30. The delegation of the People's Republic of Albania expresses the hope that, in view of the total failure of those who paralysed the last session on the pretext of the so-called financial crisis, the present session of the General Assembly will function normally. The Assembly must obviously be on its guard lest similar attempts should be made during the present session, and it must not be content merely to abide by the rules of procedure. What is essential, and what all people rightly expect, is that the United Nations should take the right course, that it should cease to be an instrument for the foreign policy of a great Power, and that the General Assembly should act effectively in the interests of peace, the freedom of all people and international co-operation.
31. Despite the artificial efforts made by certain speakers at the beginning of this session to becloud the realities of the tragic events taking place in our planet, the international situation is too grave not to arouse concern among the peace-loving Member States and to make them aware of their responsibilities.
32. This year, the General Assembly is meeting at a critical time, a time when, in various parts of the world, the flames of aggressive war redden the sky and many peoples are bearing great sacrifices for the cause of freedom and national dignity against the retrogressive forces of imperialism and reaction. I wish, however, to stress that despite the present grave situation, the Government of the People's Republic of Albania believes that it is upon the will and determination of the peace-loving countries and peoples of the world that the responsibility rests for barring the way to this dangerous course of events. The peace-loving countries and peoples are more numerous and more powerful than the monopolist groups and the war-mongering circles which dream of spreading their régime of oppression and pillage throughout the world.
33. Mankind has entered an era of profound and revolutionary changes. The great concepts of freedom, democracy and social progress have, in the hands of the peoples of Asia, Africa and Latin America, become the instruments for throwing off the imperialist and colonialist yoke and blazing the trail of national and social emancipation. A new world has been born, a world free of oppression and exploitation. Colonial empires are crumbling. Independence, national sovereignty and equality among all States, whether large or small, are the great principles underlying the international relations that have been established by peoples and countries which abominate the oppression and exploitation of imperialism and colonialism. Against this new world and the States and peoples who are fighting for these principles, we see ranged the masters of the old world, the imperialists and colonialists who are vainly trying to turn aside the onward rush of history.
34. The standard-bearer of this crusade against the people has been the United States of America, in whose eyes every independent State and every people aspiring to freedom is an enemy, and every progressive and democratic movement is subversive. The United States Government, which carries on noisy propaganda for freedom and democracy, has in reality suppressed freedom in its own country by denying its negro citizens their rights, by oppressing them and by massacring them in Los Angeles and elsewhere. Nevertheless, it attempts to dictate to other countries, in the name of freedom, what kind of Governments they ought to have and to impose on them its own policy and its hegemony. It fiercely attacks the peoples who are struggling for freedom in the Congo and elsewhere. It intervenes against the Dominican people, who are fighting for freedom and democratic rights, in order to oppress them with large military forces. It occupies South Viet-Nam and bombs the Democratic Republic of Viet-Nam day and night. It has established a vast network of military bases all around the world. It has given gunboat diplomacy and international brigandage the status of an institution and has made violence its guiding doctrine. The old colonialism is in its death-throes, but United States neo-colonialism, which is more subtle and more dangerous, is taking its place.
35. This arrogant war-mongering policy has led to a vigorous reaction among the peoples of the world who, today more than ever before, are aware of their rights and their strength and who see in United States imperialism the worst champion of reaction, the enemy of freedom and peace and their own most vicious enemy. The peoples of the world ardently love peace, but they do not want the peace of slaves or the peace of the dead. There cannot, moreover, be any peace without freedom. The peoples of the world want to be freed and to be masters in their own home; they want to be free to establish the government of their choice, to advance as sovereign people in accordance with their traditions and their aspirations, and to make their contribution to the cause of co-operation and progress under conditions of equality and mutual respect; they want to have friends and not masters. That is why they are joining forces and are supporting each other against colonialism and neo-colonialism, against the policy of enslavement and aggression represented by the imperialism of the United States and its partners.
36. The Government of the People's Republic of Albania believes that the most disturbing problem at the present juncture is the war in Viet-Nam. What is at stake in Viet-Nam is the future of peace and freedom, the right of people to freedom and self-determination against the force and the ruthless intervention of the United States of America. The United States imperialist aggression in Viet-Nam is a challenge to all freedom-loving countries and peoples. The Viet-Namese people in the South as well as the North have valiantly taken up this challenge. With no thought for the sacrifices involved, they are waging a heroic struggle of world significance and are inflicting defeat after defeat upon the greatest imperialist Power, proving once again that there is no force in the world which can subjugate a people fighting for the just cause of national freedom and independence.
37. The United States Government, which has ruthlessly trampled underfoot the 1954 Geneva Agreements on Indo-China, which has intervened militarily In South Viet-Nam and has attacked North Viet-Nam, and which every day carries out bombing raids and savage massacres against the Viet-Namese people, is trying to create the impression that, for its part, it desires peace in Viet-Nam and that it is the Viet-Namese people, who are resisting aggression and fighting for their national independence, who want war. Everyone knows that the Viet-Namese army has not landed in the United States and is not bombing New York or Pittsburgh, but that, on the contrary, all branches of the United States armed forces have Invaded South Viet-Nam, 10,000 miles away, and have unleashed, without the slightest provocation, a war against the Democratic Republic of Viet-Nam. It is the armed forces of the United States which are waging a war of extermination and committing acts of genocide in Viet-Nam, even resorting to such barbaric means as napalm and poison gas; it is they who are massacring school-children, hospital patients and nursing mothers. These are crimes against mankind which outrage the conscience of the world, and they cannot be concealed by the pacifist effusions of professional murderers.
38. Regardless of what they do, however, the aggressors are doomed to inevitable defeat. The Viet-Namese people are fighting for a just cause; they are invincible and ready for any sacrifice, and they will be victorious. At the present time, the United States Government is proposing "peace talks" and is trying to use the United Nations itself and other means of pressure against the people of Viet-Name in order, it claims, to re-establish peace in Viet-Nam. In fact, however, it is attempting to deceive public opinion and to achieve at the negotiating table what it cannot accomplish on the battle-field, namely, to perpetuate the occupation of South Viet-Nam and the partition of Viet-Nam.
39. The war in Viet-Nam is a matter of concern for all people. The Albanian delegation understands the sincere desire of various freedom-loving countries to see peace restored in Viet-Nam, this being, of course, of interest above all to the Viet-Namese people themselves. There is, however, no doubt that any other people attacked and invaded by any enemy would do exactly the same as the Viet-Namese people are doing; it would resist aggression and would refuse to engage in "peace talks" until the aggressor had withdrawn. To do otherwise would be tantamount to capitulation, to the acceptance of negotiations as though under the threat of a gun held by a gangster who had entered your home by force. Peace under those conditions would be like Hitler's peace at Munich, which became the prelude to the Second World War. If such tactics — armed aggression followed by proposals for negotiation — were to succeed in Viet-Nam, the United States would then apply them to other independent countries in Asia and other continents. That is why any attempt at negotiations under these conditions cannot serve the cause of peace or the sacred rights of the Viet-Namese people; it can only benefit the aggressor as long as the aggression continues, as long as the aggressor continues to occupy the South, to attack the North and to send additional forces to Viet-Nam.
40. The Albanian delegation hopes that the true friends of the Viet-Namese people, as well as of freedom and peace, will understand that in this question of vital importance to the people of Viet- Nam and to the fate of world peace, we cannot allow ourselves to be guided by narrow considerations of expediency or by the desire to salvage the prestige of the aggressor by stopping half-way. We must go all the way in supporting the just cause of the Viet-Namese people, which is also the cause of all free and peace-loving peoples. The friends of Viet-Nam also realize that it is not this cause, but exactly the opposite, which is served by mere Platonic declaration against interference in the domestic affairs of States, and that when a Government has the duty and all the means to do so, and is sincere in its intentions, it must say "stop" to the aggressor.
41. Peace could be immediately re-established in Viet-Nam if the United States put an end to its aggression against the Democratic Republic of Viet-Nam, withdrew all its armed forces and the mercenary forces with their weapons and equipment, and allowed the people of South Viet-Nam freely to decide their problems themselves. This would also be in the true interest of the people of the United States, whose sons are being killed in the jungles of Viet-Nam for an unjust and criminal cause. This is the only course which can lead to a solution of the Viet-Nam question in accordance with the 1954 Geneva Agreements. This is what the freedom-loving States and peoples demand. It is precisely this course which is advocated in the statement of 22 March 1965 by the National Liberation Front, which alone represents the people of South Viet-Nam, and in the statement of S April 1965 by the Government of the Democratic Republic of Viet-Nam. The Government of the People's Republic of Albania, which is one with its brothers, the people of Viet-Nam, in their heroic and just struggle, resolutely supports these statements.
42. The Albanian delegation believes that the United Nations must not be allowed to bring further discredit upon itself by serving the policy of United States aggression. It will oppose any attempt to involve the United Nations in the sordid war of the United States imperialists in Viet-Nam and will make it its duty to unmask the conspiracies which they are plotting with their friends behind the scenes against the heroic Viet-Namese people and against the cause of peace.
43. The significant successes of the countries in the socialist camp, of the recently liberated countries and of the revolutionary and liberation movements have considerably strengthened the peace front, creating a solid basis for new victories over colonialism and imperialism and opening encouraging prospects for the future. But it cannot be denied that the aggressive policy of the imperialists, with the United States at their head, has created a grave situation in the world. The illusion which the interested parties deliberately fostered by asserting that the settlement of the Caribbean crisis had opened a new positive phase of peace in international relations have proved to be groundless. As the events of the last few years have confirmed, those who foster these illusions have only whetted the appetite of the United States imperialists for further adventures and have made possible the conclusion of open or secret agreements between the parties concerned to the detriment of the small countries and the liberation movements. Among the events of this kind that might be mentioned are the Moscow treaty partially banning nuclear weapon tests, United States aggression in Viet-Nam, in the Congo and in the Dominican Republic, the United Nations crisis, and the upsurge of secret diplomacy at the expense of sovereign countries and of peace.
44. The Albanian Government believes that the aggressive policy of the United States, like that of Hitler, can lead to the outbreak of a new world war. To be sure, times have changed, and so has the balance of power, and people have learnt the lessons of history. But the present situation requires that the freedom-loving States and peoples joint their efforts to those of the people struggling against United States imperialism, in order to avert a new catastrophe which would cost mankind dear, irrespective of the fact that in the final analysis the defeat of United States imperialism is inevitable.
45. Twenty years have already passed since the establishment of the United Nations, but this anniversary, it must be noted, coincides with the most serious crisis in the Organization's history.
46. The People's Republic of Albania has always worked, within the limits of its possibilities, to ensure that the United Nations should fulfil its basic purposes and meet the hopes of the people for the safeguarding of peace, freedom and progress. We must, unfortunately, admit that the record of these twenty years is far from satisfactory.
47. In the opinion of the Albanian delegation, the United Nations would have accomplished its mission successfully and met the hopes of the people if it had functioned in accordance with the Purposes and Principles of the Charter. It has long been clear that if the United Nations is to achieve its fundamental objectives, it must not allow itself to be manipulated by a great Power in the interest of that Power's policy and contrary to the interests and sovereign rights of other countries and the interests of peace.
48. In the first place, the time has come to put an end to an absurd situation in which, under United States pressure, the United Nations allows the seat of China to be occupied by the Chiang Kai-shek puppet régime, which represents no none, while at the same time the United Nations is deprived of the participation and contribution of the People's Republic of China, that great socialist State of enormous potential and creative power which resolutely follows a policy of peace and friendship, which has achieved magnificent successes in every sphere, and which has become one of the main Powers in the world, and a certain guarantee on the peace and freedom of all people. China has established diplomatic relations with fifty States on all continents, the majority of which are Members of our Organization. It is daily developing and expanding co-operation and trade and cultural relations with more than 120 countries on the basis of the just principles of total equality, non-interference, mutual respect, sincere co-operation and the provision of mutually advantageous assistance Without any political or other conditions. All States which maintain and are developing relations with the People's Republic of China have been able to observe to practice the soundness of its policy of friendship, genuine co-operation and defence of peace. That is why a growing number of States recognize China and wish to establish friendly relations with it, whereas the attempts of the United States Government to isolate China have only resulted in the isolation of the United States itself in its anti-Chinese policy.
