Bulgaria

The Presidium of the National Assembly and the Council of Ministers of the People’s Republic of Bulgaria have approved the composition of our delegation, bearing in mind the important questions on the agenda of the fifteenth session of the General Assembly, and have given us wide powers to take part in the discussion and in the solution of the problems on the agenda. 86. No doubt, the main characteristic feature of the fifteenth session of the General Assembly lies in the fact that this is the first time the most responsible statesmen of so many countries have participated in the work of the General Assembly. This is not only an expression of consideration and respect for the United Nations; it is a testimony to our serious and highly responsible attitude towards the problems to be discussed at this session, problems which are of exclusive importance for all States and nations. Let us hope that in this respect the fifteenth session of the General Assembly will mark a turning point in the history of the United Nations. 87. Before expounding the stand of the Bulgarian people and Government on the fundamental problems on the agenda, I would like on behalf of our delegation and our people cordially to greet the newly admitted members of the United Nations and to wish them success in the consolidation of their independence, their national economy and culture, as well as fruitful co-operation in the United Nations for the benefit of world peace. 88. The People’s Republic of Bulgaria and its Government are consistently carrying out a policy of peace and peaceful coexistence among the nations with different economic and social systems. The principles of peaceful coexistence are guiding principles in our country’s relations with other States and in every step and initiative it takes in international life. This foreign policy of our country is inspired by the Bulgarian Communist Party which for nearly seven decades now has been educating the Bulgarian people in the spirit of international solidarity, respect and love for the other nations and countries. During the very first days of people’s rule in Bulgaria, Georgi Dimitrov pointed out that the People's Republic of Bulgaria needed lasting peace, friendship and co-operation with all nations in "order to be able to catch up with the more advanced countries and to become a democratic and socialist Stat3 with a developed economy and high culture. 89. Our country’s foreign policy fully corresponds to and is a continuation of its home policy — a policy of an all-round upsurge along the road of socialism and of intense economic and cultural development, a policy whose aim is to improve the well-being of the people. In the past sixteen years our people have scored enormous achievements in the fields of industry, agriculture, construction, education, science and culture- achievements which have radically transformed our country. 90. Bulgaria's mutual relations with the other socialist countries develop in an excellent way mid in the spirit of complete unity and understanding. They grow increasingly closer and stronger on the baps of fraternal friendship, co-operation and mutual assistance in our common socialist cause. Following the line of friendship and co-operation with all nations we maintain diplomatic, economic and cultural relations with many countries in the world. In this respect we attribute an exceptional importance to our relations with the Balkan States and make consistent efforts to consolidate peace in the Balkans. 91. We supported the proposal made by Mr. Khrushchev, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, for the transformation of the Balkans and the Adriatic into an atom and rocket-free area. We also supported the proposal of the Romanian Government for the calling of a conference of the leading statesmen of the Balkan States to discuss some basic problems of the situation in the Balkan peninsula. 92. Our Government has always manifested and will continue to manifest its readiness to discuss and support any proposal, wherever it may come from, as long as it is in the interests of the general development of the Balkans along the path of understanding, good neighbourly co-operation and peace. 93. On many occasions, our Government has proposed detailed and concrete measures which would help to improve relations among the Balkan States. We have proposed, for examine, that we should sign a nonaggression pact among the Balkan States; reach an agreement for a decisive reduction of the armed forces of the Balkan States to the level sufficient for frontier guard duty; transform the Balkans into the area in which the idea for a general and complete disarmament would first find its application; expand mutual economic co-operation and trade relations among the Balkan countries upon the principles of equality and mutual benefit; build with common efforts hydro and power projects of Balkan-wide significance so as to ensure the fullest possible utilization of the natural and other wealth and resources of the Balkans; exchange industrial, agricultural and other exhibitions and parliamentary, cultural, scientific, sports and other delegations; develop tourism among our countries, etc. 94.. In spite of the efforts we are making, the progress so far achieved in this respect is only a beginning. We continue to support our proposals. We are not losing hope that these proposals, which are of mutual benefit, will meet with a favourable response on the part of the Governments of the interested Balkan States and will help to reduce tension in the Balkans. 95. It is our profound conviction that there exist in the Balkans the objective conditions necessary for the solution of the pending problems. There are no such controversial problems among the Balkan countries which could not be settled around the table provided we display good will and a desire for mutual understanding. We are neighbouring countries; we have lived, we live and we shall continue to live in the Balkan peninsula in immediate contact. No Balkan Government desiring to carry out a realistic policy should forget this fact. 96. On behalf of our Government, I would like once again from this rostrum to address an appeal to the Governments of all Balkan States and, more particularly to the Governments of Turkey and Greece, for joint measures and common efforts to transform the Balkans — this former powder keg of Europe — into a peaceful and tranquil cornet of the earth. 97. We would like to express our satisfaction at the fact that the general line of peaceful coexistence followed by the Soviet Union and the other socialist countries in international relations is asserting itself day after day. Its attractive power is growing. It has already been adopted and is supported by many countries, by different circles and public figures throughout the world. The line of peaceful coexistence corresponds to the basic interests of both the peoples of the socialist countries and of all other peoples. That is why it has grown into a material force in the development of the international situation. 98. It Is a happy fact that in the United Nations, too, the representatives of many countries and nations honestly and sincerely stand on the principles of peaceful coexistence. The policy of peaceful coexistence is a realistic policy, dictated by life itself, by the vital necessity to ensure world peace and to solve the international controversies by peaceful means. Only this line in international relations can guarantee and lead to the lessening of international tensions, to the disbanding of the military blocks and the liquidation of military bases, to the realization of general and complete disarmament, to the exclusion of war from the life of society, to broad economic, cultural and scientific relations among the nations. 99. The imperative necessity today Is to counteract every attempt to make the policy of peaceful coexistence retreat from the positions it has already conquered. The line of peaceful coexistence should be further asserted and developed. Every attempt to divert the nations from this line should be thwarted. As far as our country and Government are concerned, I should like to stress once again that they will continue to work for the assertion of the principle of peaceful coexistence, that they will go on fighting against the attempts to sow hatred among the nations and to intensify international tensions and the ’bold war". 