Government. however. has been uncon.scionably lethargic and characterized by the awkward silence that has governed this administrations attitude towards the crisis in South Asia over the past year. Our national leadership persists in rationalizing its past policy of support for a shabby and shameful military regime which sought. but failed. to suppress a free election and the selfdetermination of the Bengali people. We readily provided military and diplomatic support to the military dictatorship of Pakistan last year. while today we have all but ignored the appeals of the government of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman for assistance in helping to feed and rehabilitate the refugees returning to Bangladesh. Indeed. on February 2. representatives from the administration appeared before the Subcommittee on Refugees and sought to put a cloak of normality on conditions in Bangladesh. and bluntly told the subcommittee that "nothing"including Americas long failure to recognize Bangladesh-"is standing in the way of the movement of relief supplies." They should have gone to Bangladesh. For their testimony then as well as their statements now run counter to the facts in the field. Congress and the American people were misled once again. and the best humanitarian instincts of the American people were betrayed by the failure of this administration to recognize and act upon the humanitarian crisis in Bangladesh over the past 3 months.
Keywords matched
Refugees refugees