187. I have pleasure in once again conveyed to the President, on behalf of my Government, the congratulations addressed to him by the Congolese delegation before my arrival in New York, on the occasion of his election to office. I should also like to repeat those addressed to his distinguished predecessor, Mr. Amintore Fanfani, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Italy, whose skill and wisdom all of us here appreciated so highly.
188. We are sincerely delighted that the Ambassador of Afghanistan has been elected unanimously to preside over our deliberations. In the eyes of the Congo (Brazzaville) delegation, this choice is highly significant. We regard it first as the culmination of the
sustained and impartial labours of a diplomat who, coming here to represent his country in the United Nations, lost no time in placing himself at the service of the whole international community. Secondly, the fact that our President is the representative of a small country is a comfort to those of us who must hope that the day will come when the Organization will once again regain its neutrality and universality, so necessary when the subject of our deliberation is peace.
189. My delegation is sure that the President will play his part effectively and that under his watchful guidance a start at least will be made on solving the problems on our agenda. There is one such problem, however, which although it is not on the agenda is nevertheless a subject of grave concern to my country: I refer to the tragedy of Viet-Nam. We are, I believe, unanimous in recognizing that the conflict in Viet-Nam directly threatens the maintenance of peace which the Organization set as one of its main goals, in order, and I quote the Charter, "to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war".
190. Who, among the representatives present at this session, has not expressed publicly or privately the anguish felt by his country at seeing the war in Viet-Nam expand every day? Every speaker here has recounted his version of the conflict in Viet-Nam. As far as we are concerned, we will make no claim to give you the history of the Viet-Namese question. We sincerely believe that we shall have said all that there is to say on the matter if we repeat out loud before this General Assembly that there is aggression in Viet-Nam, that the aggressor is United States imperialism, and that the victim is the Viet-Namese people.
191. It is time for peace-loving peoples — and the people of the United States are among them — to denounce publicly and unequivocably the cowardly aggression of the imperialist Government of the United States against Viet-Nam. The direct intervention of Washington in the domestic affairs of this country, perpetrated in defiance of the Charter of the United Nations and the Geneva Agreements on Indo-China, the dangerous "escalation" which has culminated just recently in the unjustifiable bombing of the suburbs of Hanoi and Haiphong, the use of poison gas against the civilian population of Viet-Nam — is there really any need to go on? — are such cruel, such savage, such barbarous acts that it is difficult to discern the slightest difference between the United States Administration and Hitler Germany.
192. Of course, the United States Government will have no lack of arguments to seek to justify its inhuman acts in South-East Asia. It will say that it was, perhaps still is, a question of combating communist infiltration from the country of President Ho Chi Minh, of defending the freedom of South Viet-Nam, and who knows what else? As far as freedom is concerned, have the Viet-Namese really anything to learn from the United States imperialists who dare not even — as President Massamba-Debat said — grant their countrymen the elementary rights which they ought to enjoy, merely because they have skins of a different colour? And if a people Is firmly convinced that its way to happiness is through socialism or even communism, in the name of what sacred principle of anti-communism can the United States imperialists arrogate to themselves the right to prevent them from taking it?
193. Today more than ever the Viet-Namese problem is a human problem, a moral problem, and not simply a political problem, as the Government in Washington would have us believe. In our eyes, this is the significance of the visit of Pope Paul VT to our headquarters last year, and of the Holy Father's unceasing calls for peace.
194. We are glad, for our part, to note the failure of the attempts by the United States to use the United Nations once more as a cover to justify and continue its war of aggression against Viet-Nam, On the contrary, we believe that the United Nations should use every appropriate means to bring the racists and imperialists in Washington to their senses and to make them understand that Viet-Nam does not belong to them and that they should leave as they came.
195. My Government continues to believe that the departure of the United States interventionists would make it possible to restore peace in South-East Asia, that peace so dear to all of us, which is, as you know, also being threatened in Africa, where the principles of the Charter are violated every day and where decolonization is blocked by the ill-will of the proponents of white supremacy and apartheid. Whether in the Territories still under Portuguese domination such as Angola, Mozambique and Portuguese Guinea, or in the Republic of South Africa and Southern Rhodesia, the problem takes on more agonizing dimensions every day.
