It is a great honour for me to take the floor on behalf of my Government at this eighteenth session of the United Nations General Assembly and to reaffirm my country's faith and confidence in an international institution which remains "our only refuge, our sole support, our only comfort", to quote the words used by the Head of the Khmer State from this rostrum during the general debate at the sixteenth session. 119. Called upon to sit in a parliament which brings together the great majority of Governments of the peoples of the world, a parliament where justice, equality and liberty govern relations among all countries, large and small, rich and poor, Cambodia is glad to be able to raise its voice —a voice all too often ignored— and to be able to discharge its duties and assume its responsibilities. 120. Conscious of the importance of this Organization to which It belongs, and imbued with the principles of universality by which It must be governed, Cambodia, animated solely by a desire to end the ostracism to which some nations have been unjustly subjected, finds itself obliged once again to raise the question of the representation of the People's Republic of China, whose Government is the sole representative of the 700 million Chinese. 121. For years Cambodia has persistently denounced this denial of justice and lack of realism, which cause our Organization to run the most serious risks. Since 1958, Cambodia, through Its representatives speaking from this rostrum has done its utmost to focus the attention of the majority of this Assembly on the discriminatory policy being pursued with respect to the People's Republic of China, In 1958, in 1960, in 1961 and again last year, in a message addressed to the General Assembly, Prince Norodom Sihanouk pointed out the danger of unrealistic intransigence and the obstinacy of some countries in refusing the People's Republic of China its rightful seat in our Organization. 122. There is one fact which no one can or should ignore: without legal recognition of the People's Republic of China and without its participation in international deliberations, no agreement on or solution of any major problem such as disarmament or the total banning of nuclear tests will have any meaning. Moreover, at the recent Geneva Conference on Laos as in 1954 at the Conference on Indo-China —the Western countries, including the United States, did in fact hold discussions with the People's Republic of China at the negotiating table. These precedents deserve to be recognized. Why, in the circumstances, should we keep outside the United Nations a great, courageous, hardworking and peaceful people? 123. Cambodia, which belongs to no camp or clique, deems it its duty to protest against an act of ostracism which threatens to drive the largest and most powerful country of Asia into bitterness and hostility. 124. If the United Nations is not to fail in its noble mission, it must, in our view, seek to defend not only the principle of universality, which is its very raison d'être, but also the principles of the Charter and of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Although it should not set itself up as a world tribunal, our Organization should be able, by its influence and moral prestige, effectively to combat the injustice, iniquity and violence which still exist in some parts of the world. 125. In this connexion, the present religious conflict between the Catholic Government of South Viet-Nam and the overwhelmingly Buddhist population of that country should disturb the conscience of all of us. It is certainly not a habit of neutralist Cambodia to meddle in the internal affairs of another country, but, abiding by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we cannot remain indifferent or silent in the face of the persecution of the Buddhists of South Viet-Nam. 126. The bloody events of Hué, the immolation of Buddhist priests, the assaulting and sacking of Buddhist sanctuaries and the imprisonment of members of religious orders have brought this nation-rending conflict to a climax. Cambodia, where there is absolute freedom of all forms of worship even though Buddhism is the State religion, is profoundly disturbed by this antagonism, which poses a very grave threat to religious peace in South Viet-Nam and in that entire area. 127. The Royal Government and the people of Cambodia have repeatedly denounced and condemned this anachronistic religious persecution which threatens to disturb once again the balance and coexistence of all the religions that are to be found side by side in South-East Asia. The Head of the Khmer State has addressed messages to President Kennedy, President de Gaulle, President Radhakrishnan, Prime Minister Macmillan and the Secretary-General of the United Nations, requesting them, as a matter of urgency, to intervene in this highly distressing problem. We believe that anyone who is devoted to peace and justice must extend his sympathy, and, if he can, his aid and support to the victims of the inquisitorial policies of the South Viet-Nam Government. 128. The oppressive measures taken by the South Viet-Nam authorities and the many cruelties which they have inflicted on the whole of the country's population will nevertheless permit world public opinion to appreciate the tragic lot of the ethnic minorities. We must mention in particular the lot of our racial brothers, the Khmers Krom or Cambodians of South Viet-Nam, who for ten years have been the victims of despotism. Some 600,000 of our compatriots are living in frightful conditions on territory which was theirs but which unilateral acts stemming from a colonial past unjustly awarded to a foreign country. The first inhabitants of present-day South Viet-Nam were in fact the Khmers, who, despite successive Viet-Namese invasions, remained in the land of their ancestors. These Khmers Krom, as we call them, have to this day preserved a profound linguistic and religious uniformity, as well as purely Khmer customs and traditions. 