Blood's son slates Nixon policy

During a lecture on 'US-Bangladesh Relations' at Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) yesterday, Peter said the then West Pakistan instigated the war against the then East Pakistan unnecessarily violating the democratic norms.

Archer K Blood was a senior signatory to a dissent cable written during the brutal military crackdown on Bangladesh. The famous 'Blood Telegram' alerted the then US President Richard Nixon and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger to the selective genocide and urged them to pressure Pakistan to stop the killing.

Peter, along with his mother Margaret and sister Shireen, came to Dhaka to attend a dedication ceremony where the American Center was named in honour of his father on Tuesday.

He said the 6-point demand laid out by the Awami League (AL) worked like a bombshell on the Bengalees resulting in the consequent victory of the party in the 1970's general elections. So, the crackdown ignoring the people's mandate was a brutal attack on democracy, he added.

"As my father said the line between right and wrong was just too clear-cut, and it was," Peter said emotionally recalling his father's decision to inform the world about the military crackdown and genocide in Bangladesh.

Referring to a write-up of Kissinger, the sociology graduate of the Delhi University said he (Kissinger) said Pakistan would regain control over both the wings, but "my father predicted that Bangladesh will be separated. He was right."

"Kissinger was more a strategist while my father had vast knowledge on this part of the world," Peter said, pronouncing 'Joy Bangla' at the end of his lecture attended by academicians and local and foreign experts on international affairs.

Responding to Peter's lecture, Musleh R Osmani, chairman of board of governors of BIISS, said the relation between the people of Bangladesh and the US has always been good except some official policies.

"American people were behind us. Their support helped us win the Liberation War. We have a very good people-to-people contact and the recent visits of Bill Gates and Ted Turner proved it again," he said adding that the Americans' preference of democracy, liberty and freedom is always impressive.

He also presided over the programme.

BIISS Research Director Col ZRM Ashraf Uddin said the USA now helps Bangladesh in long-term development programmes, especially in food production, health, education and rural infrastructure development.