628 বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্রঃ ষষ্ঠ খণ্ড শিরোনাম ংবাদপত্র তারিখ EDITORIAL & BANGLADESH NEWSLETTER 25 May, 1971 ANNOUNCEMENT Chicago: No. 2* Death continues to stalk over the land of Bangladesh. Everyday hundreds and thousands are still being killed by the Pakistani army as part of its policy of forcing the Bengalis into submission. Houses and property are being destroyed at random and already more than 3 million (see May 22, New York Times) people of Bangladesh have sought refuge in neighboring India more than 50,000, continue to pour in everyday. And yet the conscience of the world’s government seems unperturbed. They are still concerned about maintaining the status quo. The recent agreement between the United States and the British government to shore up the crumbling Pakistani economy, under certain conditions, is a case in point (see New York Times, May 20). The agreement calls for greater justice for the Bengalis but within the framework of Pakistani the present reality is overlooked completely. The reality is that Pakistan is dead and lies buried under the heads of Bengali corpses. The sooner this is accepted by all concerned, the better. To dream of any return to Pakistan as it existed before March 25, 1971, is absurd. The blood of a million Bengalis killed by the Pakistani army since that date cannot go in vain. The remaining 74 million Bengalis owe it to their slain brothers to sacrifice the last drop of their own blood, if need be, to safeguard the sanctity, sovereignty and freedom of Bangladesh. And they are ready for that supreme sacrifice. Let no man doubt the resolve of the Bengalis. It is true the Bengalis resistance forces have suffered great reverses in the initial stages of the struggle for national liberation. They have lost city after city to the Pakistani army. But this doesn’t mean that the resistance has been crushed. The authority of the army extends only up to the range of its guns in the cities. Beyond that the whole of the Bangladesh countryside is unspecified and under control of the liberation forces. These forces have regrouped and trained for guerrilla action during the last month and a half. They are now engaged in constant harassment of the Pakistani army. The cost of the enemy’s operation has been high, both in financial terms and in terms of army casualties. The world powers and the aid-giving nations can, of course, sustain the Pakistani military operation, by providing aid to the West Pakistan regime. This can only prolong the genocide that is now being carried on with ruthless efficiency. The scorched-earth policy of this barbaric force may further cripple the economy and lay waste the whole of Bangladesh. However, the West Pakistanis cannot rule the Bengalis again, no matter how much they reinforce their isolated enclaves of power. The army will remain as islands in a hostile sea with not a friendly face to turn to. Already more than 80% of the Bengali civil servants have joined the fighting alongside the liberation forces-thereby crippling S BB BBBB BB BBBBB BB BB BBBBBB BBBB BBB BBB SBBBBBB BBB BBS BBB BB BBBS