129. Flouting the most elementary rules of international law and the sacred rights of the human person, the South Viet-Nam Government imposed Viet-Namese nationality on the Khmer population from the very outset. Many prohibitions were then applied: prohibition of the use of the mother tongue, prohibition of the practice of Buddhism in traditional forms, prohibition of the observance of ancestral customs and prohibition of the use of Cambodian-sounding names. 130. Buddhist monks, including old men, have been murdered in cold blood; others have been tortured, imprisoned and maltreated. Monasteries are under harassing police surveillance; several have been closed to worshippers and used as military quarters, and sometimes destroyed. Members of religious orders and the faithful among the Khmers Krom have for a number of months been the object of a particularly violent campaign of repression. This amounts, in fact, to systematic application of a policy of genocide against a population which has committed the double crime of being Khmer and being Buddhist. 131. Many of these unfortunate compatriots of ours, fleeing the oppression of the Saigon régime, have found refuge in Cambodia. But in the course of this mass exodus, many were unable to reach freedom and safety and fell under the fire of the pursuing South Viet-Nam troops. In the past two years, over 7,000 men, women and children have crossed the frontier, and this flood of refugees has been steadily rising in the past few months. 132. Only recently, a group of about sixty Buddhist monks and believers who had taken refuge in Cambodia published a statement denouncing the cruelties of the Saigon Government. Part of this moving appeal to man's conscience reads as follows: "We, Buddhist monks and former Khmer nationals of Kampuchea Krom, have seen with our own eyes the murderous acts of extermination and Buddhist segregation perpetrated by the Saigon Government, headed by Mr. Ngo Dinh Diem. The efforts to destroy the Khmer race and the Buddhist religion in South Viet-Nam are being pursued today even as they were yesterday in Kampuchea Krom.... We renew our appeal to all peace-loving countries to intercede with the Saigon Government in order that an end may be put to all acts of extermination of the Khmer race and of destruction of the Buddhist religion in South Viet-Nam, as well as to any actions that endanger peace in South-East Asia." How could Cambodia remain insensitive to the desperate appeals of its sons? How could it remain indifferent in the face of religious persecutions that hark back to another age? 133. Tolerance impregnates the fabric of all the societies of South-East Asia. The Saigon Government is the sole exception to the rule. In Cambodia, where Buddhism is the state religion, all beliefs and forms of worship are not only permitted but receive all necessary assistance from the Royal Government. Moslems have their mosques and their Koranic schools where instruction is free. Those who wish to, freely make the pilgrimage to Mecca each year, and they obtain from the Royal Government the foreign currency they need for their journey and their stay. The Catholics also have complete freedom to preach their religion and to teach in their schools. Land is even made available to them free of charge for construction of their churches and cultural institutions. 134. The Royal Government has on various occasions sought to establish contact with the Saigon leaders with a view to putting an end to, or at least improving, a state of affairs which does no credit to mankind. But all our efforts have proved useless. We now put our last hopes in the United Nations, which has already grappled with the problem of minorities in various countries, and we ask the Organization to see that the most elementary rights of ethnic groups living under the iron rule of police régimes are recognized and respected. 135. Furthermore, South Viet-Nam has not ceased to harass Cambodia with border attacks and campaigns of provocation. Scarcely a week passes without incursions into our territory, violations of our air space and crimes against our civilian population, The International Commission for supervision and control responsible for the enforcement of the 1954 Geneva Agreements has been able to verify on the spot the deeds committed by the Saigon Government. 136. I shall not burden the Assembly with detailed statistics or evidence of the aggressive and expansionist policy of the South Viet-Nam régime. But the fact must be known that during 1962 Cambodia was the victim of 140 aggressive acts by the regular forces of the Republic of Viet-Nam. During the first quarter of 1963, we suffered twenty-seven violations of all kinds. In the course of one of the latest acts of aggression, on 19 August 1963, two South Viet-Nam aircraft bombed and machine-gunned a provincial guard-post located five kilometres inside our territory. The list of our compatriots —mostly peaceful peasants— who have been killed or wounded by regular troops from South Viet- Nam continues to grow. The innocent victims of these barbarous acts of our neighbours have included women, elderly people and infants. 