Aware of the necessity of speedy resumption of work in the committees, I had decided not to speak at this stage of the deliberations of the General Assembly. But hew issues presented at this rostrum by some of the representatives have led me to set forth before you the views of the Turkish delegation on a few of the more important points thus far raised.
This I could have done in the committees, and indeed I reserve the right to do so; but as these issues were first raised here, and inasmuch as we regard this General Assembly as that all-inclusive organ in which the very substance of the United Nations is manifest, I also deemed it proper to submit our relevant ideas to this body first.
One of the issues raised related to the constructive functioning of the General Assembly of the United Nations. The General Assembly is the only organ embodying all of the nations united, and as such, if is the most representative. To smaller groups, recruited from among the constituent dements of the General Assembly and, in fact, substantially elected by that body, are delegated certain functions which are expected to be fulfilled in a manner and spirit reflecting those, of the General Assembly of the United Nations. Any miscarriage whatsoever of the ‘purposes and aspirations of the United Nations, even by the functional groups to which I have referred, will naturally reflect upon the General Assembly, on which the hopeful gaze of all the peace-loving peoples of the world is focused. It is the will of these peoples which will maintain this world parliament, to come and nourish and strengthen, it, so that it may lay down just and democratic principles to achieve peace, security and prosperity for all.
It should be evident to all that any superseding of the General Assembly by special groups, provided with certain rights for known and approved purposes, would seriously hamper the General Assembly of the United Nations in its functioning, should a situation ever arise where these rights were exercised with purposes glaringly at variance with those of their establishment as well as with those of the United Nations. In justice to the peoples of the whole world, such a situation must be remedied.
In dealing with matters of vital importance to the world, we consider it improper to take advantage of an expedient — designed to serve otherwise — to nullify the will of the overwhelming majority. I refer to the use of the so-called right of veto. It is incompatible with the fundamental idea of the United Nations. It is its antithesis.
The Turkish delegation, during the Conference of San Francisco, registered its objection to the procedure of voting in the Security Council, and at that time made it clear that It would become necessary in the future to change it. I believe that the majority of us are now convinced that the appropriate time for such a change has come.
The representative of the United States, Secretary of State Marshall, in his speech of 17 September, during the eighty-second plenary meeting, made two proposals which, I believe, would make the General Assembly more effective in the discharge of its mission. One of these proposals is for the liberalization of the voting procedure in the Security Council through the elimination of the unanimity requirement in connexion with matters relating to Chapter VI of the Charter and such matters as applications for membership.
The Turkish delegation would favour the total abolition of the right of veto. However, in case it is not possible to eliminate it totally, the Turkish delegation is prepared to support the proposal of the representative of the United States which, least, aims at its limitation.
The most noteworthy proposal of the representative of the United States is the one pertaining to the Creation of a standing interim committee of the General Assembly on Peace and Security.
It is purely for reasons of practical expediency that some of the rights of larger bodies are usually assigned to groups of a limited number. But where problems of general interest are concerned, the ideal procedure, of course, should be to submit them for decision to as large and representative a body as is practically possible. When consideration is given to the matter of setting up a standing committee of the General Assembly in which the representatives of all the Member States would take part and which would represent the General Assembly of the United Nations, I doubt if anyone can possibly raise serious objections to such a democratic development and improvement.
It is, in our opinion, due to the inadequacies of procedure I have referred to above that we have not been able to find satisfactory solutions to a number of questions, among them the Greek
A country which fought heroically against the overwhelming forces of fascism and thus won the admiration of the whole world — Greece — is still being tom by strife and has not yet been aide to find the peace which it certainly deserves.
All of us who are gathered here are painfully aware of one fact: the world today is passing through a precarious phase of unrest. To most of us it is equally painful to note the unhappy interpretation lent to this fact by some.
Thus, according to the representative of the Soviet Union, apparently one of the causes of unrest is the publications of the Turkish Press. This is an unjust accusation and I cannot leave it unanswered.
It would be wishful thinking to expect that the Press and radio in the Soviet Union could continuously publish and broadcast provocative slanders and offensive statements levelled at my country without some sort of reflexive response from the Turkish Press in the face of such a psychological aggression, commonly called a ‘‘war of nerves”.
As to the aid extended to Turkey by the United States, which has been criticised at this rostrum with a remarkable lack of good will, it is a friendly assistance made accessible to the Turkish people with the object of upholding them in their legitimate right to existence, and thus it serves world peace. It has, therefore been accepted as such by the Turkish people with gratitude.
The most sacred wish and hope of Turkey is to live in peace and friendly relations with the whole worn, without exception. This aspiration has always, on every occasion, been expressed and stressed by Turkish statesmen.
As the representative of a peace-loving and freedom-loving people with an unshakable faith in the fundamental idea of the United Nations, I should like to conclude by conveying to the General Assembly the best and sincerest wishes of the Turkish people and the Turkish Government for a fruitful session.