49. China's achievement of the rank of a nuclear Power has been welcomed by the peace-loving countries and peoples as an important factor for peace and security counteracting the atomic monopoly and blackmail of United States imperialism. Many political leaders in various countries have rightly stressed that the voice of China, with its 650 million inhabitants, must be heard at every international meeting, that the great problems of the day in Asia and throughout the world cannot be settled without its participation, and that its contribution is essential to the cause of peace. Without China, the United Nations itself must inevitably be impotent and ineffective. The time has come for the Member States which are concerned for the future of the Organization, for the cause of peace and for international co-operation to put an end to this morbid obstruction by the United States and to support the request introduced at the present session by various countries, including Albania, to expel the Chiang Kai-shek elements and to restore without delay the lawful rights of the People's Republic of China in the United Nations.
50. The prestige and authority of the United Nations have also been seriously impaired by the fact that not only has it been unable to summon sufficient strength to condemn the aggressions of imperialism in various areas of the world, but in Korea and the Congo, its flag has even been put at the service of aggression. It was in the name of the United Nations that South Korea was turned into a veritable colony of the United States and a base for aggression by the United States in the Far East — a dangerous and intolerable situation that is being rightly opposed by the Korean people, which has the fraternal support of the Albanian people and the sympathy of all the peoples of the world. The United States is now endeavouring to make use of the United Nations in its war of aggression in Viet-Nam, while in the Dominican Republic the Security Council has in effect given legal sanction to the military intervention of the United States. Instead of supporting the people of Kashmir in their struggle for freedom and self- determination, and instead of supporting Pakistan in its fight to defend itself, the Security Council has, in fact, taken the side of India, which has disregarded not only the resolutions of the Security Council but also the provisions of the Charter and the principles of international law, and is responsible for the serious situation which has been created between the two neighbouring countries. The cases of the Congo, Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Kashmir — to take only a few recent ones — illustrate the bitter fact that every time a great imperialist Power attacks a small country, the Security Council — the organ which, under the Charter, has the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security — is incapable of defending the victim and in actual fact serves the ends of the aggression. What confidence, then, can the small nations, which are in the majority, have in the Security Council and in the United Nations itself for their security? The justifiable withdrawal of Indonesia was at once a heavy blow and a serious warning to the United Nations.
51. Great problems beset mankind and threaten world peace. Germany, Korea and Viet-Nam are still divided; the imperialist Powers have created numerous hotbeds of tension and conflict; millions upon millions of people still suffer under the colonial yoke; thousands of military bases on foreign territory limit the sovereignty of the States where they are established and threaten peace.
52. The efforts of the United States to use the United Nations for its own ends have rendered this Organization incapable of settling any of these problems. A typical case is the problem of disarmament, which has been discussed for twenty years without the slightest result being achieved. During those twenty years, dozens of disarmament commissions, committees and ad hoc groups have been established; hundreds of reports and resolutions have been submitted; the problem has been discussed in all its principal and secondary aspects; it has been debated, directly or indirectly, in theoretical and in specific terms. But the arsenals of war have not been reduced by a single cartridge. The work of the Committee of Seventeen, which meets at Geneva, drags on endlessly and fruitlessly. This year, the Disarmament Commission, with the participation of the entire membership of the United Nations, also met, but, in order not to disrupt the measure of agreement reached between two great Powers, it did not adopt any resolutions providing for effective measures.
53. One gets the impression that all these talks are organized with the express aim of diverting attention from the frenzied arms race and the aggressive actions of the United States in Viet-Nam, the Congo, the Dominican Republic and elsewhere. It might even be said that the plan for general and complete disarmament has been shelved. The so-called "nuclear umbrella" reveals a design to disarm other countries while the two nuclear super-Powers would retain their missiles and nuclear weapons in order to threaten and attempt to subjugate other countries. At the present time, these Powers have deliberately brought the question of non-proliferation of nuclear weapons to the foreground. The basic idea of this plan is that nuclear weapons should remain the monopoly of the States already possessing them, while they would be denied to other countries, except West Germany, which would obtain them within the framework of the so-called "multilateral nuclear force".