137. Cambodia could not remain indifferent to this increasing number of aggressive acts. On 27 August 1963, at the request of the Parliament—which derives its authority from the Cambodian people—the Royal Government decided to sever political relations with the present Government of South Viet-Nam because of the crimes committed against the Khmer people of Cambodia, the crimes against the Khmer community in Kampuchea Krom; the crimes against Buddhism, and against the community of Buddhist monks and faithful. 138. This grave decision, which was carefully weighed, was in no way prompted by feelings of hostility towards the people of South Viet-Nam. In fact, the Government's statement contained the following passage: "The Royal Government wishes particularly to emphasize that the severance of political relations which has just been decided upon does not constitute a hostile step against South Viet-Nam. On this occasion, Cambodia wishes to reaffirm its feelings of deep sympathy for the people of South Viet-Nam who have suffered for many years under a totalitarian and aggressive dictatorship. When South Viet-Nam has regained its freedom and the people of South Viet-Nam have recovered all the fundamental rights of which they have been deprived, the Royal Government will be glad to renew normal relations with a democratic Government enjoying popular support and to work for the establishment of trusting and friendly co-operation between the two countries." However, certain Western observers, journalists and even diplomats are still unconvinced even when confronted with the clearest evidence and attribute our complaints and accusations to a national persecution complex. In spite of irrefutable proof and reliable evidence, they maintain that the Government of South Viet-Nam is already sufficiently occupied with its own civil and religious war and would not therefore indulge in the luxury of creating another front against Cambodia. 139, This may be a satisfactory argument in theory. Unfortunately, however, the real situation is quite different and does not bear out the thesis of these foreign observers. Despite our countless protests, the acts of aggression continue, the bombings have increased and crimes continue to be committed. A few years ago, the armed forces of South Viet-Nam acquired the habit of moving the frontier markers as their fancy dictated. Today, the Saigon Government is making unjustifiable claims of sovereignty over the coastal islands of Cambodia which have belonged to Cambodia from time immemorial. Such acts and such an attitude may appear surprising, but they merely reflect the continuing existence of the policy of imperialism which Viet-Nam has pursued for more than six centuries. History has taught us that this imperialism shows itself and flourishes whenever it finds support or when circumstances bring about a disequilibrium of forces in its favour. 140. Although the Saigon regime is decaying, it is nevertheless pursuing a policy of force and threats with regard to Cambodia. It has powerful support from abroad however, which enables it, not only to remain in power against the will of the people, but also to play cynically with peace and war in that part of the world. As a neutral and independent State, Cambodia would not have to raise problems which go far beyond its national context if, under the cover of fighting the Viet-Cong, the regular forces of South Viet-Nam were not using arms supplied by the United States of America, in an attempt to satisfy their expansionist designs against Cambodia. 141. Certain Western countries believe that they can come to South Viet-Nam's defence and justify the aggressions perpetrated against Cambodia by invoking the civil war in South Viet-Nam and the "unintentional mistakes" committed by the army of Mr. Ngo Dinh Diem. Who will accept such explanations? The massacre of Cambodian peasants, the destruction of their villages several kilometres inside Cambodia are unwarranted criminal acts which have no connexion whatsoever with the civil war that is taking place on Viet-Namese territory. Furthermore, if these were indeed "unintentional mistakes"—which seems highly unlikely—why does the Saigon Government reject our protests and refuse to offer its apologies and compensate the innocent victims of these acts of aggression? 142. As the Assembly can see, this situation poses a serious threat to the maintenance of peace in that area. Without exceeding its powers, the United Nations could and should consider this problem and find a solution which will ensure that the frontiers of a Member of the United Nations are guaranteed and respected. This is a suggestion which any State subscribing to the Charter of our Organization should understand and appreciate. 143. There is another difficult problem which we in Cambodia would like to see rapidly resolved; it involves our relations with Thailand. Cambodia does not intend to go on forever recalling its grievances against Thailand. The entire history of our relations, ancient and modern, dating from the seizure and destruction of Angkor in the fifteenth century to the case concerning the Temple of Preah Vihear and the quite recent Koh Kong case, is full of examples which are significant enough in themselves. Nevertheless, our desire is to forget this cruel past and to place our relations with our neighbouring country on a footing of friendship and equality. 