or love
