TRANSCRIPT:



"Finally for two reasons we have taken this decision. We think that by remaining here in a friendly country we shall be able to save our government, I mean the government of Bangladesh, in a better way. Secondly, by going back to Islamabad which is no longer associated with Bangladesh, we feel that we cannot do anything for our government. But precisely for these two reasons we have decided to take political asylum here, and do whatever we can from here from our country."



DILIP MUKERJEE: "Mr Huq, what made you do this?"



MR HUQ: "Well you know what has happened since 26 March in Bangladesh. West Pakistan army is behaving, they are like occupation force and there is (indistinct) genocide. They want to suppress the freedom movement there and they have no (indistinct) standing. I mean the West Pakistan force in Bangladesh. So when we can't do anything for our country, I mean, for Bangladesh, by going back to Islamabad, so we have decided to seek asylum here. And we want to further the cause of Bangladesh by remaining in India.



MR MUKERJEE: Mr Huq, as (indistinct) newspaper reports that we have seen here, large areas of Bangladesh are already free?"



MR HUQ: "Yes, you say that all I should say is that all the rural areas are free and most of the towns are free under the occupation of the liberation force of Bangladesh. Only a few government cities, they're fighting there hard, I mean the West Pakistan occupation force, they are fighting hard in some government cities. It is not in all the cities."




Initials JKP:17.44


EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: We apologise for the poor quality of the sound which became badly distorted for technical reasons during the interview.

Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Background: Two senior East Pakistan High Commission diplomats in New Delhi yesterday (Wednesday) asked the Indian Government for political asylum - saying that they wished to further the cause of Bangladesh (Free Bengal). They are Second Secretary K M Shehabuddin and Assistant Press Attache Amjadul Huq.

The two diplomats were interviewed in a private Indian home shortly after midnight and they declared that they could not return because the Government of Islamabad (West Pakistan) was a "foreign, colonial regime, which had shown itself to be ore barbarous and oppressive than any history has known". VISNEWS cameraman Jagdish Kapoor was there to film the interview.

Speaking to Indian journalist Dilip Mukerjee, Mr Shehabbudin: