At the outset, Mr. President, my delegation
would like to congratulate you on your unanimous
election to guide the work of the thirty seventh
session of the General Assembly. Your election is
a recognition of your rich experience, personal
qualities and statesmanship. It is also a fitting
tribute to your country, the People’s Republic of
Hungary, a country with which Ethiopia enjoys
strong ties of friendship and cooperation, and a
recognition of the outstanding contributions it
has made towards peace and international
understanding. I also pay a tribute to your
predecessor, Mr. Kittani, for the skill with
which he guided the work of the thirty sixth
session. I should also like to take this
opportunity to express the appreciation of my
delegation to the Secretary General for the able
manner in which he is serving the cause of peace
and progress. Thirty seven years after its
establishment, the United Nations is still far
from meeting the challenge of ensuring
international peace and security. As a result of
the exacerbation of existing conflicts, the
creation of new hotbeds of tension, the acute
global economic crisis and the ever increasing
danger of a nuclear holocaust, mankind today
lives under the shadow of total annihilation. The
ray of hope that flickered with the birth of the
United Nations, which was conceived to avert
conflicts and promote international peace and
cooperation is, regrettably, being dimmed.
Contrary to the obligations entered into by
Member States under the Charter, and despite the
lip service so readily paid to its lofty ideals,
the violation of its cardinal principles is
increasingly becoming a habit rather than an
occasional lapse. Today, wars of aggression are
openly condoned, dying tension revived, and new
conflicts fomented. International law continues
to be flouted with impunity by those in the well
known imperialist circles, whose interest in
exploitation and dreams of expansion have been
undermined by the mighty tide of national
liberation and social emancipation. The
frustrating outcome of the second special session
on disarmament is a reflection of the
precariousness of the prevailing international
situation. The unwillingness of some Members to
be parties to the United Nations Convention on
the Law of the Sea, which has been finalized
after more than eight years of painstaking
negotiations, could adversely affect one of the
major undertakings of the United Nations. The
lack of political will on the part of the
developed world to make possible the launching of
global negotiations on the new international
economic order and the overall heightening of
tension on a global scale are disturbing trends.
Twenty two years ago the General Assembly adopted
its historic Declaration on the Granting of
Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples.
By invoking this Declaration, a number of
countries gained their independence and joined
the family of free nations. Yet colonialism and
racism in their most vile forms continue to be
practiced in southern Africa. The racist regime
in Pretoria, with the political, economic and
military support of its imperialist allies,
continues not only to subjugate the black
majority in South Africa but also to consolidate
its colonial occupation of the international
Territory of Namibia. Harassment, imprisonment,
torture and racial indignity are the daily lot of
the masses of South Africa and Namibia, who have
been cruelly deprived of even the most basic
human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Furthermore, the regime, acting as the
agent of imperialism, is busy sowing the seeds of
terrorism and destabilization in the entire sub
region of southern Africa. The frontline States
have become prime targets for unprovoked acts of
aggression by racist Pretoria. To us Africans,
and indeed to all peoples the world over that
cherish peace and freedom, the delay in Namibia’s
accession to independence and the attempt to
perpetuate the policy of apartheid in South
Africa are outrageous in the extreme. The
international community is fully aware that the
terrorist regime in Pretoria, in collusion with
its imperialist allies, is leaving no stone
unturned in its bid to keep Namibia in its
Fascist clutches. The independence process of
Namibia has stalled because of Pretoria’s
intransigence and the acquiescence of the Western
contact group in its dilatory tactics. Without
the accession of Namibia to genuine independence
and the complete dismantling of the racist
edifice of apartheid objectives to which all of
us appear to be committed durable peace in
Africa, and indeed in the world at large, will
remain elusive. We therefore cannot and must not
allow the obstructionist and dilatory tactics of
Pretoria to delay or compromise the inevitable
independence of Namibia. In this connection
Ethiopia once again calls for the speedy
implementation of Security Council resolution
433. We reject each and every stratagem designed
to introduce questions that are of no relevance
to the issue and fall strictly within the purview
of the sovereign jurisdiction of independent
States. Indeed, we strongly condemn the contrived
issue of the so called Cuban presence in Angola
as a blatant and impudent infringement of the
sovereign rights of the People’s Republic of
Angola. While supporting all viable initiatives
within the framework of the United Nations plan
for Namibia, Ethiopia believes that, in the
absence of the political will to impose
comprehensive and mandatory sanctions, resolution
433 will remain a dead letter. In the present
circumstances, Ethiopia feels duty bound to
continue to render political support and material
assistance, within its modest means, for the
intensification of the legitimate armed struggle
being so resolutely waged by SWAPO, the sole and
authentic representative of the people of
Namibia. Furthermore, Ethiopia pledges its
unswerving support for the oppressed people of
South Africa in their struggle to build a
democratic society based on racial equality and
majority rule. Similarly, Ethiopia reaffirms its
support for and solidarity with the peoples and
Governments of the frontline States of southern
Africa, which must remain vigilant in defense of
independence and human dignity against an
undeclared war by the Fascist Pretoria regime.
