Memorandum
from the President's Assistant for National Security
Affairs (Kissinger) to President Nixon/1/
/1/
Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 370,
Subject Files, Presidential Determinations, 71-11-72-09/71. Confidential.
Sent for action.
SUBJECT
Relief Assistance for
You will
recall that your recent letter/2/ to Mrs. Gandhi included informing her that we
would be providing an additional $15 million in relief assistance for the
almost 4 million East Pakistanis who have so far fled to India. Now the paper
work has caught up with this action and you are being asked by Secretary Rogers
[Tab A]/3/ to sign the determination which would complete the legal requirements
for transferring $5 million in Foreign Assistance funds to refugee relief so
your decision can be implemented. The determination is to the effect that it is
"important to the national interest" to use these funds this way. In
view of our interest in alleviating the tensions caused by this large refugee
problem, this is a reasonable finding. The Office of Management and Budget
concurs [Tab A]./4/
/2/
Document 62.
/3/ All brackets in the source text. Attached as Tab A but not printed was a May 29 memorandum from
/4/ OMB
Director George Shultz concurred in the attached but not printed June 2
memorandum to Nixon.
State has
also sent over a suggested White House press release [Tab B]/5/ although he
does not indicate his thoughts on the desirability of making the announcement
here rather than at the State Department. I understand, however, that the
Department simply thought you might prefer to take full credit through a
special White House announcement as has been done with other major relief programs.
As I see it, from a strictly foreign policy point of view it does not really
make much difference but, on balance, I would prefer letting State do it. This
will be a complex and difficult program, and I think you should not dramatize
White House responsibility for it now.
/5/
Attached but not printed.
You may at
this point be interested in a balance sheet of the major actions that have been
taken so far on the relief and related problems.
In
response to the situation in India:
-Of the initial $2.5 million in relief assistance to the refugees that you
authorized, $1.5 million has gone to feeding programs by U.S. voluntary
agencies and $500,000 has been contributed directly to the UN High Commissioner
for Refugees (UNHCR) to assist in meeting immediate needs for shelter, medical
aid and other non-food supplies.
-Of the additional $15 million, $10 million will be devoted to satisfying about
half of the estimated food needs for around 2.5 million refugees over the next
three months. This will be coordinated through the UNHCR but administered
through US voluntary agencies, international organizations, and Indian relief
agencies.
-We have encouraged and supported U Thant and the
UNHCR in internationalizing the refugee relief program.
-Informed the Indians that in response to their request through the UNHCR we
are willing to provide four C-130s for the airlift of refugees from overcrowded
border areas and to deliver relief supplies to the remaining refugees.
-Briefed the Indians on what we are doing to get relief operations started in
-Urged the Indians to act with restraint toward
With
-Encouraged acceptance of U Thant's representative as
the coordinator of a large program of international relief assistance for the
people of
-Urged President Yahya to restore peaceful conditions
in
-Encouraged Yahya to create a political situation
that will permit restoration of economic normality.
-Urged that the port and inland distribution facilities be repaired to permit
distribution of relief and other commodities to the populace and to this end
have arranged to send a US port specialist to East Pakistan to assist.
-Emphasized the need for maintaining restraint toward
Recommendation:/6/
/6/ Haig signed the approval option on Kissinger's behalf for
the President and put a checkmark to approve the announcement by the Department
of State. On June 8 the Department announced that the
1. That
you sign the determination [at brown signature tab] to transfer $5 million from
Foreign Assistance Funds to use for refugee relief./7/
/7/ On
June 7 President Nixon signed Presidential Determination No. 71-15. (National
Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files,
2. That
you approve announcement by the State Department.