Airgram

November 22, 1971

From: American Embassy Paris

To: Department State Washington DC

 

Subject: Official French Statements on India-Pakistan Situation

 

Summary: The French Government has recently made several public statements on the India-Pakistan situation, setting forth its policy of neutrality and urging the necessity of a political solution permitting the return of the refugees to East Pakistan. On November 3, it an­nounced that no arms contracts had been concluded with Pakistan

since March 25, 1971. End Summary.

 

Following are free translations of recent statements the French Gov­ernment has made under the pressure of various circumstances re­

quiring public declarations of position.

 

Foreign Minister Schumann's speech before the UNGA, September 1971. The Quai considers Schumann's UNGA address as the "point of reference" for the GOF position on India-Pakistan. We assume the Department has that text.

 

Responses to Two Parliamentary Questions,

October 29, 1971:

Schumann being tied up with the Brezhnev visit, Yvon Bourges, Secretary of State at the Foreign Ministry, was the GOF spokesman for two oral replies to questions earlier submitted by National As­sembly deputies.

 

1. Question. "M. Peronnet (Socialist-opposition) asked the Prime Minister to define French policy concerning the serious India­Pakistan difference and to make known the initiatives it believes can be taken with a view to finding a peaceful solution to it."

 

Response. "To formulate a question is to begin to answer it. Thus I noted with interest that, to describe the serious events the world has sorrowfully witnessed for several months, M. Gabriel Peronnet speaks of the India-Pakistan difference.

 

"Certainly it is undeniable that serious tension is apparent between these two great countries of the Indian subcontinent, to the point that one can even fear the outbreak at any moment of true open conflict. Nevertheless, is that tension not the consequence of a situation that has its origin in the dramatic events that have loomed up in East Pakistan? And, consequently, is it not, as the Minister of Foreign Af­fairs stated from the rostrum of the United Nations General Assem­bly, at the root that the sickness must be cured?

 

"It is in that spirit that the Government has acted since the beginning of the crisis. As early as April 8, in a message to General Yahya Khan, the President of the Republic expressed "the hope that, by re­straint and wisdom, this crisis, both painful and dangerous, would have a solution consonant with the general interests of peace in the region as well as with the interests of the peoples concerned.

 

"The crisis worsening, M. Pompidou again appealed to the President of the Republic of Pakistan and, noting that the latter stated he wished to find a political and constitutional solution based on the consent of the Pakistani people, he stated his conviction that it was indeed by the application of these principles that a situation that ap­peared to him increasingly troubling might be ended. This political solution, as the President of the Republic has again just reaffirmed on October 25 in the speech he made at the dinner given in honor of Mr. Brezhnev, must allow East Pakistan to regain calm and to re­ceive the mass of those that took refuge in India.

 

"The Government is firmly resolved to combine its efforts with oth­ers to encourage such a solution and thus avert the threat of armed conflict. The French-Soviet meetings now taking place also deal particularly with this crisis. Our contacts with other governments are likewise constant. The Government is determined to use the credit at France's disposal to promote an evolution that will create conditions permitting the return of the refugees to East Pakistan. It considers that the moderation displayed by the Indian Government - as the President of the Republic noted in a letter of June 4 addressed to the Prime Minister of India - which it is convinced it will continue to display, is an important contribution to that evolution. It persists in hoping that wisdom and generosity will respond to that moderation.

 

"Is it necessary to add that, deeply aware of the tragic situation of the refugees, the Government has not failed to join in the vast inter­national movement of solidarity that is developing on their behalf in the humanitarian field?

 

"Responding to the appeals made by the Secretary General of the United Nations on May 19 and June 16, 1971, the French Govern­ment is participating in the assistance operations put under the charge of the High Commission for Refugees and the other special-

ized agencies UNICEF, WHO, FAQ - of the United nations. A first contribution of 10 million francs was decided on last June, of which 400,000 francs were retained with a view to supporting the activity undertaken in parallel, thanks to private generosity, by the French Red Cross and the French Committee for the Battle Against Hunger. A second contribution of an equivalent sum was made in September, of which 2,500,000 francs were allocated, still under United Nations aegis, to aid to the destitute people remaining in East Pakistan.