100. On the other hand, it would be naive to fail to see or to underrate the other line in international relations — the line of the armaments drive, of intensification of the cold war and of increasing international tension, the policy of undermining international understanding under the flag of anti-communism. We should openly name the proponents of this line which they so obstinately defend even at the current session. The peoples should know them well. They are the imperialist powers, the aggressive ruling circles in the United States and in other Western countries — United States partners in NATO. Particularly alarming is the fact that the military circles in the United States and elsewhere in the West, who play the game of the monopolies which are materially interested in military production, have gained the upper hand and are exerting a decisive influence on the foreign policy of the Governments. In the present international situation this fact is loaded with danger. On the other hand, the unsettled international problems resulting from the Second World War form a constant source of tensions in international life and, if not solved in good time, represent a serious threat to world peace and security. 101. No doubt the most serious of these problems is the German problem, the problem of signing a peace treaty with Germany. Many countries and nations, including our own, which more than once have fallen victims to German militarism, are deeply alarmed at the fact that irredentism and militarism are being revived in Western Germany and insolently begin to bare their claws. Could the nations calmly watch how the power of the irredentist Bonn army is being increased and how conditions are being created to provide it with nuclear weapons and rockets? If during the last war many countries and nations became the prey of German militarism, the resurrection of this ghost of war in the heart of Europe could lead to a third world war, to a terrible disaster for mankind. That is why it is extremely dangerous to maintain the present situation in West Germany which creates a climate of insecurity in Europe. This is a real crime against mankind. The West German militarists ought to be bridled before it is too late. 102. It is necessary to sign as soon as possible a peace treaty with Germany and to settle the problem of West Berlin. The solution of the German problem can no longer be delayed. That is why we support the proposal to sign a peace treaty with Germany as soon as possible. Let us hope that the Governments of the United States, the United Kingdom and France will finally support the efforts of the Soviet Union for the signing of a peace treaty with Germany and for the liquidation of this dangerous hotbed of war. 103. Let us take another unsettled international problem — the Korean problem. Could one ever ensure peace in the Far East and in the world without the just solution of this problem? There is only one way to solve the problem, and it is the peaceful reunification of North and South Korea, which should be brought about by the Korean people themselves without any foreign interference. We support the proposal for a confederation between North and South Korea on the basis of the draft presented by the Government of the Korean People's Democratic Republic. 104. Naturally, there can be no question of Korean unification as long as South Korea is under foreign tutelage and as long as American troops exercise full control and behave in an irresponsible way there. That is why the first and foremost condition for the successful solution of the Korean problem is to ensure the immediate withdrawal of the American troops from South Korea, thus enabling the people not only in North Korea but also in South Korea to have a free say concerning their country's destiny. 105. Mankind cannot remain calm when militaristic circles in the United States and other Western countries are perpetrating provocations and undertaking aggressive actions in one part of the world or another, and especially when these acts are extolled as official government policy. Such is, for example, the case with the perfidious intrusion of United States military Spying aircraft into the air space of the Soviet Union and of other countries. Could this be called a reasonable policy? These actions are incompatible with international law and with the principles of the United Nations Charter; they represent a serious threat to world peace and security. This is a dangerous, adventurous game which should be stopped. 106. We support the Soviet Government's proposal to discuss at the current session the question of the menace to world peace caused by the aggressive actions of the United States against the USSR, K is the duty of the United Nations to make its own the just verdict with which the nations branded these shameful aggressive and provocative acts of the United States. It is the obligation of the United Nations, stemming from its Charter and its fundamental principles, to request all its Members to observe the most elementary norms in international relations, to respect the sovereign rights of all nations and to renounce the methods of violence, provocation and aggression. 107. At present, the questions of abolishing the colonial system and of general and complete disarmament acquire an exclusive importance for the destinies of mankind. Allow me to dwell on these questions. 108. The question of the complete and final abolition of the colonial system is one of the most urgent and cardinal problems of our time. Every State, every Government, bears a responsibility for its solution. No doubt the United Nations Organization also bears a responsibility in this matter. 109. I should like to state, first of all, that the delegation of the People's Republic of Bulgaria supports, word by word, the declaration on the granting of independence to colonial countries and peoples submitted to the session by the Soviet Government. It is our view that the declaration is a historic document of exceptional international importance. There is not the slightest doubt that the peoples of all continents and that public opinion of the entire world will adopt the declaration as a manifesto, as a charter of the freedom and independence, of the equality and respect for the sovereign rights and the territorial integrity of all nations on our planet, without execution. A testimony to this is the world-wide response with which the Soviet proposal have met everywhere and especially among the colonial and newly liberated peoples. No matter how hard the colonialists try to lessen the impact of the Soviet proposal, no matter what efforts they make in this respect, the incontestable fact is that the declaration of the Soviet Government will remain in the annals of history as one of the brightest and most humane documents of mankind. 110. We should like to express our confidence that the General Assembly will vote and approve the declaration on the granting of independence to the colonial countries and peoples. This would tremendously enhance the prestige of the United Nations in the eyes of all humanity. The peoples will see in the United Nations not only an organization expressing their most cherished hopes and striving for a peaceful, free and happy life but also an active organ which defends in practice their just interests and demands and which solves the urgent problems of our times. 111. The great October socialist revolution opened a new page in the history of mankind. It also opened the page of the disintegration and collapse of the colonial system. The fact that the socialist camp came into being in the world and is growing stronger made it possible for scores of countries to win their freedom and to take up the road of independent development. In the black continent of Africa the peoples are rising in masse to fight and destroy the colonial system. Yet more than 100 million people still suffer in the fetters of colonialism. This shameful phenomenon should no longer be the black spot of human civilization. The time has come for freedom, justice and humaneness to triumph in all corners of the earth and for all nations. Colonial slavery should give way and will inevitably, give way to the free, independent and sovereign development of all nations, big and small, black and white. We should all make every effort so that the middle of the twentieth century could be marked by the burial of the colonial system. 