Pretoria, having failed in its strategy of
maintaining racist and colonial regimes around
its borders, has now embarked on establishing in
southern Africa a belt of instability as yet
another weapon for the defense of the abhorrent
system. Today it is not only Angola that is the
target of racist and imperialist forces. Lesotho,
Mozambique and Zimbabwe, as well as Seychelles, a
State that has no common boundary with South
Africa, are under the constant threat of acts of
banditry and sabotage emanating from South
Africa. Indeed, armed bandits and mercenaries
organized and trained by the Fascist regime of
South Africa with the connivance of international
imperialism are at this very moment carrying out
acts of terrorism, murder and pillage in the
People’s Republic of Mozambique. In the face of
these developments, the international community
must therefore render both diplomatic and
material assistance to Mozambique in accordance
with the relevant resolutions of the United
Nations, to enable that country to strengthen its
defense capabilities to ensure respect for its
sovereignty and territorial integrity. In this
regard, it is with great pleasure that I hail the
victory once again scored by the people and
Government of Seychelles over the forces of
racism and imperialism. Encircled by a chain of
military bases and interventionist forces, my own
country is under constant danger. The forces of
reaction, subversion, armed banditry and
terrorism, bankrolled and equipped by
international imperialism and its surrogates, are
orchestrated to undermine the unity, sovereignty
and territorial integrity of my country. Rocked
by internal crises and strife, the despotic
regime of Mogadishu has, since early July 1982,
been making allegations of an Ethiopian invasion
of its territory. With regard to those unfounded
and self serving allegations, there are a number
of facts that the international community needs
to bear in mind. First, Ethiopia neither covets
nor has it ever claimed any portion of the
territory of Somalia. On the contrary, it is
Somalia which, in a systematic violation of the
terms of United Nations instruments that brought
about its emergence in 1960 as an independent
country on the map of Africa, continues to be
obsessed by an expansionist dream at the expense
of its neighbors. Contrary to the cardinal
principles of the Charter and to the decisions of
the United Nations and the Organization of
African Unity, Somalia has over the past two
decades repeatedly committed a series of brazen
aggressions against its neighbors, especially my
country, with the purpose of realizing its
territorial ambitions. Secondly, the
international community, including those members
that are today cynically shedding crocodile tears
over the conveniently fabricated invasion of
Somalia by Ethiopia, can surely testify to the
fact that it was Somalia which committed an
unprovoked and massive aggression against my
country in July 1977. Since Ethiopia was in the
midst of a far reaching revolution, the Mogadishu
regime, in collusion with its imperialist and
reactionary allies, had calculated that the time
was opportune to strike at my country with a view
to realizing Somalia’s expansionist ambitions and
destabilizing the Ethiopian revolution. In this
connection, it may be recalled that even when the
invading army had penetrated 700 kilometers into
Ethiopian territory, the Ethiopian defense forces
that routed the invading army early in the
following year did not sweep the enemy to the
shores of the Indian Ocean in hot pursuit, even
though they had the capacity and the moral right
to do so. As everyone will recall, our defense
forces stopped at the international boundary
between the two countries. That is an undeniable
fact. Similarly, the record of Ethiopia’s policy
of good neighbourliness and mutually beneficial
cooperation with its other neighbors, namely, the
Republics of Djibouti, Kenya and the Sudan,
eloquently speaks fbr itself. The national
objective of our revolution has been repeatedly
stated on several occasions. If Ethiopia has
declared any war, it is a war on the enemies of
