BIRTH OF BANGLADESH AS CANADA WALKS A DIPLOMATIC TIGHTROPE IBD

Sinopse

Volume 1 of The Birth of Bangladesh as Canada Walks a Diplomatic Tightrope has six chapters that deal with Canada and PakistanâÇÖs political landscape, a surreptitious military attack, CanadaâÇÖs reaction, the news mediaâÇÖs role, the Canadian publicâÇÖs reaction, the role played by Canadian NGOs, and debates in the House of Commons and Senate.áCanada believedáthat any response, one way or another, on CanadaâÇÖs part, would be 'politically incorrect.' Themes such as the preservation of democracy, the transfer of power to democratically elected representatives, the cessation of repressive measures, resolution through constitutional means, and humanitarian assistance continued to dominate the discussion throughout the period the military was in power, revealing CanadaâÇÖs deep concern as well as helplessness. Canada prioritized the provision of humanitarian relief assistance as its immediate goal, thereby assisting the Bengali victims in India and the displaced people in East Pakistan.Although the news media, Canadian NGOs, and Bengali-speaking Canadians supported the provisional government of Bangladesh, Canada paid attention to what most Canadians were demanding-that Canada direct its energy to steering the management of the conflict to the United Nations.áCanada was interested in determining how it could best assist in resolving the dispute and promoting democracy in Pakistan. An independent Bangladesh out of Pakistan was never on PakistanâÇÖs radar screen. Like the public, Canada favoured a solution that would keep Pakistan as one country in a re-engineered and democratic Pakistan, rather than a split into two nations.