112. When we speak of abolishing the colonial system , we are perfectly aware of the fact that the colonizers are making every effort to keep their positions. With sword and fire, with teeth and nails, they are trying to preserve their domination over the colonial and dependent countries. They are shedding the blood not only of the enslaved peoples but of their own peoples as well. With their unreasonable and adventurous colonial policy they complicate the international situation and create a grave danger to world peace. 113. The modern colonialists spread the "theory" that colonialism has allegedly changed and "ennobled" itself, that the colonial peoples — as some representatives of the colonial Powers put it here — have allegedly turned into "allied nations", that the former relationship between the master State and the enslaved States has become a thing of the past. None of this is true. In order to keep the lands and the riches of the colonies and of the newly liberated countries, the modern colonialists still refuse, to renounce the barbarous methods and means of plunder and oppression which were used by their ancestors in the past centuries when they were conquering those lands. For what does the unprecedented aggression against the Congo prove, or the six-year-old bloodshed in Algeria, the police terror in the countries of East Africa, the outrages of the racialist Government in the Union of South Africa, the savage terror in the Portuguese colonies of Angola and Mozambique, the provocations and plots against Cuba, Indonesia and Laos? The rapacious plunder of the wealth of individual countries; the crushing of all human rights and liberties, the punitive expeditions, the prisons and concentration camps; the hard and unbearable slave labour; the misery, starvation and ignorance of the colonial nations; the incitement of nations and tribes against each other — all this in plain language is nothing but shameful colonial policy. This has hardly anything to do with philanthropy and benevolence or with a "civilizing mission" in the colonies. 114. It is not for philanthropic or civilizing activities that the imperialists need the colonies. They need them to plunder their riches, to extract and pile up fabulous profits from these countries. It is no accident that the economy of the colonies is a backward economy, an economy of exploitation and plunder. It develops in a denatured and one-sided direction. The colonialists are full masters of the wealth and raw materials of the colonies. The colonizers — as our people say — skin the sheep three times in order to extract the biggest possible profit. 115. That is why we, just like any self-respecting Government and self-respecting people, stand for the immediate and complete abolition of colonialism, that black spot of humanity. It is hardly necessary for me to enumerate in detail what the results of the abolition of the colonial system would be. Suffice it to say that its abolition will bring freedom to the peoples of a number of countries. There would be an end once and for all to the indescribable sufferings, the unparalleled humiliation and suppression of the national and human dignity of the colonial nations. The abolition of colonialism will improve their national self-confidence, it will free and open up wide vistas to the development of their creative activities and initiatives. The productive forces of society will get a powerful impetus. Conditions will be created for a much more fruitful utilization of the world’s resources and the present gaps in economic development among the different countries will be bridged. 116. Do I have to point out the growing beneficial effect which the abolition of the colonial system will have upon the development of international relations, the lessening of world tensions and the consolidation of world peace? We are deeply convinced that the complete and final abolition of the colonial system will be an epoch-making success not only for the enslaved nations but also for mankind as a whole. It will help human progress develop at an. unprecedented pace, thus opening a new page in modern history. 117. The experience of the Bulgarian people also shows what it means for a people to throw off the shackles of imperialist bondage. I beg the Assembly to allow me to mention a few data. For decades our people suffered under the domination of foreign militarist and monopolist groups. Our country's economy was extremely backward and was actually transformed into an appendage providing agricultural products and raw materials to the advanced, industrialized Western countries. For sixteen years now our people have been masters of their country, conscientious builders of their life and their destinies. From a dependent and backward agrarian country, Bulgaria has changed into a free industrial-agrarian country. The productive forces are rapidly developing and our national economy is growing stronger. Many new branches’ of industry, including branches of heavy industry, have been created. In 1959 industrial production was eleven times that of 1939, whilst the ratio between the volumes of industrial and agricultural production during the same period changed roughly from 25:75 to 71:29. Whereas formerly in Bulgaria there was an insignificant number of tractors and reapers and absolutely no harvester- combines, now thousands upon thousands of tractors, harvester-combines and many other agricultural machines are being used. Unemployment — that scourge of the working people — has been dealt away with once and for all. Real income per caput has risen by 73 per cent since 1952. The State provides pensions to all aged industrial and office workers and co-operative farmers. Illiteracy has been done away with. Medical aid and education, including university education, are free. The people have unlimited access to the fruits of science, education and culture. Suffice it to point out that the number of university students has risen from 10,000 in 1939 to 49,000 in 1960. This means that 63 out of every 10,000 people in our country study in higher institutes of learning. 118. These are only a few facts about the situation in our country. This is how the "slaves” in Bulgaria work, live and create. Some of the speakers at the present session have shown a strange compassion for the peoples in the socialist countries. Our people, however, are very familiar with this type of compassion since they have been "enjoying” it for quite a number of years. 119. I would invite you, Mr. Diefenbaker, to come to our country to see conditions there for yourself. Our Slavic hospitality is well known and we shall meet you with an open heart. We shall not organize pitiable demonstrations against you, not only because this is alien to the spirit of the Bulgarians but also because it is incompatible with the elementary rules of hospitality, Come to see for yourself the enthusiasm of the Bulgarian industrial and office workers and cooperative farmers, of all sections of the people; come and see how they are building their happy socialist life. You will be able to see with your own eyes that the slaves, of yesterday, whose rights were trodden upon and suppressed, are today the real masters in the new Bulgaria. Therein lies our power, therein lies the power of the entire socialist camp. It is rooted in the inexhaustible possibilities of the socialist system, in the unlimited prospects it opens for the all-around development of human personality. 120. So that you will not say I am making propaganda, let me repeat: Come to our country, gentlemen; come to Bulgaria to find out personally how things stand. 