mankind: hunger, disease and ignorance. Our
revolution is irrevocably committed to advancing
the material and spiritual wellbeing of the
Ethiopian people. The linchpin of our foreign
policy is likewise peace, progress and the
promotion of good neighbourliness. Since the
achievement of those objectives compels us to
devote all our energies and resources to national
reconstruction, Ethiopia has neither the need nor
the intention to launch an invasion against
Somalia. It is obvious that the myth of the
Ethiopian invasion has been fabricated by
Mogadishu and its imperialist and reactionary
patrons as a convenient pretext both to arm
Somalia to pursue its territorial ambitions
against its neighbors and to strengthen the
imperialist military bases and the
interventionist forces in Somalia. The truth is
that under the leadership of the Somalia
Salvation Democratic Front and the Somalia
Liberation Movement, the Mejertin, Issaq,
Dulbahanti, Haberawel and other oppressed
nationalities of Somalia have taken up arms to
rid themselves of the tyranny of the oligarchy
based in the Merehan clan. The popular movements
to which I have just referred have repeatedly and
unequivocally declared to the world that they
take full responsibility for the civil war now
raging in Somalia. Hence, no amount of gross
fabrication and distraction on the part of the
Mogadishu regime and its collaborators can
conceal the realities of the situation.
Furthermore, it is evident that international
imperialism and its surrogates in the area,
particularly the archaic feudal potentates who
could not even unite to combat genocide and help
the Palestinian children falling at their
doorsteps, are shamelessly echoing Somalia’s
allegations. In their policy statements in the
general debate of the current session and in
other forums, those Governments have,
regrettably, expressed concern over an alleged
interState conflict in the Horn of Africa. To be
concerned about the actual state of relations
between two neighboring countries is one thing,
but to lament an internal turmoil within a given
country, a turmoil arising from an oppressive
rule, is a totally different matter. My
Government therefore reiterates its categorical
and unequivocal rejection of the baseless
allegations levelled against Ethiopia and once
again calls upon the Governments that show such
misplaced concern to see the situation for what
it is, namely, an internal struggle between the
regime in Mogadishu and liberation forces opposed
to its oppressive rule. In this context, I must
underscore the fact that some of those
Governments that are currently raising a false
alarm were either arming and financing the
aggressor or maintained a dead silence in 1977,
when Ethiopia was the victim of Somalia’s
aggression. The position they have taken now is
thus as transparent as it is self serving. Let me
reaffirm once again that peace in the Home of
Africa will reign only when Somalia eschews its
territorial claims over its neighbors. The
benefactors of the Mogadishu regime could
therefore make a positive contribution to the
restoration of peace and stability in the area if
they could persuade it to abide by the cardinal
principles and decisions of the United Nations,
the nonaligned movement, and the OAU, including
the decisions of the eighteenth session of the
Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the
OAU, held at Nairobi in August 1981. Providing it
with weapons and funds indulge in an unrealizable
dream and destructive ventures can only
exacerbate tension and conflict in the Horn of
Africa. Africa’s endeavors to forge continental
unity have often been the target of bedevilment
and attacks by its enemies. In spite of the
numerous obstacles that the enemies of unity have
set before it over the last 19 years, African
unity still remains a force to be reckoned with.
The OAU, which was conceived to ensure the
freedom and peace as well as the economic
development of our continent, has in the last 19
years scored remarkable achievements. Only its
detractors would dare deny its outstanding
contributions to the decolonization process.
