89. Mr. President, your election to the high post of President of this Assembly is a source of real pleasure and pride to all of us, but especially to the Arab Members of the United Nations. May I express to you my hearty congratulations on the well-earned confidence in you which the Assembly has displayed. The spirit of sportsmanship which has been shown by you, Mr. President, and by your Arab colleague, Mr. Mahgoub, the distinguished Foreign Minister of the Sudan, whom we all hold in high esteem as one of the most prominent statesmen of the Arab world, fills us — the Arab nations — with great pride. It shows beyond doubt a healthy competitive spirit between two Arab colleagues aspiring to serve this great Organization. Moreover, it portrays in bold relief the importance which we in the Arab world attach to the United Nations.
90. Last night we heard the shocking news about the serious illness of His Holiness Pope Pius XII, A great and wise religious leader who has dedicated his whole life to the cause of peace and understanding is now hovering between life and death. We in the Moslem world believe in the continued understanding between Islam and all other religions. May I express from this rostrum our sincere wishes for a speedy and complete recovery of His Holiness the Pope so that he may, in good health, continue his efforts in the cause of peace.
91. Once more we meet together to take stock of the past and try to plan and build for the future. Unfortunately, in reviewing the events which have taken place since the twelfth session, we must note with regret that the balance-sheet of world peace is still in deficit.
92. Our meeting today is held in a cloudy and highly charged atmosphere. The cold war has intensified, threatening to bring the world to the brink of war. Foreign troops are still stationed in two Arab countries; Algeria is still bleeding courageously for its- independence; the southern Arabian Peninsula is in constant turmoil because of persistent colonial aggression. Efforts to reach agreement on disarmament are frustrated and the Disarmament Commission is still paralysed.
93. Through this cloudy and charged atmosphere we nonetheless detect certain rays of hope. Faint as they are, they still encourage us to believe that — with good will — we can advance during this session and take a step forward towards world peace and security.
94. Among these rays of hope are the Warsaw talks, which we hope will be crowned with success, so that the current tension in the Far East may subside. We are also greatly encouraged by the prospect of a one- week armistice in this area, a period which we earnestly hope may lead to a complete cessation of hostilities. But in this respect, let us all be frank and realistic and admit the elementary fact that, so long as the People's Republic of China is barred from this Organization, there is no hope of a lasting settlement, because an important and influential party to the dispute is denied a seat in our assemblage. For the sake of world peace, let us sincerely hope that this will be the last year in which the People's Republic of China is barred from this world Organization.
95. Another ray of hope is the agreement reached in the scientific conference on detection of nuclear and thermo-nuclear tests. Let us pray that this agreement may be a milestone on the road to banning nuclear and thermo-nuclear tests. We earnestly hope that we reach during this session a unanimous agreement on the immediate suspension of these weapons tests, thus ridding the whole world of the dreaded spectre of radiation.
96. A third ray of hope is the agreement between the United States, the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union to hold a conference next month to discuss means of preventing surprise attacks. It is hoped that this, too, will mark a milestone on the road to disarmament and world peace.
97. One bright ray of hope also came from the Arab world. During this past year the consolidation of Arab countries and the unity movements among them became a concrete reality. Egypt and Syria merged in the United Arab Republic. Yemen confederated with the United Arab Republic as United Arab States. And just a few days ago, Morocco and Tunisia became members of the League of Arab States. These unity movements are decidedly a potent factor for world peace.
98. This surge towards Arab unity stems not from governments, but from the hearts of the people, and springs from the wells of their past and recent .hardships coupled with their hopes for the future, Arab nationalism is a strong, torrential current which, instead of being opposed, should be reckoned with and channelled into the best direction and use.
99. The unity movements now taking place in the Arab world are, indeed, peaceful, constructive and voluntary. We hail the admission of Morocco and Tunisia to the League of Arab States. Needless to say, their Arab brothers take great pride in the new members of their organization. Now we all look forward to the day when a free Algeria — a precious missing link — will be admitted as a sovereign and independent State and so complete the unity of the Arab world from the Atlantic to the Arabian Gulf.
100. I submit that these unity movements between various nations — Arab or non-Arab — should be welcomed and encouraged by all the means at the disposal of this world Organization. Regional unity is a step forward towards the goal of one peaceful world, the high ideal for which this Organization was originally established and which it is still striving to attain.
101. This leads me to the question of specific regional organizations and their relationship to the United Nations. There is a whole chapter in our Charter devoted to this question. Chapter VIII recommends the development of pacific settlements through regional agencies, and their utilization for enforcement action. Furthermore, the regional groupings are asked to keep the Security Council informed at all times of their activities.