121. When we speak of the rapid progress of our economy and of our historic and peaceful victories, we cannot fail to stress the decisive role of the assistance which we receive from the Soviet Union, the role of our mutual co-operation with the other socialist countries. The Soviet Union supplies our country and a number of other countries with the best up-to-date machinery and equipment and helps us rapidly to develop our economy. Thus, for example, forty-five big factories and plants and twenty-five individual construction sites have been built in our country with Soviet assistance. The Soviet Union generously provides us with tractors, harvester-combines and other agricultural machines, with raw materials, credits and specialists; it renders us an all-sided economic, scientific, technical and cultural assistance. This assistance creates the conditions necessary for the rapid development of the forces of production in Bulgaria and guarantees its national independence and state sovereignty. This is disinterested assistance such as is given only by brother to brother. By its scope and content the assistance of the Soviet Union is unprecedented in the history of the Bulgarian people. It is a fundamental truth for us that without the assistance and support of the Soviet Union, without our mutual co-operation with the remaining socialist countries, the great economic and cultural achievements of our country would have been unthinkable. Our friendship with the peoples of the Soviet Union is not only deeply rooted in the past; it has been won in the hard struggle our people fought against monarcho-fascist dictatorship, it has been won at the price of the heavy sacrifices which have paved for us the salutary road of socialist development. 122. It goes without saying that it is not enough to achieve only formal independence. This independence should become a real one, so that the former colonies may set out upon the road of free and sovereign development and create and develop their national economy. 123. We realize only too well that the newly liberated peoples will not be able to overcome their backwardness by their own efforts and resources alone. They need the all-sided assistance of the advanced countries. It is logical and justified for the United Nations Organization to request those economically and technically advanced countries which until now have had colonial possessions, to restore, for the moment at least, part of the wealth they have plundered, so that the material and cultural progress of the newly liberated countries may be helped and so, that conditions may be created for the provision of at least the most elementary living standards for their populations. 124. But when we speak of aid to the under-developed countries, we know that there is aid and "aid". Here, from this rostrum, we cannot but condemn the intentions and aims of a number of colonial Powers which, under the form of "aid", strive to perpetuate the economic backwardness and dependence of the under-developed countries. We cannot ignore the fact that this "aid” is accompanied by overt and hidden political, economic or military conditions. We cannot reconcile ourselves to the fact that such strings seriously endanger the freedom, independence and sovereignty of the individual States. It is no secret that some rich countries which strive to appear as benefactors and philanthropists get a hundred dollars of profit for every single dollar of "aid" which they provide to the under-developed countries. It is quite obvious that this type of "aid" leads to the further exploitation and exhaustion of these countries’ economies. As a matter of fact, this is a bait, a trap masked as aid. The under-developed countries need no such "aid". 125. It is quite clear that the main problem facing the colonial countries which have won their independence is the problem of creating their own national economy and their own industry, of abolishing feudal economic forms, of carrying out land reform — in a word, of developing all branches of production. It is precisely on this major problem that the President of the United States, Mr. Eisenhower, did not pay a single word in his speech to the General Assembly. His proposal was aimed primarily at measures for rendering social assistance to the under-developed countries. The under-developed countries do not need charity, mites and alms. It is a well-known fact that there can be no real freedom and independence that these countries will not be able to create and develop their national economy, unless they rid themselves of their economic dependence upon the monopolies. 126. We, like many other countries, consider that the under-developed countries should be helped with an open heart — honestly, sincerely and selflessly; that the aid granted to them should have no strings attached, or either a political or any other nature; and that the aid should bring no privileges to the country providing it. This is the type of aid the socialist countries are giving the under-developed countries. It should be recognized as a fact that this is the first time in history that such aid is being granted, that a new type of economic relations, unknown in former times, is being created between highly developed and underdeveloped countries. These relations are based on the principles of complete equality, respect for each other’s internal affairs. We may note with satisfaction that the economic and technical assistance granted by the Soviet Union and the other socialist countries to the under-developed countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America is growing year by year. This disinterested aid of the Soviet Union and the other socialist countries not only makes it possible for these countries to consolidate their economy and independence, but is also becoming an important factor in world economic relations, 127. Some people who like reading the Gospel upside-down insinuate that in helping the under-developed countries the socialist countries are after spheres of influence. It is unnecessary to prove that the socialist countries do not strive for spheres of influence and do not divide the world into blocs, into privileged and unprivileged nations. This patent belongs to others. But we are justified in asking the following questions: What is it that prevents the Western countries, too, from giving the same type of disinterested assistance to the under-developed countries, assistance with absolutely no strings attached? Would it not be more reasonable if, instead of spending huge sums on blackmail, bribes and provocations, on "coups d’état" and on supporting anti-popular puppet governments, on the maintenance of police forces and on the armaments drive, the Western Powers invested at least a portion of these funds in the development of the economy of the new States? 128. We cannot fail to stress our anxiety at the fact that the imperialists, under the leadership of the United States monopolists, are taking co-ordinated steps to preserve colonial bondage; they are trying to replace the present colonial forms by new forms and methods of enslavement, with new masters taking the place of the old. 129. Can we ever regard calmly the danger represented by the various forms of modem colonialism, under the shield of the United States imperialists, to, for example, the nations of Asia, Africa and Latin America? Attempts are being made to substitute a system of the joint exploitation of the colonies and the newly liberated countries for the former domination by individual Western States, to substitute one type of slavery for another. Naturally, these nations are none the better off as a result, just as a person who has been robbed does not feel better off when he realizes that he has been the victim not of one bandit but of a whole gang of highwaymen. 130. We are also seriously alarmed at the fact that the military and political alliances and organizations such as SEATO, CENTO and others are in fact tools of modem colonialism. These blocs pursue the infernal aim of crushing or hindering the national struggle for liberation of the enslaved nations in order that such slavery may be perpetuated. It is no secret that shade newly liberated countries have already been drawn into the above-mentioned military and political groups and have thus again lost their independence — falling, as we say, from the frying pan into the fire. 131. I should like to point out that what we have in mind is the complete abolition of colonialism and not, as the colonialists desire, the substitution of one of its forms for another. The colonialists are trying to convince us that the colonial peoples possess no statesmanship, that they are not yet ripe for independent development, that they are not capable of governing their countries and disposing of their riches, and so forth. According to them, if the colonial authorities left the colonies a "vacuum” would be formed there. What kind of "vacuum" have they in mind? A "vacuum" which would enable a group of monopolists to get a foothold in these countries and to continue to plunder them? There is no vacuum here. Here there are nations, which alone have the right to be the masters of their land. The peoples who have rejected colonial bondage have demonstrated that they can successfully rule their countries and exploit their resources. 