 

"Finally, the European Economic Community, of which France is a member, undertook to provide to India, through the International Committee of the Red Cross and within the framework of the agree­ment concerning food aid for 1971, 43,000 tons of rice and 7,000 tons of cereals, representing 6.5 million in monetary terms.

 

"It follows that the Government will make every effort to continue this aid to the limit of its means."

 

2. Question. "M. de Grailly (UDR - majority ) asks the Prime Min­ister if the Government does not envisage stopping deliveries of arms to Pakistan, given the increased tension between that State and India, as well as the worsening of the internal situation in East Bengal."

 

Response. "I can assure M. de Grailly that the Government has not failed and will not fail to take all measures, true to its policy of peace, called for by the crisis created by the tragic events of East Pakistan.

 

French-Soviet Communique, October 30, 1971 (extract). "M. Pom­pidou and M. Brezhnev examined the various aspects of the danger­ous situation created in the Indian subcontinent, following the events in East Pakistan, and affirmed their will to pursue their efforts with a view to the maintenance of peace in the region. They expressed their understanding that the difficulties confronting the Indian Govern­ment owing to the massive influx of refugees will be rapidly worked out."

 

Foreign Minister Schumann's Annual Foreign Policy Speech to the National Assembly in connection with the budget debate, November 3, 1971. (section on India - Pakistan). "In a few days the Prime Minister of India will be our guest. This woman of the elite bears the burden of a tragedy. We salute her concerned, magnificent courage.

 

We shall not only repeat to her what the most authoritative voice said ten days ago in the name of France: The international community must for its honor increase humanitarian aid, to which we have al­ready made two contributions. We shall add that we remain ready to concert our efforts with all those put forth to prevent the supreme injustice - war - from coming to crown the martyrdom of millions of men whom the cataclysms seem to pursue relentlessly. Twice France has turned to President Yahya Khan to urge him to seek a political and constitutional settlement that could have the consent of the population and permit the return of the immense mass of refugees to their homes. I add that no arms contracts have been concluded with Pakistan since March 25, date of the beginning of the crisis. As for the other measures the service of peace calls for, they were the sub­ject here last Friday of a response to M. de Grailly (second Parlia­mentary question above), whom I thank for having understood all the meaning of its brevity."

 

In the ensuing debate, the GOF was sharply criticized by both ma­jority and opposition deputies for not playing a more active role in the search for a political solution, for not contributing more to refu­gee relief and assistance, and for providing arms to Pakistan. When pressed by the opposition concerning arms deliveries under contracts drawn up before March 25, Foreign Minister Schumann stuck to the "no contracts since March 25" line and refused to say more.

 

In the November 3 debate, Schumann also made the following com­ment on United Nations involvement: "M. Offroy (UDR - majority) would like the U.N. to be seized of the Bengal affair. But the Soviet Union and India, which have the same sympathies he does, do not care for it. They consider that the origin of the drama lies in the fact that the Pakistani Government refuses to allow the consequences of the elections in East Pakistan and that the problem must be given an internal political solution. As for the right of self-determination, we cannot defend it to the point of making us, alone among all govern­ments, the advocates of secession. The worst injustice to commit against the Bengali people would be to throw them into the most dreadful of wars and we must do everything to safeguard the chances of peace."

 

President Pompidou's toast at luncheon in honor of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, November 8, 1971, and GOF Cabinet Meeting Communique, November 10, 1971. See paragraphs 14 and 15 of Paris 19159.

 

 

Source: Bangladesh Liberation War and the Nixon House 1971, Enayetur Rahim and Joyce L. Rahim, Pustaka Dhaka, p – 387 - 392