I have declared today my own personal “Archer K. Blood” day. I did not know much about the US Consul-General in Dhaka (Dacca) during 1971; it was T who pointed out to me that the American Center Library is named after him. After a bit of research, I found that he was quite a courageous diplomat who was willing to stand up to Nixon and say that the atrocities perpetrated by the Pakistani army against the Bengalis in the late days of March 1971 should not go without some kind of condemnation. The US government, however, chose to stand by as people were massacred in Dhaka, even after Blood sent, not one, but three telegrams urging the USG to change its stance. Blood was quickly removed from his post and told to return to the US. I’m including here his first telegram to the USG, on 28 March 1971, three days after the Pakistani army moved into the city.
28 March 1971
February 10, 2009 at 3:26 pm |
that is a shocking report from the days just after the break out of the genocide….
August 28, 2009 at 9:13 pm |
Tuphan/Tiffany,
I came across your blog quite accidentally while searching the net for the misdeeds of foreign diplomats stationed in Bangladesh. I have found your blog to be so incredible that I have been raving about it with my friends who live in the USA and are interested in Bangladesh. This is truly remarkable .. thank you so much for sharing. It is people like you who build bridges between cultures and peoples separated by oceans and mountains .. You have painted an accurate picture of the country where I was born .. truly remarkable!