বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্র (দ্বাদশ খণ্ড)/৭৮
| শিরোনাম | সূত্র | তারিখ |
|---|---|---|
| যুক্তরাষ্ট্রর সি,বি,এস টেলিভিশনের সাথে পররাষ্ট্রমন্ত্রী শরণ সিং-এর সাক্ষাৎকার | ভারত সরকারের পররাষ্ট্র মন্ত্রণালয় | ২০ ডিসেম্বর, ১৯৭১ |
Foreign Minister Sardar Swaran singh’s interview on CBS Television (U.S.A)
December 20 1971
COLUMBIA BROADCASTING SYSTEM’S NEWS CORRESPONDENT JOHN HART: In this half hour, the Foreign Minister of India is coming in to talk about what is coming next from Pakistan and Bangla desh and India. What is new is that Pakistan has a new president today. He is Zulfakar Ali Bhutto, whom you saw walk out of the U.N. Security Council last week. He was foreign Minister then, and now that Pakistan lost the war, President Yahya Khan has quite and let Bhutto take over. Bhutto’s party won a lot of seat in the election that Yahya cancelled last December, most of the seats in the Western section of Pakistan, which is all that’s left of it now. Bhutto said last week he won’t have another election now since he won last time. Actually Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s party won a majority in the election last year, but his party was in East Pakistan and that’s Bangladesh now. Sheikh Mujib is a prisoner of Bhutto’s, or else he’s dead. Bhutto the one who has to negotiate with India now, and he says he wants back the territories that India captured.
We have India’s Foreign Minister with us this morning, Sardar Swaran Singh. And, gentlemen, the first question I suppose is: when do you start negotiating?
A.- We will start negotiations as noon as Pakistan’s leaders are ready to do so.
Q.- Do you have any indication of when that will be?
A.- It’s very difficult for me to say. I hope that they will start quickly.
Q. What will be negotiations be about, Mr. Singh? Will you be aiming for a stable peace?
A.-That should be the objective, to have a durable peace, and, in that context, the reality that Bangladesh has come to stay will have to be taken into consideration. That is the basic issue involved.
Q.- So, that really is the condition for successful negotiations for a peace with Pakistan?
A.-You will call it a condition, but this has to be taken into consideration and any durable peace without taking into consideration the aspirations of 75 million people is not realistic.
Q.-What about the person of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman? He has not yet appeared. One doesn’t know whether he’s alive or dead. Will that figure in the negotiations and in the reality of peace thereafter?
A.- It is our hope that he’s alive, and, obviously, being the elected leader of the people of Bangla desh, he will have a decisive voice in giving a future shape to that Bangla desh which has come to stay-a Free people's Republic of Bangla Desh.
Q.- If he is not alive, Mr. Singh, or if he is not given up by the Pakistanis what will that do to the negotiations?
A.- I presume that other leaders of the Awami League party would negotiate but we do hope that Pakistan’s military regime has not taken the extreme step of liquidating Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Ile is a great stabilizing factor.
Q.- Will India return that 1,400 miles or so of territory along the border that you captured during the fighting- in Kashmir and in Punjab?
A.- So far as the eastern sector is concerned, we recognize the people’s Republic of Bangla desh, and we have no intention to stay there even for a day longer. It all depends on how things stabilize and the aftermath of his conflict is clear. In the west also. we have made our position clear-that we have no territorial claims on Pakistani territory, and the negotiations should yield the result of that this thing is straightened out in this matter.
Q.- But what about Kashmir, Mr. Singh-which is not really Pakistan?
A. That is a matter which can be negotiated. There has been a war, there was a cease-fire, there can be another cease-fire, if it comes to that.
Q.- But spokesmen of our Government in New Delhi said that India would keep the territory in Kashmir which was occupied during the fighting of the last few weeks.
A.- That I would say will be a matter of negotiations and there will be a ceasefire line just as there are cease-fire, lines after every armed conflict.
Q.- When will Indian forces be withdrawn from the east?
A.- I already said that we do not want of stay there event for a day longer. There are several things to be attended to. The West Pakistan army, who have surrendered-they have to be repatriated. There are risks of reprisals, and the presence of the Indian army is a great stabilizing factor. All these factors will have to be taken into consideration. That will be a matter between the Government of India and the Government of Bangladesh.
Q.- Mr. Minister, fighting between India and Pakistan, of course, had repercussions far beyond even these two big countries, because they involved politically and indirectly the soviet Union, China, the United states. Can a new balance be found there? Let’s take American relations with India. There was this great outpouring of-at least in public sentiment -of anti-American feeling. Is this going to color future relations between India and United states?
A.- We have always taken the view that talk of balance is unbounded and there is no basis for it. And any actions taken by other powers to keep up an artificial state of balance of power is something which, I think is at the root of many troubles here and elsewhere. You ask me about India-United states relations. There is no doubt that the United States Administration did not act in an unbiased manner. At the same time, the redeeming feature has been that newspapermen, leaders of public opinion, news media, senator, Congressmen they have appreciated the truc facts of the situation. I will not venture to say that the state of relations has not been affected, but it all depends on how the Administration tackles this problem now that the shooting war is over.
Q.- Well, what do you suggest the Administration do then, Mr. Singh?
A.- To bring about a more unbiased attitude-in relation to our problem.
Q. To bring about better relations with India, yes. Do you mean the recognition of Bangladesh?
A.- The recognition of Bangla desh will take time. But even without that, there are several postures which they adopt which do not give the impression of having an unbiased attitude when relations between India and Pakistan are concerned,
Q.- could you be specific; Mr. Singh? What are those things?
A.- For instance, they still continue to plug the unfounded story that India was responsible for this war. We had to defend ourselves, and the war started when President Yahya Khan ordered air raids on our territory on the evening of the 3rd. To continue to say that India is more responsible for this war is an attitude which, to say the least, is not fair, is not just, and is not based on fact.
Q. What about India’s future relations with China, the great neighbor just across the Himalayan Mountains?
A.- We have always desired that relations between India and China should normalize, and this will continue to be our policy. A great deal depends on the response that we have from China, but our policy will continue to be to improve our relations with China.
Q.- The Chinese appear terribly suspicious. At the United Nations, they said that the presence of Tibetan refugees in India might be used to justify an Indian operation against Tibet the way, they said, that the presence of refugees from East Bengal was used to justify military operations into East Pakistan. IIow do you feel about these accusations?
A.- In the first place, there is no parallel between the situation in Bangladesh and the situation in Tibet. In Bangla desh, the democratic wishes and aspirations of 75 million people were hlessly suppres military atrocities. In the case of Tibet. we have made the position clear that Tibet is part of China. And, as regards the refugees from Tibet who are with us, we have given refuge to them on humanitarian considerations, and we have never permitted them to indulge in any political activity. This suspicion, if it is genuine, is unfounded, and I don’t see why any parallel should be drawn between the two:
Q. There was great concern at the United Nations, Mr. Singh, quite apart from the moral side of the case-the treatment of the Bengalis by Pakistan-great concern that the use of arms to settle what is even an excruciating problem between nations might be repeated elsewhere, because there are other Bangla deshes in the world and other neighbors who are not-who are really at peace.
A.- I do not see any basis for any such fear. For one thing, there are not many Bangla deshes in other parts of the world. I can’t imagine such a vast number of people-75 million people-having expressed unmistakably what they want; then that they should be suppressed in a military, and in a ruthless, manner. I can’t see any parallel anywhere. There may be problems relating to the-to certain parts of or certain regions in other countries, but the case of Bangla desh is a case by itself, and I don’t think that there need be any fear in any other country that this can be repeated.