144. In spite of all these difficulties, Cambodia has always hoped for a normalization of its relations with Thailand. It was with satisfaction and in an earnest spirit of co-operation that the Royal Government welcomed the mission of Mr. Nils Göran Gussing, Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations. I should like to take this opportunity to pay tribute and express the feelings of sincere gratitude of the Royal Government to the distinguished United Nations mediators, U Thant, Mr. Narasimhan, and Mr. Nils Göran Gussing, for their praiseworthy intervention in the Khmer-Thailand dispute. 145. In recent months, Cambodia has redoubled its gestures of goodwill and appeasement, in particular by agreeing to the exchange of some forty Thai prisoners for about ten Cambodian nationals, and by proposing the convening of a conference of technicians from both countries. I should like to state once again that Cambodia hopes for a normalization of its relations with Thailand. However, it is essential that these relations should be established on a solid and lasting foundation. This foundation can be nothing other than a formal recognition of our common frontiers, which have already been clearly defined and established by international treaties. Cambodia will never compromise on the recognition of its territorial integrity; this recognition, on the part of Thailand, may take various forms: an international agreement, a bipartite treaty, an agreement guaranteed by the United Nations, or simply a bipartite agreement signed before the Secretary-General of the United Nations. 146. Cambodia is weary of living always under the threat of nations over-armed and supported by great Powers for the purpose of fighting communism, which does not exist in Cambodia. We can no longer tolerate the refusal to recognize and respect our frontiers, we can no longer countenance attacks on our frontier populations. What country in the world in fact, would tolerate such a situation? 147. We desire only peace: we only want to live in peaceful coexistence with all countries—first and foremost, with our neighbours. In accordance with this desire and this aim, Cambodia proclaimed its status as a neutral State in an Act of 1957. However, in the face of attacks against our neutrality, repeated foreign plots to destroy it, and threats to our territorial integrity, Cambodia, through its Chief of State, has finally proposed that an international conference should be convened to deal with this problem which, in fact, involves the question of peace in South-East Asia. This proposal was sent to the thirteen nations which had just met to seek a solution to the Laotian question. with the request that they recognize and guarantee the neutrality and territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Cambodia. 148. Our legitimate and reasonable request was received coldly, except by the socialist countries, France and Laos. The Powers of the free world and their allies have, more or less clearly, justified their refusal by observing that a guarantee of our neutrality and of our frontiers could only be a military one which, apparently, would be contrary to their principles. Desiring to put the goodwill of these countries to the test, we are prepared to content ourselves with recognition of our neutrality and frontiers, provided, however, that our neighbour countries agree to such recognition. This condition is, of course, the most important one of all. 149. I have dwelt at somelength —perhaps at too great length— on Cambodia's own problems because they are in fact closely linked with the situation in South-East Asia which has all to often been the subject of international attention. I should like, more briefly, to mention some of the major international problems on which Cambodia has already made known its position and point of view. 150. Among these problems, one of the most important, in our view, which must be taken up by this Assembly, is that of the divided, countries; this is a most delicate problem because it involves, in fact, the opposing interests of the ideological blocs which are seeking to perpetuate a situation that runs counter to nature. As Prince Norodom Sihanouk, Head of the Khmer State, observed from this very rostrum in 1961, "the ideal solution" to this paradoxical situation "would undoubtedly be that each of these peoples should be reunified through a general referendum organized and supervised by the United Nations, without intervention from the Government of either part of the divided country, since each such Government is aligned with one of the blocs originally responsible for the division" [1011th meeting, para. 831. 151. But before being able to act effectively in this direction, our Organization, which as the Secretary- General has rightly pointed out, must remain faithful to its universality, will have to enable the divided nations to make their voice heard from this rostrum. Thus, Viet-Nam, Korea and Germany should be admitted as of right to the United Nations, through Governments which effectively represent the totality of each nation. It is a profound injustice that the peoples of these countries should be kept outside our Organization and constrained to act through their allies or protectors in order to make their views known. Moreover, the admission to the United Nations of East Germany and West Germany, the two Koreas and the two Viet-Nams would not modify in any way the balance of forces of the two camps. 