132. Our epoch, as the Head of the Soviet Government, Mr. Khrushchev, correctly described it here, is an epoch of tempestuous renovation of the forms of existence of human society, a period of unparalleled drive for mastering the forces of nature, of unprecedented striving for a more progressive social system. Our century is a century of the fight for freedom, of the liberation of the people’s forces, a century of the collapse of the colonial system. The disintegration and complete abolition of the colonial system is an irresistible and logical process. No matter what efforts the colonizers may make, they will not be able to stop this process, just as they were not able to prevent the formation of scores of new States in Asia and Africa. No pitiable efforts can eclipse the bright light of freedom and national independence. Our poet Ivan Vazov wrote: "Tyrants, your efforts are in vain! You cannot put out the light that dies not!". 133. The time has come for the colonial Powers to heed the just voice of all mankind, the imperative need of our times, and voluntarily to grant freedom and independence to the colonial peoples. Should they fail to do so, it is the duty of all progressive mankind, of all nations to render the necessary moral and material support to the fighting colonial peoples so that the colonial system and all its vestiges and remains may be erased from the face of the earth once and for all. 134. We, the Bulgarian Government and people, proceeding from and guided by the right of every nation to self-determination and to independent development, have always supported the struggle of the colonial nations for freedom and independence. We shall continue to do everything in our power to bring about the quickest possible victory in the sacred struggle of the colonial and dependent nations. We shall work and fight for the triumph of justice on earth in our lifetime. 135. The proposals for general and complete disarmament made one year ago by the Soviet Union at the fourteenth session of the United Nations General Assembly [A/4219], as well as the new disarmament proposals submitted by the Soviet Government [A/4505] are of exceptional importance to the development of international relations, the relaxation of international tension. They place on a completely new basis one of the main and vitally important problems of our times — the problem upon the solution of which depend to a great extent the preservation of peace and the destiny of mankind. 136. The fact that it was precisely the Soviet Union — the great country which was the first in history to open up the road to socialism — which made these proposals is an absolutely logical phenomenon. The idea of general and complete disarmament is inherent in the very nature of the socialist system — that most progressive and profoundly humane social system which liquidated the exploitation of man by man and renounced the enslavement of one nation by another, a system in which there are neither groups nor persons interested in piling up profits for military industry and military orders. Therefore, it is only too natural that all the socialist countries should endorse without any reservation the programme of the Soviet Union for general and complete disarmament. 137. The simple and perfectly clear proposals of the Soviet Union were welcomed with satisfaction, relief and hope by nations all over the world. All those who sincerely desire to avoid the calamities of a new world war greeted them and supported them. From the United Nations rostrum the representatives of a number of countries hailed them as epoch-making proposals which were of a revolutionary character and indeed opened up wide vistas for the radical solution of the problem of disarmament. The idea of general and complete disarmament was also unanimously embraced by the General Assembly. 138. It could not be otherwise. The Soviet proposals pointed to the only way out of a Situation which represented a serious and constantly growing danger for all mankind. Discovering the secrets of nature, human genius mastered the power of the atom. This obliged the world to face problems which it had never faced before. A new weapon — whose destructive power had not yet been studied and was not even known — was created. Intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of striking any point in the world were also created. It became clear that a new war would present a real danger for the annihilation not only of individual armies but of whole countries as well, of world centres of industry and the hearths of a centuries-old culture. That is why there is no more urgent task today than the task of saving mankind from a nuclear disaster, of opposing war by all the means at our disposal, of preserving peace. 139. Every honest person, every Government which places the interests and the existence of its nation above everything else, realizes only too well that, in the prevailing circumstances and in the presence of modern military technique, a new approach for the preservation of peace is heeded, that the very means which make war possible should be abolished. The programme of general and complete disarmament presented by the Soviet Union is precisely such a new approach and the only salutary and correct one which would help us to avert a military holocaust. As is well known, the aim of the Soviet proposals is the destruction and abolition of all types of armaments and the disbanding of all armed forces. Their aim is to exclude war by making it impossible. 140. The implementation of the programme of general and complete disarmament will open up a new stage in international relations, it will open up prospects which will ensure peaceful destinies for mankind. The peoples will be freed from the constant fear in which they live. The atmosphere of suspicion and insecurity among States will give way to mutual confidence, good-neighbourly relations and sincere co-operation. Conditions will be created for the equitable solution of the unsettled international problems. Lasting peace, longed for by mankind for centuries, will become a reality. Unlimited vistas for constructive labour, for a full swing of human creative genius, for an upsurge in economic development, for boundless material and cultural progress will open up for all countries. That is why general and complete disarmament is a ripe historic necessity, an absolute need for all nations and countries, a sine qua non for the existence and advancement of human society. 141. It was the task of the Ten-Nation Committee on Disarmament to work out a comprehensive and constructive plan on general and complete disarmament Our country gladly took up the task of participating in the work of that Committee. The Government of the People’s Republic of Bulgaria empowered the Bulgarian delegation to be guided by the proposals of the Soviet Union and by the explicit resolution on disarmament adopted by the General Assembly at its fourteenth session [1378(xiv)] and to make every effort to contribute to the correct solution of this problem, so that an agreement might be reached and a treaty on general and complete disarmament worked out. We must say here, however, that the information on the work of the Ten-Nation Committee and on the stand of the representatives of the Western countries on the Committee, which our Government received from the Bulgarian delegation on a regular basis, aroused our serious doubts and anxieties. 