Nevertheless, imperialist forces to whose
interests the success of the Organization has
proved detrimental have left no stone unturned in
their devious machinations to drive a wedge
between the ranks of its membership. Africa’s
strength stems from its unity. Even with the
pressure being exerted against it by its
imperialist racist adversaries, Africa is
resolved not only to determine the course of its
own development but also to contribute to the
peace and security of the rest of the world. We
are therefore convinced that the OAU will remain
strong and viable to enable Africa to speak with
one voice and to guide effectively the common
destiny of the sons and daughters of our great
continent. Despite the best efforts of the United
Nations, peace in the Middle East still remains
elusive. The return of all Arab lands occupied
since 1967 to their rightful owners, the exercise
of the right to self determination by the
Palestinian people, including its right to an
independent homeland in Palestine, and respect
for the sovereignty and security of all the
countries in the area will go a long way towards
ensuring durable peace in that region. Israel’s
recent invasion of Lebanon and the resulting loss
of life and destruction of property have once
again thrown the entire region into turmoil. The
subsequent massacre in west Beirut of innocent
people, after the withdrawal of Palestinian
combatants under a guarantee of the safety of
their families and other civilians, has shocked
and angered the international community. Ethiopia
condemns in the strongest terms possible the
genocide perpetrated against the Palestinian
people and supports the call for an international
investigation of the massacre in west Beirut. In
any event, Israel and its imperialist allies
cannot escape responsibility for that shameless
and inhuman episode. Theimperatives of peace in
the Middle East demand that Israel immediately
withdraw from the entire territory of Lebanon and
unequivocally recognize the right of the
Palestinian people to a national homeland of its
own. Ethiopia reiterates its full support for the
exercise by the people of Western Sahara of its
inalienable right to self determination and
independence in accordance with the relevant
resolutions of the United Nations and the OAU. My
Government strongly deplores the arrogant
imperialist interference in the internal affairs
of sovereign States in Central and Latin America.
We reaffirm Ethiopia’s solidarity with the
Nicaraguan revolution and the gallant fighters in
Central America struggling against imperialism to
reassert their inalienable right to guide their
own destinies. In Asia, Viet Nam, Kampuchea and
Afghanistan are endlessly becoming targets of
imperialist provocation and slanderous campaigns.
My Government is convinced that the thomy
problems of South East Asia and SouthWest Asia
could be resolved by the peoples concerned
without outside interference. My Government also
supports all endeavors aimed at promoting
understanding between and the peaceful
reunification of the two Koreas. With regard to
Cyprus, Ethiopia strongly supports all positive
efforts designed to bring to an end speedily all
factors of disharmony and instability. My
delegation insists that the independence, unity,
territorial integrity and nonaligned status of
Cyprus be fully respected. The reversal of
detente and the accelerating pace of the arms
race, coupled with the acquisition of new
military bases and the provocative behavior of
some States, have often again revived the
dangerous era of the cold war. In the Race of the
deteriorating international situation and the
production, stockpiling and deployment of ever
more deadly weapons of mass destruction, peace
has today become the overriding concern not only
of Governments but also of people everywhere, as
has been demonstrated by the mounting public
protests around the world. In the light of the
growing threat of a nuclear holocaust, we are
convinced that urgent and concrete measures must
be taken to halt and reverse the arms race,
particularly in its nuclear aspect, until the
attainment of our ultimate objective of general
and complete disarmament under effective
international control. The ongoing negotiations
on strategic arms reduction prompt us not to lose
hope despite the many failures we have
encountered in our collective endeavors in this
field. The expectations and hopes of the
international community for a successful
conclusion to the second special session of the
General Assembly devoted to disarmament were
shattered. Obviously the main responsibility for
that failure is borne by the very forces which
have embarked on a policy of massive rearmament
and advocacy of dangerous military doctrines such
as that of a limited nuclear war. We therefore
call upon the Powers in the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization to demonstrate good will and
cooperation in expediting negotiations on the
comprehensive programme of disarmament so that it
can be adopted at an early date. The unilateral
undertaking by the Soviet Union not to be the
first to use nuclear weapons is a significant
step coupled with a reciprocal commitment by the
other nuclear weapon States, would prevent the
outbreak of nuclear war. At its current session
the General Assembly has before it two important
additional items also proposed by the Soviet
Union. While the first deals with the urgent task
of the complete and general prohibition of
nuclear weapon tests, the second proposal
underscores the growing need to redouble the
efforts aimed at the elimination of the threat of
nuclear war and the protection of peaceful
nuclear facilities. As a party to the Treaty on
the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons, Ethiopia
not only welcomes these important proposals but
also urges all Member States to seize the
opportunity they provide to halt the arms race,
to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and the
outbreak of nuclear war andto enhance the
development of peaceful nuclear technology.