102. In the view of my delegation, these provisions of the Charter should be fully activated, and regional organizations such as the Organization of American States, the League of Arab States, and others, should be formally recognized and encouraged to fulfill the role assigned to them in the Charter. For its part, the League of Arab States — acting in the spirit of Chapter VIII of the United Nations Charter — has always endeavoured to further and strengthen its relationship with world organization. In 1950, one of the League's charter members, Syria, proposed that the General Assembly of the United Nations extend an invitation to the Secretary-General of the Arab League to attend Assembly sessions as an observer. This proposal was adopted, and the League's Secretary-General has subsequently been attending all meetings of this august body. Furthermore, the League has established a permanent mission here to maintain liaison between the United Nations and League headquarters.
103. The third emergency special session of the General Assembly blazed a trail in this direction when it acted unanimously on a resolution [1237 (ES-II)] which took note of one of the main provisions of the Arab League Pact. This was a significant step forward. In our view this step should be followed up by stronger and more comprehensive ties and relationships with the world Organization. Such ties, which would be welcomed by the League of Arab States, would be in conformity with the provisions of the United Nations Charter, and would certainly contribute to the promotion of peace and the general well-being of our area.
104. Before touching upon the grave problems besetting the Arab world, I would like to refer to other international issues with which my Government is greatly preoccupied.
105. The first is the status of West Irian. It is a matter of deep concern to my Government that this problem has not yet reached an amicable solution, despite the resolution adopted by this Assembly [resolution 915 (X)]. It is high time that we recognized that West Irian is an integral part of Indonesia, for the sake of peace in an area already plagued with dangerous hostilities. A just and equitable solution for this problem should be found as soon as possible.
106. Second comes the burning question of Cyprus. My delegation believes that if this problem is not settled in a way that protects the rights of the people of Cyprus and realizes their lawful aspirations on the basis of justice and self-determination, then the issue will continue to be another disruptive and explosive factor in the troubled Middle East.
107. The third problem is teat of Guinea, which recently opted to secede from the French Empire and declared itself an independent and sovereign republic. From this rostrum we salute this new African republic and wish it well on the road of freedom and democracy. I submit that this newly-born republic should be the concern of the United Nations, and my delegation hopes that before this session comes to an end Guinea will be admitted as a Member of the United Nations and will be afforded all possible technical, economic and administrative assistance.
108. I would like to turn now to a discussion of the problems besetting the peace of our area, the Arab homeland. First and foremost comes the Palestine question, the most important cause of strife and instability and a constant threat to peace. For over ten years Israel has been refusing to implement the numerous resolutions adopted by this Assembly on the Palestine problem. I am referring, of course, to the resolutions calling for the repatriation of the Palestinian Arabs [resolution 194 (III)], the internationalization of Jerusalem [resolution 303 (IV)]. and the withdrawal of Israel from territory not allotted to it. Every time any phase of the Palestine problem is considered in the United Nations, this Assembly keeps recalling and reaffirming its previous resolutions. Yet Israel, which owes its very existence to this Organization, keeps ignoring and defying those selfsame resolutions.
109. At the same time certain big Powers, by their studied inaction in relation to this problem, coupled with their generous military and economic assistance to Israel, have contributed to a further deterioration of the situation in the Middle East. On one pretext or another, we have lately witnessed the landing of troops in two Arab States and even military aggression against another. Nevertheless, those Powers who participated in these operations take no effective action on the vital problem of Palestine, which is the real cause of tension in the Arab East. Indeed, one cannot but wonder why the resolutions adopted by the General Assembly on questions involving the Far East seem so sacred to these Powers, while those adopted on the question of Palestine in the Middle East do not.
110. Today, we find one million Arabs displaced from Palestine, innocent victims of unprecedented aggression. Through no fault of their own, they find themselves paying for the sins of others. For the past decade they have been living in huts, tents and caves- prey to hunger, sickness and misery. These people insist on repatriation to the land of their birth, to the family homesteads which they have cherished for many generations. In his annual report to the General Assembly at its twelfth session, the Director of the Director of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East portrayed this fact in the following terms: "The great mass of the refugees continues to believe that a grave injustice has been done to them and to express a desire to return to their homeland." [A/3686, para. 6.]
111. This is a right, based on justice, and until justice is restored in the Holy Land, there can be no peace in the Land of Peace. The Israel representative spoke this morning of a "good neighbour policy". Indeed, the Israel representative should be the last to speak of peaceful relationships. The aggressive record of Israel is well known; it has been indicted several times by this Organization, and the first emergency special session of the General Assembly is still painfully alive in our minds.
