New

1971-04-01

BackHome

Parliament in India Condemns Pakistani ‘Massacre’ in East

By Sydney H. Schanberg

Page: 1

NEW DELHI, March 3—The Indian Parliament accused Pakistan today of a “massacre of defenseless people” in East Pakistan that “amounts to genocide.”

Parliament also assured the East Pakistanis “that their struggle and sacrifices will receive the wholehearted sympathy and support of the people of India.”

[According to Reuters, a Pakistan radio broadcast monitored in New Delhi to day said that the Pakistani Government had accused India of infiltrating armed troops into border areas of East Pakistan.]

The Indian condemnation of the Pakistani Government, based in West Pakistan, and the expression of solidarity with the Bengali people of East Pakistan came in a resolution introduced by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and adopted unanimously in both houses to applause, cheers and thumping of benches.

Sitting in the diplomatic gallery in the lower house was Mrs. Sajjad Haider, wife of the Pakistani High Commissioner in New Delhi. India and the two wings of Pakistan, all once British India, are members of the Commonwealth and maintain high commissioners rather than ambassadors in each others' countries.

Meanwhile, the picture of the fighting in East Pakistan remained confused, with all normal news channels blacked out.

There were no broadcasts to day by transmitters identifying themselves as voices of the resistance forces. The East Pakistanis have said they have set up a provisional government for Bangla Desh, or Bengal Nation. The radio silence could mean that the Pakistani army consisting of West Pakistanis, has tightened its control on the cities, where it generally believed here the transmitters have been situated.

The Government's radio spoke of “restoration of peaceful conditions in all major cities and the entire countryside” and said that the province was “gradually preparing itself to resume normal economic life.”

The fighting began last Thursday night when the army struck against the independence movement led by Sheik Mujibur Rahman and his Awami League, East Pakistan's dominant political party. In elections last December, it won a clear majority in the National Assembly, which was to have met March 3 to start writing a constitution to end the military rule of Pakistan. At that time, the Awami League was demanding regional autonomy.

But President Agha Mohammad Yahya Khan postponed the assembly, and strikes and other protests followed in East Pakistan, with the Awami League gradually taking over control of the province.

Resolution No Surprise



The resolution adopted today by the Indian Parliament did not come as a surprise, since India and Pakistan — mainly Hindu and mainly Moslem — are enemies, and have fought two wars, the last in 1965.

Still, the resolution made India the first nation to condemn Pakistan for the recent events, and the wording was particularly sharp.

“This house demands immediate cessation of the use of force and the massacre of defenseless people. This house calls upon all people and governments of the world to take urgent and constructive steps to prevail upon the Government re Pakistan to put an end immediately to the systematic decimation of people, which amounts to genocide. This house records its profound conviction that the historic up surge of the 75 million people of East Bengal will triumph.”

Other Motives Likely



India and Pakistan have often sought to embarrass each other in the eyes of the world, and there is undoubtedly some element of this in Mrs. Gandhi's resolution, which was worked out in advance with all the Opposition parties.

Pakistan, which insists the conflict is a domestic matter, has accused India of interference in her internal affairs.

East Pakistan and West Pakistan are separated by over 1,000 miles, with India be tween. The West, though it has fewer people, has always dominated the East economically, politically and militarily.