Despite the adoption by the General Assembly of
the Declaration of the Indian Ocean as a Zone of
Peace, the expansion or modernization of existing
military bases and the acquisition of new ones in
the area, as well as the deployment of rapid
intervention forces and weapons of mass
destruction, are being highly intensified. Those
actions, contrary to the decisions of the United
Nations, continue to endanger international peace
and security. In the light of those alarming
developments, the holding of a conference on the
Indian Ocean is surely long overdue. We are
therefore compelled to reiterate our demand for
the convening of the Conference on the Indian
Ocean, in Colombo, in the first half of 1983, as
called for by the relevant resolutions of the
General Assembly. Similarly, Ethiopia attaches
considerable importance to the signing, speedy
ratification and implementation of the United
Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. An
examination of the international economic
situation, regrettably, shows an increasing
resistance on the part of certain industrialized
countries to instituting structural changes in
the existing system of international economic
relations. The continuing deterioration in the
situation of developing countries is assuming
alarming proportions, while the economies of the
least developed countries are on the verge of
collapse. The burden of indebtedness, the low
level of foreign exchange earnings, balance of
payments difficulties, instability of commodity
prices, rising import bills, low level of
agricultural productivity and food shortages
remain the general characteristics of the
economies of the developing countries. In the
midst of the grim world economic situation, the
condition of most African countries should be a
matter of the utmost concern to the international
community. It is rather sad to witness today that
in Africa food shortages caused by the shortfalls
in agricultural output, low productivity,
changing ecological and unfavorable weather
conditions pre in the process of creating the
simplest form of dependence of the continent for
its food on the developed North. Food aid has
tended in recent years to become a permanent
feature of international assistance to the
African countries. Today there are no fewer than
21 countries seeking special assistance from the
United Nations because of their incapacity to
withstand even mild shocks to their economies.
This deteriorating situation has been a
consequence of the basic structural constraints
and other serious limitations. As a result most
African countries, especially the least developed
ones, have been forced out of the mainstream of
international economic life. Unless the
international community urgently implements on a
priority basis the Substantial New Programme of
Action for the 1980s for the Least Developed
Countries, adopted at the Paris Conference the
grave economic situation of these countries could
soon reach an irreversible state. Indeed, we
cannot envisage a solution to the problem of the
world economic crisis in general and the least
developed countries in particular unless the
developed countries make a major political
decision to accept and institute fundamental
changes in the present international economic
system. The growing anarchy in international
relations and the ever present threat of a
nuclear holocaust indicate that mankind has
reached a very critical point in history. In the
present circumstances, even decisions by
individual States, let alone those taken
collectively, are bound to affect the very
survival of mankind and its civilization. While
peace and progress are the overriding concern of
humanity, war and destruction appear to be the
hallmark of our era. In this regard, the head of
State of my country, Chairman Mengistu Haile
Mariam, in his statement to the Ethiopian people
on the occasion of the eighth anniversary of the
Ethiopian Revolution, said the following: Today,
peace is the most vital issue for which the
people of the entire world raise their voice in
unison. The demand for the preservation and
strengthening of peace, which at present figures
top on the agenda of the entire peoples of the
world, is also the demand of Ethiopia. The
worldwide struggle for peace cannot also be seen
separately from the struggle for national
liberation, for a just international economic
order, for democracy and social process. Unless
mankind, collectively and with the utmost
urgency, addresses itself to the serious
challenges facing it today the consequences will
be very grave indeed. Not only is the noble goal
of the United Nations to save succeeding
generations from the scourge of war likely to
remain a mere ideal, but there may be neither a
generation to succeed nor a war from which to
save it. We must therefore take the present
international crisis as an opportunity for
introspection and a time for decision to map out
a strategy to save humanity from the impending
global catastrophe. In such a strategy
international confrontation must yield to
international cooperation. Scrupulous adherence
to the principles and purposes of the Charter of
the United Nations must be consistently pursued
and upheld. Each and every Government must
exercise political wisdom, eschew political
expediency and act, at all times, in the long
term and broader interest of mankind. The time to
rise to the supreme challenge of our times is
now, for tomorrow may well be too late.