112. An equally notorious denial of human justice is to be found in Algeria, where the Arabs have been shedding their blood for four long years to achieve their liberation from an oppressive foreign yoke. Despite the fact that Algeria has already sacrificed about 10 per cent of its population in this struggle, and despite the Assembly resolutions [1012 (XI) and 1184 (XII)] expressing concern about the events in Algeria and calling for a peaceful settlement, we find that the occupying Power is still persisting in its intransigent claim that Algeria is a part of France. Algeria is not and never will be part of France. Racial origin, history, language, religion, and its way of life are eloquent proofs of this fact.
113. Under these circumstances, it is natural that the Algerian people have formed their own Government which today has already been recognized by many Governments. Others undoubtedly will follow suit. We believe that this new Arab Government is a step in the right direction and a contribution towards peace in our area. The Provisional Government of the Algerian Republic represents the free will of the Algerians and the embodiment of their hopes and their future.
114. Lately a so-called "referendum" took place in Algeria, and reports claim that polling was heavier in Algeria than in France itself. We all know under what conditions this referendum took place. Algeria is at war, and 800,000 French military and police units patrol the land. The Algerian people under their immediate domination had no other choice than to go to the polls. One article published in a widely-circulated Western newspaper summed up conditions in Algeria as follows: "Under army rule there, opportunities for campaigning against the Constitution were almost non-existent and, because of the unsettled state of the country, the polling took place under army escort and guard in most localities."
115. Eye-witness accounts from the embattled country also provide conclusive evidence that massive interference was used to force the people to take part in this election. One war correspondent, writing for the same influential Western newspaper, described an incident he viewed in the following words: "The other day about 400 french soldiers clambered up into hills near here. When protecting platoons were in place on the crests, 200 soldiers marched into a village, a stocky French captain in the midst of them. "The soldiers, several making moderate use of cudgels, herded the village men into a group. The captain then made a brief speech to the effect that they were all good Frenchmen and that they would have to vote tomorrow. He did not tell them how to vote, but said that anyone who did not show up at the polls would ‘passer par les douze balles’. meaning the firing squad."
116. It is thus clear that the "referendum" was held under conditions of duress and coercion. It is surely a significant fact that within France itself, where the elections were not "supervised" by the French army, 400,000 Algerians abstained from voting.
117. History repeats itself. Last year at this time the so-called loi-cadre was invoked here to lull the United Nations into inaction. This year a so-called "referendum" is introduced as an element for evading the real solution of the Algerian problem. These delaying tactics have been most detrimental to the peace of North Africa and to France itself.
118. One of the most disquieting features of the Algerian situation is that hostilities are no longer localized in Algeria, but are extending to neighbouring countries. The tragedy of the Tunisian border town of Sakiet-sidi-Youssef is painfully alive in our minds. From this rostrum, a few days ago, the representative of Libya called our attention [766th meeting] to the latest French aggression on Libyan territory bordering Algeria, an action which caused death and severe damage to property. These acts of violence are inexcusable. But so long as our Organization shirks its responsibilities on this burning question, as it has in past years, and so long as this problem is not solved according to the principles of justice and self-determination, all the North African countries lie under the menacing shadow of increasingly dangerous hostilities.
119. A proposal has been advanced in certain quarters to make Algeria a land of milk and honey. But I say to those who may be impressed by such projects that the Algerian people will never live on bread alone. They will continue to fight for their dignity and freedom.
120. Moving eastward in the Arab world to Jordan and Lebanon, we find that a large concentration of foreign troops is still present. There presence represents a source of great danger to the entire area, and a major factor of insecurity and unrest. The cardinal point of the resolution unanimously adopted on 21 August 1958 by the General Assembly at its third emergency special [resolution 1237 (ES-III)] was the withdrawal of foreign troops, and the Secretary-General paid a special visit to the area to facilitate this objective. We are sure that his contacts and consultations will prove most valuable; his unstinted efforts for world peace deserve our gratitude.
121. My delegation has carefully studied the Secretary-General's report and notes his expression of: "appreciation for the way in which Governments in the area engaged in a full and frank discussion of the difficult and delicate matters involved,.." [A/3934/Rev. 1. para. 20]. The report also mentioned that the Governments of Lebanon and the United Arab Republic have undertaken: "to grant all the facilities, including liaison offices in Beirut and Damascus, needed in support of the establishment of a United Nations organ in Jordan." [Ibid., para. 30]. The Secretary-General in his report referred also to: "encouraging contacts about the supply of oil to Jordan through the Syrian region and the supply of oil from Iraq on a commercial basis." [Ibid.. para. 22].
122. Thus we can see that the Arab countries, which sponsored the unanimous resolution of 21 August 1968, are intent upon carrying out the provisions of the resolution. Given the necessary time to ease the tension prevailing in the area, and provided no outside interference intrudes, the Arab countries will readily compose their differences and live up to the spirit of the Pact of their own League and the Charter of the United Nations.