196. The question of the Territories under Portuguese domination has been the subject of several debates in the Security Council, which has stated quite clearly that the situation resulting from this policy, both for the African population and for neighbouring States, constitutes a threat to international peace and security. It was because it recognized the seriousness of the situation that the Council asked for the immediate application of the principle of self-determination and called upon Member States to refrain from supplying military assistance to the Government of Portugal, if it was to be used to oppress the peoples placed under its administration. What has been the result?
197. Portugal continues in its backward-looking attitude and the Powers which are its accomplices continue to supply it with substantial military aid. All the recommendations and resolutions of the United Nations on the granting of independence to colonial countries and peoples and the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms advocated in the Charter have remained empty words for the fanatical believers in racial supremacy, who continue to behave like slave-owners and torturers, with the connivance, of course, of the Western Powers.
198. The United Nations contents itself with repeating pious hopes to a world already grown sceptical, and is almost on the point of declaring itself officially powerless. In these circumstances, there can be no doubt that the only form of effective action for the oppressed indigenous peoples will be by armed force. The Salazar clique, which lets the humble people of Portugal lie sunk in poverty and under-development in order to buy expensive weapons and indulge in colonialist adventures, will rely in vain on its NATO allies, it is the one that will wear itself out trying to keep the African people in a state of slavery. There can be only one end in Guinea, Angola and Mozambique: the defeat of the Portuguese slave-owners and their loss of the immense profits drawn from the shameful exploitation of man by man. Ill treatment, imprisonment, massacres, will avail them nothing. On the contrary, they will serve to strengthen the patriots' will to fight.
199. The United Kingdom Government, for its part, which gave a solemn undertaking to quash the rebellion of the illegal Smith regime in Rhodesia in record time, was merely concealing - its collusion with a government which protects British interests and the white minority, when it refused to use force, which is the only way of settling the crisis.
200. Mr. Wilson may ask now for the application of selective sanctions compulsory for all, but this will not change the attitude of Salisbury, which knows it can count on the alliance with Pretoria, Lisbon, and the great Western Powers. The situation in Rhodesia is very serious, and we trust that the Members of the United Nations and more particularly the African Members will realize this.
201. How can anyone realize that four million Africans are enslaved by a tiny minority and still rely for a settlement of the problem on the goodwill of the British colonialists? This sad and serious problem has unfortunately divided Africa, not all of whose sons as yet understand the need for firmness in making decisions. In view of the seriousness of the situation my Government can only deplore the African countries' passivity, procrastination and failure to persevere, regardless of the arguments they put forward. We in the Congo believe that appropriate solutions to African problems can only come from the Africans themselves, with support from the United Nations.
202. The same is obviously true of the serious problem caused by South Africa's mandate over South West Africa, on the subject of which my delegation has already expressed its point of view [1431st meeting]. The Congolese Government holds to its conviction that the mandate is still in force. It is well aware of the imperialist longings and designs of the white colonialists in Pretoria who wish to extend the vicious and ignoble policy of apartheid which they cynically apply in the usurped territory of South Africa to South West Africa, in flagrant violation of the principles of the Charter and contempt of the recommendations of the General Assembly and the Security Council.
203. Lesotho and Botswana, newly independent States, already stir the appetites of Vorster, fed by the presence in power of a few puppets in his pay.
204. Since South Africa is violating the Charter and threatening peace, as we have already said, only one type of energetic and coercive action can be envisaged against it. Since South Africa has not fulfilled its
obligations as the Mandatory Power, the Organization must draw the appropriate conclusions, in order to safeguard world peace, that peace which, to be real and lasting, must inevitably be brought about by disarmament. Here we touch upon a problem which affects the whole world, great Powers and small alike.