142. What did actually happen in the Ten-Nation Committee? Despite the consistent efforts of the delegations of the USSR, Bulgaria, Poland, Czechoslovakia and Romania to reach an agreement so that, in conformity with the United Nations resolution, the concrete principles of a plan and a treaty on general and complete disarmament could be worked out as quickly as possible, the delegations of the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Canada led the Ten-Nation Committee into an impasse and brought about the interruption of its work. 143. What was the stand of the Western representatives? From the very first meeting of the Ten- Nation Committee it became obvious that their aim was to sabotage the drawing up of a concrete disarmament programme and to prevent the practical solution of the disarmament problem. They obstinately refused to proceed to the discussion of the constructive programme presented by the Soviet Union and supported by the other socialist countries; the draft which they submitted, although also entitled "General and complete disarmament", contained no concrete measures for disarmament and absolutely no time limits for the practical implementation of such measures. Everything which the representatives of the United States and the other Western countries proposed in the Committee boiled down to a repetition of their demands for the establishment of the international control and inspection of armaments. These demands of the Western Powers do not go beyond the narrow limits of control of existing armaments; as a matter of fact they do not lead to any disarmament at all and have no other purpose than to establish a system of international espionage. 144. Simultaneously, the Western delegations were doing their best to kill the idea of general and complete disarmament and to compromise it in the eyes of world public opinion. They transformed the meetings of the Committee into a parlour rather than the place for a business-like exchange of ideas and for fruitful decisions it ought to have been. Moreover, they openly expressed their disagreement and dissatisfaction with the resolution of the General Assembly by virtue of which a constructive solution of the disarmament problem should be found and a concrete plan and treaty on general and complete disarmament worked out as soon as possible. 145. In these circumstances, it became quite obvious that the United States and its NATO partners were only trying to use the Ten-Nation Committee as a screen for misleading and deceiving world public opinion. The stand of the Western representatives at the Geneva talks, aimed at deceiving world public opinion, compelled the delegations of the socialist countries to discontinue their participation in the work of the Committee. 146. While the Committee was sitting at Geneva, provocatory espionage flights were undertaken with the knowledge of United Stated leaders over the territory of the Soviet Union and other States. Everything possible was done to foil the Paris Summit Conference upon which the peoples had laid great hopes for the consolidation of peace. While the Western representatives were making speeches about disarmament id the Committee, their Governments, and the United States Government in particular, boisterously announced new measures in the armaments drive — measures for an increase in the stocks of nuclear weapons and in the production of chemical and biological weapons of mass extermination. They threatened to resume nuclear tests; they expanded the construction of nuclear missile sites in the United Kingdom, Italy, the Balkans and other countries; they ordered atom-loaded United States bombers to be on the alert day and night; they proceeded to a still more rapid rearmament of the West German militarists and irredentists with rockets and nuclear weapons, and, despite the resistance of the Japanese people, they imposed a new United States- Japanese military treaty on Japan. 147. To sum up, vague speeches for peace and against war were delivered in the Ten-Nation Committee, obviously under the pressure of anxious world public opinion, but in practice everything was done to intensify international tensions and to complicate the international situation. 148. Take another example. The President of the United States, Mr. Eisenhower, often delivers speeches against war and in favour of general and lasting peace and justice; he often declares that the striving for peace exerts a decisive influence upon the principal actions of the United States Government, and so on. In his speech in this Assembly [868th meeting] the words "peace”, "justice” and "general welfare” also abounded. But whilst his lips utter words about peace and justice, his hand signs completely different orders. On 8 August I960, in his message to Congress, President Eisenhower announced that he had ordered the deployment of additional aircraft carriers to the sixth and seventh fleets, the expansion of the long- range military programme, the strengthening of air and ground forces, the development of the B-70 bombers and of the reconnaissance satellite Samos, the perfection of the Polaris ballistic missile and the increase in its production, the construction of new submarines armed with the Polaris missiles, and so forth. 149. Or look at the latest activities of NATO. On the eve of and during the present session, at which we are to discuss the problems of general and complete disarmament and of ensuring peace, they are conducting huge war manoeuvres and demonstrations of their military might in the region of the Mediterranean and in other regions of the world. 150. Does all this indicate a real desire and a sincere striving on the part of the United States and other Western Governments to proceed So the real solution of the disarmament problem? 151. The ruling circles in the United States are pursuing a policy which leads to the constant complication of the international situation. This not only constitutes a grave danger of a nuclear disaster for mankind, it also shows that those who are at the head of the United States administration have learned nothing from world developments, that they are not carrying out a realistic foreign policy and that they live with the obsolete and illusory desire to dictate their will to other nations. It is high time they left their castles in Spain, it is high time they came down to earth and took the real situation, the real correlation of forces in the world into account. The current session of the Assembly has convincingly shown the profound changes which have taken place in recent years, the immense strengthening of the forces of peace. 152. It is true that we, the socialist countries, are not to the liking of the imperialists. But we have never nourished such illusions, nor have we set ourselves such tasks. However, likes and dislikes are not the things that matter. It is high time the ruling circles in the United States understood once and for all and accepted some elementary truths, no matter how much they may dislike them. We, the socialist countries, exist; we not only exist, but our forces are growing at an incredible pace. The peoples can no longer be ordered about as they used to be. They are no longer defenceless in front of the imperialists. 153. Take the General Assembly. A few years ago less than seventy nations were represented in it. Tell me how many delegations of non-socialist countries dared at that time raise objections against the foreign policy of the United States? And when a representative nevertheless dared, though timidly, to criticize some aspects of United States policy, he was humiliated and forced to apologize. Look how greatly the situation in the United Nations has changed. See how many delegates of new nations have taken their legitimate place in the United Nations. The imperialists used to look down upon the colonial peoples, they considered them second-rate people, draught animals. But today, although some may not like this fact, they are sitting in this hall side by side with the representatives of the African nations which have just won their independence. 154. It is obvious that the Head of the Government of the Republic of Cuba is not to the taste of the United States Government. Two days ago he delivered a remarkable speech in the Assembly [872nd meeting], a speech which made mincemeat of the theories of the imperialists and their attempts to oppress and plunder the nations. He defended the right of the Cuban people and of the other Latin American peoples to independent existence and sovereign development. This speech was a bitter pill for some delegations in this hall. Nevertheless, they listened to it. We, the representatives of the socialist countries, are also in this hall, and no matter how unpleasant this fact may be to some people, they sit here and listen to us. 155. The time will come — and soon — when those to whom the United States are barring the door — the representatives of the People's Republic of China and of the Mongolian People's Republic — will also come to take their lawful place in this hall. There is no doubt that by force of the objective necessity the representatives of Algeria, Kenya, Rhodesia, Nyasaland and the other colonial peoples will also sit here with us. They exist as nations and they will send their representatives to the United Nations, if not tomorrow, then the day after tomorrow. Such are the facts, such is reality, such is the real correlation of forces. 