Crackdown on Bangalis continues

On March 27, the crackdown on unarmed Bengali people continued under 'Operation Searchlight' with the army opening fire on people who were putting up resistance against unloading of arms from Pakistani ship 'Swat' at the Chittagong Port.  
As a consequence, demonstrations took a violent turn and in various places of the province firing took place and curfew was imposed.
As a protest against firing of the army in Syedpur, Rangpur and Joydevpur, Awami League called a dawn-to-dusk hartal on 27 March throughout the province.
The scheduled meeting for submitting the final draft of the constitution to the President was not held.
A telegram containing the text of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's declaration reached some students in Chittagong. The message was translated into Bengali by Dr Manjula Anwar.
The students failed to secure permission from higher authorities to broadcast the message from the nearby Agrabad Station of Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation.
However, the message was read several times by the independent Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendro Radio established by some rebel Bengali Radio workers in Kalurghat.
Major Ziaur Rahman was requested to provide security for the station and he also read the Declaration on 27 March 1971.
Major Ziaur Rahman broadcast announcement of the declaration of independence on behalf of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at 7:45pm on March 27.
He read, "This is Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra. I, Major Ziaur Rahman, at the direction of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, hereby declare that Independent People's Republic of Bangladesh has been established. At his direction, I have taken the command as the temporary Head of the Republic. In the name of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, I call upon all Bengalese to rise against the attack by the West Pakistani Army. We shall fight to the last to free our motherland. Victory is, by the Grace of Allah, ours. Joy Bangla."
M.A Hannan, an Awami League leader from Chittagong, made the first announcement of the declaration of independence over the radio on 26 March 1971.
The Kalurghat Radio Station's transmission capability was limited but the message was picked up by a Japanese ship in the Bay of Bengal. It was then re-transmitted by Radio Australia and later by the British Broadcasting Corporation.
Archer Blood, the American Consular General sent a telegram to different American consulate offices and embassies around the world expressing extreme horror at the systematic killing.
He said: 1. Here in Decca we are mute and horrified witnesses to a reign of terror by the Pak[istani] Military. Evidence continues to mount that the MLA authorities have list of AWAMI League supporters whom they are systematically eliminating by seeking them out in their homes and shooting them down.
2. Moreover, with the support of the Pak[istani] Military. non-Bengali Muslims are systematically attacking poor people's quarters and murdering Bengalis and Hindus.
During the debate in Lok Sabha Indira Gandhi, the Prime Minister of India made an intervention and talked about the political situation in East Pakistan. She also discussed it in Rajya Sabha :
"We are interested in this matter for many reasons, firstly as one Member has said, that Shri Mujibur Rahman has stood for the values which we ourselves cherish the values of democracy, the values of secularism and the values of socialism. We are also concerned with the truly wonderful and unique way in which the people there had stood behind him and behind these values. We are no less full of sorrow and grave concern and even agony at what is happening there but I can only appeal to the Hon. Members that this is not a moment when the Government can say anything more and whatever the Government may or may not be able to do it would not be wise if this becomes a matter for public debate."
In the morning temporarily curfew was removed and the foreign journalists staying in Hotel intercontinental were removed and escorted to the Airport amidst tight security.
In a special aircraft they were forced to leave Dhaka. However sneaking from the view of the military two of them managed to escape and stay back in Dhaka amidst grave danger. They are Simon Dring of the Daily Telegraph and AFP photographer Michelle.
Throughout the city the remnants of many lifeless bodies were seen scattered- a stark reminder of the atrocities by the Pakistan military.
On the other side of Buriganga in Jinjira the Freedom fighters continued to gather together.
As soon as the curfew was lifted, groups of people left Dhaka city for a safer places.