Bangladesh to send team to UN

September 10, 1971

GENOCIDE & REFUGEE ISSUES WILL BE RAISED AT UN

The Bangladesh government decided to send a delegation to the upcoming session of the United Nations General Assembly. Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Mahbub Alam said today at a news conference in New Delhi that the personnel of Bangladesh delegation would be finalised soon. He added that the question of genocide and refugees from Bangladesh would be raised in the UN General Assembly. He said they had no yet approached the US Embassy for visas to enable them to attend the UN session.

ON THE WAR FRONT

In Dhaka-Cumilla-Chattogram sector, Mukti Bahini ambushed Pakistani troops in Amjadhat. Majhigacha and Chandpur, killing 16 Pakistani troops.

Mukti Bahini ambushed Pakistani patrols at Charnal and in Laksmipur, killing three Pakistani troops. On the same day, Mukti Bahini raided the Pakistan position at Jadisar and killed four Pakistani troops.

Mukti Bahini blew up a train carrying Pakistani troops near Mukundapur. The mine explosion killed 19 Pakistani soldiers and 10 Razakars. The engine and three bogies of the train were destroyed.

In Rangpur-Dinajpur-Rajshahi sector, Mukti Bahini ambushed the Pakistan patrol at Bhotemari area and killed seven Pakistani soldiers. They also disrupted railway communications around this area.

MALIK WILLING TO MEET AWAMI LEAGUE LEADERS

East Pakistan's new civilian Bangalee governor AM Malik said today that he might seek a meeting with Awami League leaders in an effort at reconciliation. But, he added, the time had not yet come.

"There was no question of my being a tool of President Yahya Khan or of anybody else," he claimed.

US DOCTORS WARN AGAINST FAMINE IN BANGLADESH

Two US doctors today warned that 25 million of East Pakistan's poor inhabitants were facing famine, and said imports of nearly three million tonnes of grain were needed to prevent starvation.

Writing in the medical magazine, the Lancet, they said floods, the worst cyclone of the century and fighting in East Pakistan meant food production would be cut for two successive years.

YAHYA FINDS A QUISLING TO LEAD TEAM TO UN

Pakistan President Yahya Khan found a second quisling in East Pakistan -- Mahmud Ali. He was due to head the Pakistan delegation to the United Nations General Assembly in September, 1971. Mahmud Ali, a Bangalee, was vice-president of Pakistan Democratic Party. Earlier, his party chief Nurul Amin had declined the offer. Mahmud Ali had been miserably defeated in the 1970 elections by an Awami League representative.

Shamsuddoza Sajen is a journalist and researcher. He can be contacted at [email protected]