156. What is the conclusion we ought to draw? The conclusion is that a realistic policy should be followed, a policy taking into account the facts of life. There is no other road. The only alternative would be to undermine confidence among the nations, to increase international tensions and to court nuclear disaster. 157. We consider that the disarmament problem should be discussed at the current session of the Assembly as one of its major tasks. The Assembly can outline the basic trends, the basic principles of the plan on general and complete disarmament and entrust other organs of the United Nations with the task of working out concrete measures for the solution of this problem. It would be correct, for instance, if the detailed working out of these main trends and principles were entrusted to an enlarged disarmament committee comprising also representatives from neutral countries. This would contribute to the creation of conditions for efficient and fruitful work in such a committee. 158. Expressing the will of the Bulgarian people and the peaceful policy of the Bulgarian Government our delegation fully supports the programme of the Soviet Union for general and complete disarmament and the basic principles of the treaty on general and complete disarmament, submitted to the current session of the United Nations by the Government of the Soviet Union and taking into account the expedient proposals made by some countries. We hope that the fifteenth session of the General Assembly will advance towards the solution of the disarmament problem and the working out of a treaty on general and complete disarmament providing for time-limits for the implementation of the disarmament measures and for control. In so doing, the United Nations would respond to the aspirations of mankind and would justify the hopes of the peoples. 159. We cannot fail to express our surprise at the fact that the delegation of the United States and some other Western delegations do not want a single one of the vital problems on the agenda of the current session to be discussed in plenary meeting, so that the basic provisions and instructions for their further study in the respective committees and commissions may be approved. They do not want to manifest goodwill and reason in the solution of these questions. Such is their stand on the problem of the abolition of the colonial system, the disarmament problem and other major issues. 160. Obviously, they would like the General Assembly, at the current session, to debate these problems in general terms only and submit them afterwards to the various commissions and sub-commissions so that they do not come into the open and so that they could be more easily killed. This is precisely what recent experience has proved and more particularly the experience with the stand of the Western Powers on disarmament in the Ten-Nation Committee. 161. Would it not be more expedient if the basic problems were discussed here in plenary meeting? In this case, the General Assembly could approve the basic provisions and instructions and leave the further concrete working out of the problems to the respective United Nations organs. This would indeed be a democratic method which would enable all Member countries to expound their views to world public opinion. If the Assembly follows the practice of adopting only the most general and platonic resolutions and if they are reversed afterwards in. the United Nations organs we shall be creating a grave threat to the authority of the United Nations. 162. We are all convinced that we should constantly enhance and strengthen the authority of the United Nations. But this can be the case only if the United Nations works and acts in the spirit of the ideas and principles of the United Nations Charter, It has to be regretted, however, that there are negative sides and tendencies in the work of the United Nations Which have already been mentioned here. Allow me to dwell on those negative sides and tendencies because, if they are net removed, they may seriously impair the prestige of the United Nations. 163. We all say that the United Nations is a universal international organization. And this is quite correct. We cannot say, however, that it is a truly representative organization of the entire human community. Thus, the lawful representatives of China, the country with the biggest population in the world, the representatives of the Chinese People’s Republic are still absent from the United Nations. Every sensible person will agree that this situation is quite abnormal that there is no reason whatsoever for it. It is high time that reason prevailed in the United Nations on this problem and that the representatives of the People’s Republic of China found their lawful place in the United Nations, so that great China could make its contribution to the joint efforts of mankind for the solution of the vital problems of our time and for the consolidation of world peace, also within the framework of the United Nations. And, as a matter of fact, what grounds can there be for preventing the Mongolian People’s Republic from taking its lawful place in the United Nations? 164. The existing practice of admitting new Members to the United Nations mainly on the basis of the likes and dislikes of the big western Powers should cease because it is unworthy and insulting to the United Nations. The political map of the world has changed There are capitalist States in the world, there are also socialist States, including the People’s Republic of China and the Mongolian People’s Republic; there are white yellow and black people. The United Nations should open wide its doors to all nations so that it may become a truly universal and all-embracing world organization. Should it fail to do so, it will not prove worthy of the great tasks and high aims laid down in its Charter. 165. We regret to have to point out that work in the United Nations does not always proceed in accordance with its fundamental principles and with the provisions of its Charter. The attempt of some Western States to use the institution of the Secretary-General and the United Nations apparatus for their own economic and political ends and for various machinations is laden with grave dangers for the normal relations among States and for peace. 166. When the United Nations apparatus commits acts which are in flagrant contradiction with the Charter of the Organization — as is the case with events in the Congo — the international authority of the United Nations is seriously undermined. It has now become clear that the lawful Government and Parliament of the Republic of the Congo have been removed with the aid of the Secretary-General and the United Nations apparatus. In this case the Secretary-General and the United Nations apparatus are undoubtedly playing the role of executive organs of colonialism. A tense atmosphere has been created in the Congo. An open and gross intervention in the internal affairs of the Congolese people which has just shaken off the colonial yoke, has been perpetrated; this is a cynical outrage against the free will of the people. These activities have created a dangerous situation for peace in Africa and in the whole world. 167. The United Nations should help the freedom- loving Congolese nation in its struggle for the achievement of complete and real independence against the attempts of the colonizers to violate the country’s territorial integrity and to preserve the colonial regime in the country. It is the sacred duty of the United Nations energetically to co-operate for the re-establishment in the Congo of the Government legally elected by Parliament and headed by Mr. Patrice Lumumba. 