152. Today more than ever we must continue to devote our attention to the problem of disarmament. Cambodia welcomes the signing by the three greatest nuclear Powers —The United States, the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom— of an agreement banning all nuclear tests except those underground. We should like to congratulate these three Powers and endorse their encouraging initiative. However, Cambodia has not deemed it necessary to sign the treaty, first, because it cannot hope, even in the remote future to become a nuclear Power, and second because our Constitution prohibits our accession to military treaties and pacts. In this connexion, I would recall that the relevant article of the Constitution provides as follows: "The Kingdom of Cambodia is a neutral country. It abstains from any military or ideological alliance with foreign countries. It will not undertake aggression against any foreign country." This neutrality, which forbids the establishment of foreign military bases on our territory, thus implies, a fortiori, that the question of nuclear tests in Cambodia by a third Power could not arise. 153. Nevertheless, the tripartite Treaty of Moscow, despite its importance as a symptom of a relaxation of tension between the leaders of the two great blocs, should not make us forget that general and complete disarmament remains the ultimate goal of mankind. Despite the Moscow Treaty, the great nuclear Powers still possess, and make large-scale use of the ability to continue producing, stocking and perfecting their nuclear weapons of mass destruction. It is thus to be hoped that the first step which has just been taken will be the forerunner of an era of "détente" in which the nuclear Powers will first prohibit and then completely destroy their terrifying weapons. 154. In the meantime the Royal Government of Cambodia wishes to see the immediate creation of denuclearized zones. In this connexion, we should like to pay a tribute to the five Latin American countries which have given concrete form to this great idea of partial denuclearization. 155. Finally, I would again draw attention to the continued importance of conventional armaments in some parts of the world. The small local wars still being fought in Viet-Nam, in the Middle East and in Angola, in which the techniques used are those of the last world war, but they are none the less most destructive. A characteristic of these Asian or African wars is that the opponents are usually not producers of arms and therefore rely mainly on obsolete equipment of the great Powers. This problem should be given careful consideration in any programme for complete disarmament. 156. There is a third problem to which we must pay attention, although its evolution and the progress already made are grounds for optimism. I am referring to decolonization. Despite the racist intransigence of some and the hypocrisy of certain colonial Powers which are trying to perpetuate a past which is gone forever, the great majority, consisting of the peaceful forces of the entire world, is still striving to do away for ever with policies based on domination and enslavement. 157. Cambodia, which has been judged worthy of the confidence of this Organization by being chosen for the vice-chairmanship of the Special Committee of Twenty-Four, is pleased to have been able to contribute to positive action on behalf of the enslaved peoples. Today, decolonization is almost completed, and only a few countries, in Africa, are still engaged in a struggle which will erase once and for all every trace of the shame of colonialism. 158. In concluding, I should like to touch upon two questions which affect us indirectly but which, in present circumstances, are matters in which the United Nations cannot intervene effectively. 159. The first of these is the controversy and border conflict between India and China. In December 1962, on the initiative of Mrs. Bandaranaike, the Prime Minister of Ceylon, six non-aligned countries, including Cambodia, met in order to seek ways and means of assisting two great nations of Asia. Unfortunately, our efforts were not as successful as we had hoped and, if today our Indian and Chinese friends are again in a state of peace, it is but a very precarious peace which a single spark would suffice to destroy. 160. Cambodia fervently hopes that India and China will succeed in re-establishing relations of trust and friendship and, above all, that they will resume their talks on this dispute. All the non-aligned countries share this wish and are striving to allay this border conflict. We should now like to express the hope that the other Powers will also contribute to the reestablishment of a stable peace in the Himalayan area and will not consider this dispute between India and China as a new front in the cold war. 161. Again in Southern Asia, the Laotian problem is still causing grave concern. It is true that the agreement signed by thirteen Powers in 1962 theoretically recognized and guaranteed the neutrality of Laos; but in fact our unfortunate neighbour is still witnessing sporadic fighting between Laotian factions, and conspiracies and rivalries between the two ideological blocs. The fate of our Laotian brothers is a matter deserving of concern and we should assist them effectively to restore peace, stability and unity. 162. In concluding this statement, I should like, on behalf of my country and in my own name, to extend my warmest congratulations to the new President of the General Assembly and to convey to all representatives here present my most sincere wishes for the success of this eighteenth session of the General Assembly.