205. In the space of one generation, two world wars sowed wretchedness and desolation everywhere. For the last twenty years, mankind has been dreaming of lasting peace and security, and hoping that such calamities will never occur again. This precarious peace is more than ever threatened. For the great Powers, the arms race has become a means of pursuing their policy of hegemony. Appeals have been made from this rostrum for an end to the policy of a balance of terror; but we are forced to admit that these appeals have gone unheard.
206. Although the peoples of the world put great hope in the results of the deliberations of the Conference of the Eighteen-Nation Committee on Disarmament at Geneva, the work of the Eighteen-Nation Committee— now numbering only seventeen — has been rather discouraging. Differences of opinion have come to light regarding the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and the question of general and complete disarmament has not yet been fully examined.
207. We shall soon have to accept the evidence. The great Powers are not in favour of disarmament, for otherwise how is it to be explained that at a time when everyone is talking of disarmament, including themselves, they are expanding and continuing to expand to unimaginable proportions their stock of weapons?
208. Efforts to organize a world disarmament conference as the General Assembly requested [resolution 2030 (XX)] have not progressed. My Government believes it would be useful to convene such a conference, which would open the way to lasting solutions and the inauguration of true peace in the world. Nevertheless we must note that such a conference could only succeed if all the great Powers, including the People's Republic of China, were to take part in its work.
209. The delegation of the Congo (Brazzaville) believes that none of today's problems, whether it be disarmament, de-nuclearization, the Viet-Namese tragedy, or peace itself, can be settled without the participation of the People's Republic of China. We must realize here and now that it is useless to seek an agreement on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons without the effective participation of Peking; such an agreement would be without interest or significance. How then are we to explain the absurdity of systematically excluding from the international arena a country of 700 million inhabitants on which depends, as we have noted, the solution of many of the problems preoccupying the United Nations?
210. Year after year, our Organization has seen its number grow, from fifty-one States at the time of the signing of the Charter to 119 at the present time, thus demonstrating the universal character of this institution. It is a curious fact, however, that this increase in the number of Member States does not correspond in reality to the principle of universality which the United Nations adopted for itself. Thus, we can but note the shortcomings, not to say the weakness, of our Organization, as long as the United States imperialists and their acolytes persist in keeping out the largest country in the world.
211. It is even being forgotten that when the Charter of the United Nations was drawn up. China was the subject of much concern, because it was regarded as an essential factor in world equilibrium. It is for this reason that it became not only a founder Member of the United Nations but also one of those countries in which was to be vested, in the terms of Article 24, paragraph 1, of the Charter, primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security.
212. Today, the United States and its lackeys are doing their best to persuade us that this is no longer the case, and that China has lost both its power and its influence. There seems to be some danger in practising the head-in-the-sand policy and refusing to look facts in the face, however unpleasing they may be, because there they remain. The People's Republic of China exists, becoming increasingly modernized and also more and more powerful.
213. It is not the United Nations business to evaluate the merits of a particular regime. A Member State has a sacred right to change its political system, if it decides that at a certain stage in its evolution that system no longer corresponds to the legitimate aspirations of its people. The change which took place in China in 1949 was a transfer of power like any other. Since 1949, we have seen many revolutions and series of coups d'etat in many Member States, and the new regimes, regardless of their political tinge, have lawfully and immediately replaced the former representatives of their countries at the United Nations. No objection has been made to this. To make such an objection would not only run counter to the spirit and the letter of the San Francisco Charter, but would also constitute interference of the kind condemned in Article 2, paragraph 7.
214. Our delegation therefore requests the outright expulsion of the representatives of Chiang Kai-shek from the United Nations and all its organs, and the restoration to the Government of the People's Republic of China of the seat to which it is entitled.
215. We also wish to recall in this Assembly that Taiwan is a province of China and has been so since remote times. Its occupation by the Japanese at the end of the last century does not change in any way the fact that it constitutes a part of Chinese territory. The Declarations of Cairo and Potsdam specified that Taiwan was to be returned to China after the Second World War. Thus it was that, after the surrender of Japan, China took back Taiwan and made it into a Chinese province. This situation was publicly recognized by Harry Truman, the then President of the United States,
216. The United States and the ardent supporters of what is wrongly called the non-admission of China to the United Nations do not wish the People's Republic of China to be restored to its rights in the Organization for a very obvious reason: such a restoration would undoubtedly damage certain interests and would call into question some positions that have been adopted. We live in an absurd world, and in this realm Kafka could have imagined nothing better. In point of fact, how is it conceivable that the very parties which deny all rights to the People's Republic of China should negotiate with that same country for the settlement of certain international disputes?