168. Now let us take the case of the Republic of Cuba. The heroic and glorious people of Cuba overthrew the puppet dictatorial regime and took the road of freedom and independence. This, however, was not to the liking of the American monopolists and of the ruling circles in the United States. Two days ago the Prime Minister of the Republic of Cuba, Mr. Fidel Castro very clearly and convincingly explained to the General Assembly what were the reasons for this. Under the eyes of world public opinion perfidious provocations are perpetrated against Cuba and an armed aggression is being openly prepared against the young republic. And though this is happening, so to say, under, the very eyes of the United Nations, the Organization has done nothing so far and continues to do nothing to thwart the aggression prepared against Cuba; it has not undertaken the defence of the people of Cuba. Does one have to remind the Assembly that it is the task of the United Nations to take effective measures against the interference of one State in the internal affairs of another and against the aggressive actions of one State against another? We cannot fail to stress that the people of Cuba, who did not bow in the face of threats and who are firmly defending their freedom and independence, have won the respect and admiration of all peoples and the right to decide themselves on their fate and to dispose of the riches of their country. 169. We are also of the opinion that the time is ripe to reorganize the Secretariat and the United Nations apparatus so that the necessary impartiality and objectivity could be ensured in the implementation of the decisions of the United Nations and its organs. In this connexion we consider expedient the proposal made by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, Mr. Khrushchev [869th meeting], to reorganize the United Nations Secretariat and to create a collective leadership of the Secretariat. 170. It is obvious that the entire work of the United Nations and its organs should be so directed and guided as to ensure the implementation of the main task of the Organization — the maintenance of world peace and security, the development of friendly relations and cooperation among nations, and the consolidation of the policy of peaceful coexistence. Let us take the following example. Tomorrow, when we come to the establishment of international armed forces under United Nations command, the question may be asked: Who is going to command these forces? Will it be a representative of the Soviet Union? Obviously, the United States will not agree to that. Or will it be a representative of the United States? It is obvious that this is inappropriate and wrong. In this case we shall need a command which would reflect the prevailing conditions, the real relationship of forces in the world. Thus, it will be necessary to establish a collective and not an individual leadership of the Secretariat of the United Nations. 171. In connexion with this proposal the United States Secretary of State, Mr. Herter, and the United States representative in the United Nations, Mr. Wadsworth, alleged that this was an attack on the United Nations, and that the USSR intended to destroy the structure of the United Nations. They started speaking about a "crisis" in the United Nations. This is indeed a strange reaction. Mr. Khrushchev’s proposal takes into consideration the necessity for the groups of States which have come into existence in the world — the socialist countries; the NATO Powers and the non-committed nations — to be represented in the United Nations Secretariat and apparatus by ensuring a collective leadership for the implementation of the will and the decisions of the General Assembly. Thus there will be an end to the present situation in which the United Nations Secretariat and apparatus are virtually subsidiary bodies of the United States Department of State and are being used by the latter and by NATO against one or another State, against one or another group of States. 172. What do these gentlemen really want? Perhaps they want the General Assembly sessions to consist of a few speeches, of some conversations resulting in certain general decisions. Afterwards the only interpreter and executor of those decisions would be the Secretary-General and the United Nations apparatus, that is to say the United States Department of State. 173. I feel that the frank statement made by Mr. Hammarskjold to the General Assembly to the effect that, whenever he was given no concrete advice and his interpretation of the United Nations resolution was contested, as was the ease in the Security Council on 21 August, he had no choice but to follow his conscience only goes to prove the expediency of the proposal to establish a collective leadership of the United Nations Secretariat. This is a question of principle and we, the socialist countries, on the basis of recent experience, will not reconcile ourselves with the present state of affairs as far as concerns the institution of the Secretary-General and the present structure of the United Nations apparatus. 174. In the United States, which some people call a country of freedom and democracy, the conditions for the work of the delegations to the United Nations depend upon the tasks, political course and whims of the American authorities. An open, large-scale campaign of discrimination against the members of a number of delegations is now tinder way. Is this a normal atmosphere for the work of the United Nations and of the individual delegations? Obviously everything that is being done — not without the knowledge and even with the participation, of the United States Department of State — creates a poisonous atmosphere around the United Nations. We thank you for such freedom and democracy. Let the gentlemen keep this type of freedom for themselves. We are opposed to every kind of discrimination, both discrimination against the representatives of individual nations and discrimination because of colour, race, etc. It is indeed necessary to consider the question of whether the United Nations Headquarters should not be removed from the United States to some other country where the necessary freedom and the elementary conditions for normal work will be guaranteed to all delegations. 175. The eyes of mankind are focused on the fifteenth session of the General Assembly. The peoples nourish the hope that in accordance with the imperative of our time — a time of great social changes — reason and wisdom will prevail in the Ignited Nations. They have grounds to expect that the fifteenth session of the United Nations General Assembly will advance the solution of the vital problems of our times — the relaxation of international tension, the elimination of the "cold war", the realization of general and complete disarmament, the exclusion of war from the life of the nations, the abolition of the colonial system. The centuries- old dream of humanity — to create a world without armaments, a world without wars and oppression — is realistic and feasible. 176. It is our duty openly to state here that the forces of war, frightened by the striking successes of the policy of peaceful coexistence and by the relaxation of international tension during the last two or three years, are again trying to poison the international climate by undertaking new adventurous actions in the world arena — actions, which create a serious danger of a new world war. This is the truth and we should not conceal it from the peoples. No doubt the struggles of all peoples are of decisive importance for exerting pressure on the imperialists and for paralysing their efforts to intensify international tensions. No doubt the joint efforts of the peoples all over the world and of the United Nations are needed in order to compel the bellicose imperialist circles to abandon this dangerous and adventurous course in international relations so that mankind can be saved from a terrible world holocaust. Let all of us, the representatives to the fifteenth session of the General Assembly, governments, statesmen and public figures in all countries do everything that depends upon us to justify the hopes and aspirations of all nations. 177. We cannot fail here in this most representative forum of the nations to pay tribute and express our gratitude to the Soviet Union for the colossal energy it has deployed in the preservation of world peace and for its constructive proposals for the solution of the major problems of our times. Nor can we fail to express our gratitude personally-to Mr. Khrushchev, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, that untiring and consistent fighter for peace, understanding and co-operation among all nations. 178. Let us hope that the fifteenth session of the General Assembly will successfully acquit itself of the great tasks which history has placed before it.