123. However, on the key feature of the resolution — the withdrawal of all foreign troops from Jordan and Lebanon — the report of the Secretary-General contains no binding commitment from the two Powers which originally dispatched these troops. In two annexes from the United States and the United Kingdom, we find only a qualified promise of withdrawal expressed in the following words: "provided the international security situation with respect to Lebanon continues to improve" [Ibid., annex I. para. 2] and "provided satisfactory progress is being made [in Jordan]" [Ibid., annex II, para. 3.]. This terminology means, unfortunately, that withdrawal is still conditional and tentative; and we do not yet see a formal and final date for the removal of those troops whose presence is a great source of danger to peace and security in our area.
124. After surveying the related problems which endanger other areas of the Arab world, I would like to call to the attention of this Assembly the explosive situation which exists in the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula, a situation which is obviously of immediate and pressing concern to my delegation.
125. It is no secret that this section of the Arabian Peninsula has long been subjected to colonial domination in the guise of "protectorates". In recent years, however, this foreign domination has taken a new and dangerously expansive turn. Our own country has repeatedly been the victim of incessant attacks mounted by the colonial Power which is desperately seeking to maintain its outmoded influence in the peninsula. Some of these attacks, in direct violation of the territorial integrity of free Yemen proceeded as far as fifty miles inside free Yemen, causing irreparable losses in human life and property.
126. Despite the unprovoked nature of this aggression, we have tried repeatedly to reach an amicable solution of this dispute — but to no avail. Only last November, the Crown Prince of Yemen flew to London in a vain effort to negotiate a peaceful agreement which would put an end to unnecessary bloodshed.
127. Therefore, we have reached the unavoidable conclusion that the attacks upon Yemeni territory constitute part of a well-premeditated scheme of colonial domination for the entire southern Arabian Peninsula. In the southern occupied Yemeni provinces, my Government has noted with grave concern the increased concentration of colonial troops — an action which we can only regard as direct aggression against Yemen and a threat to the peace of our area.
128. Furthermore, we cannot escape cognizance of the repressive measures which have been taken against our Arab brethren in other parts of the Peninsula which are still under foreign domination. Throughout these areas, the Arab people have been inspired by the same urge for freedom and self-determination which is a hallmark of our era. But whenever and wherever they have attempted to express their desire for these basic human rights, they have been opposed by naked military force.
129. In the Yemeni province of Lahej, for example, the Arab people and their leaders vigorously rejected a colonially-inspired plan to create a "federation" among local tribes in the southern occupied provinces of Yemen. As a result, the Sultan of Lahej, who had previously flown to London to protest against this proposal, was not permitted to return to his homeland. Lahej itself was invaded by colonial forces; some of its citizens, including the Minister of Education, were arrested without trial; others — such as the President of the Legislative Council — fled to Yemen for safety. And a few days after Lahej was completely occupied, loyal Lahej troops took refuge in free Yemen.
130. In other parts of the south-eastern section of the crease in colonial aggression directed against the national aspirations of the Arab inhabitants. The merciless military action taken against the people of Oman has already been brought before the Security Council. This aggression, which is depriving the Omani people. of their legitimate rights to self-determination, is still continuing.
131. Close to Oman lies the Saudi Arabian oasis of Buraimi, which was seized by British forces in October 1955, This oasis is beyond doubt an integral part of Saudi Arabia. However, despite the fact that Saudi Arabia agreed to submit its dispute with the United Kingdom to peaceful arbitration, no solution has yet been reached.
132. When we seek for the reasons behind this increase of repressive colonial tactics in our area, the obvious answer which confronts us is the discovery of oil in the interior of the eastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula. If oil has been a great blessing to independent sections of our homeland, here — in territory subject to colonial designs — it is proving to be a calamity to the Arab people. Its discovery has resulted in a rebirth of harsh military manoeuvres in Omar and Buraimi, depriving the local people — and, indeed, all the people of the so-called "protectorates" and "sheikdoms" — of their God-given rights to liberty and independence, and subjecting them to merciless exploitation.
133. Brute force can never separate the southern Arabian Peninsula from the rest of the Arab homeland. No power on earth can isolate this area for long from the strong surge of Arab nationalism. The peoples of this area intend to fight for their inalienable rights of freedom and self-determination. If the present occupying Power refuses to see the clear handwriting on the wall and persists in the use of force, denying the people of their God-given right of freedom, I solemnly warn this Assembly of the danger of a new Algeria in the southern Arabian Peninsula.
134. I have sketched in brief the debit and credit side of world peace — the dark clouds and the charged atmosphere, together with the faint rays of hope which pierce the gloom. May we all dedicate ourselves to work through these rays of hope, enlarge their radius and increase their brilliance, so that light will break through darkness and humanity will at last be blessed by peace.