217. The United States knows very well that as General de Gaulle said "nothing that is done in Asia, in war or in peace, can be done without China". Is not this a de facto recognition of the People's Republic of China as a determining factor not only in the equilibrium of Asia but of the world at large? How in these circumstances ’ can the Americans explain to their own consciences this equivocal attitude which leads them to negotiate with the real Power which they pretend to ignore and to recognize those traitors to the Chinese nation who represent nobody but themselves?
218. My country makes a solemn appeal to the General Assembly, this high international body, to recognize its responsibilities and to show the world that it has rediscovered its universality and that it is beginning, in this "finite world" of which Paul Valery spoke, to repair the injustice done to the People's Republic of China, one of the five permanent members of the Security Council.
219. The United Nations has adopted the concept of peaceful co-existence as one of its fundamental principles, and hence the need for all peoples, regardless of their political, ideological or economic choice, to accept one another and co-operate. We should take as our text this thought of Saint-Exupery: "Let us profit from our differences".
220. This year once again the so-called "Korean question" is included in our agenda. The Congolese Government believes that to settle the Korean question with justice we must put an end to the illegal discussion of this matter by the United Nations. To do so, the United Nations must annul all the illegal resolutions which have been adopted so far in connexion with this question. It will also have to decide to withdraw the aggressive troops of United States imperialism and all the foreign troops occupying South Korea under the United Nations flag.
221. The notorious United Nations Commission for the Rehabilitation and Unification of Korea, which the United States created by trampling the Charter itself underfoot, must be dissolved. My delegation believes that the unification of Korea is a Korean internal affair affecting only the Korean people and that no interference, even by the United Nations, can be tolerated. Having now informed you of my Government's position on the burning political issues of our time, I should like to add that the Congo is experiencing the same anxieties as the rest of the Third World over economic matters. This is a field which has been the subject of many speeches and many plans, all seeking to find a remedy.
222. Among the decisions adopted to this effect, I shall refer only to resolution 1710 (XVI) entitled "United Nations Development Decade", which recommended that by the end of the decade the rate of growth
of the national income of the developing countries should be 5 per cent.
223. Now that we are entering the second half of this decade, we are forced to recognize that there is no indication that the hoped-for improvement can be achieved. On the contrary, the gap between rich and poor is growing ever wider, with the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer, to use a time-honoured phrase. It is clear that despite the efforts that our countries make, it will be impossible to achieve any perceptible and satisfactory progress as long as the industrial Powers have not changed the selfish concept of their economic relations with us which they have maintained up to now.
224. Lastly, as we did already from this rostrum two years ago [1307th meeting], we should like to draw the General Assembly's attention to the fact that the internal problems which are constantly increasing within the United Nations itself must end by paralyzing it.
225. At this moment we note, for example, not without bitterness, that the place given to French as a working-language no longer corresponds fully to the real and effective importance of this precious vehicle of civilization.
226. We have also been officially informed of the Secretary-General's decision not to ask for another term. In this connexion, my delegation must first pay a special tribute to the Secretary-General for the immense contribution that he has made during his period of office. Called to this high office at a tragic moment in history, U Thant has carried out his duties admirably, thanks to his exceptional qualities as a great diplomat and also as a great man, and has cleared up an international situation which was at the time extremely confused.
227. Faced with his refusal to accept a second term, a refusal which we can quite understand, we shall not content ourselves with merely voicing the hope that he will reconsider a decision whose fatal consequences to the United Nations we can already foresee. We shall go further and make an appeal touched almost with desperation: we firmly hope that this appeal from the Congo will be heard by U Thant.