54. The delegation of the People's Republic of Albania appreciates the concern of certain delegations over the question of the proliferation of nuclear weapons, Naturally, we oppose the granting of such weapons, in any form whatsoever, to West Germany, which pursues a policy of revenge and aggression. We consider, however, that the problem has been poorly stated, that it has in fact been put the wrong way round. What must be realized is that the danger does not stem from the countries which do not have nuclear weapons, but from those which do. That is why, in our opinion, if we really wish to save mankind from the danger of nuclear war, effective measures must be taken to compel the States that already possess nuclear weapons not to use them, not to manufacture other nuclear weapons and even to destroy their existing stockpiles completely, To concern ourselves with the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons at a time when the United States is actually threatening to use them is to dodge the issue and is tantamount to recognizing that the United States of America is entitled to have a nuclear monopoly and to indulge in nuclear blackmail. To take such a course would be to perpetuate the danger of nuclear war, So far as we are concerned, we have always been and still are, in favour of effective general disarmament and of the banning and the complete and final destruction of nuclear weapons. It is from this standpoint that we also view the question of the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons.
55. The United Nations, as a result of its manipulation by a great Power, has seen its prestige decline; it has become incapable of solving problems or of serving the cause of peace, the emancipation of peoples and international security, The very fact that its Headquarters is in the United States of America has become a source of weakness for the Organization and
a source of intolerable restrictions and affronts for many delegations — to say nothing at this juncture of the Secretariat, which consists mainly of United States nationals and whose part in important political questions is known only to certain privileged States.
56. The delegation of the People's Republic of Albania believes that another source of the weakness of the United Nations is to be found in its own Charter. It will be recalled that the United Nations was founded before the end of the Second World War, at a time when it was believed that the Anglo-Soviet-American alliance would be the basis for the reconstruction of the post-war world and would be long-lasting. Under the Charter, the United Nations assumed the task of saving mankind from the scourge of a new world war, of assisting the peoples of the world along the road to freedom, prosperity and peace, and of establishing and furthering among States relations based on equality and sovereignty. The Government of the People's Republic of Albania has always supported these high and just purposes which were defined at the time and enshrined in the Charter. Today, however, the situation is no longer what it was in 1945. It has changed profoundly as a result of the developments of the last twenty years, and these changes have highlighted a number of defects in the Charter which, in our opinion, it is time to correct.
57. In the view of the Albanian Government, the main defect lies in the contradiction which exists between the fundamental principle of the sovereign equality of Member States, as defined in Article 2 of the Charter and recognized in international law, and the privileges conferred on the great Powers by the Charter with regard to the fundamental questions of international peace and security. At the present time, whether we like it or not, the Member States are not equal in the United Nations; they are divided into two groups, and it is the great Powers that have the upper hand. This state of affairs is unjust in principle and harmful in practice. What happens as a result is that the Chiang Kai-shek clique continues to usurp the seat of China and that, as I mentioned before, the United Nations and its Charter, in Korea, in the Congo and in other cases, have been used as a weapon against the freedom of the people and against peace.
58. The privileged wish, of course, to retain their privileges, but the majority of Member States, which adhere to the principle of equality and sovereignty, are opposed to this. The great Powers in the United Nations not only refuse to revise the Charter but are trying to find new ways of preserving their privileges. The Governments of two leading Powers have even devised a new formula for establishing their joint hegemony in the world and in the United Nations. This formula embodies a dangerous plan for setting up a United Nations force on a permanent basis. The shameful role of the United Nations forces in Korea and in the Congo cannot be denied. We are not told, however, that these forces, once established and directed by the Security Council, would serve the cause of peace and freedom. Those who make such a claim affect to forget that in the case of the Congo the United Nations Force was sent there by the Security Council, on the unanimous vote of the great Powers, with results that are well known. Previous experience of United Nations forces has been bitter, and the aims of those who advocate this plan for using a United Nations force as an international police force to suppress liberation and revolutionary movements are obvious. That is why the Government of the People's Republic of Albania has strongly opposed, and continues to oppose, the establishment of a United Nations force in the present circumstances.
59. At the present time, the socialist revolution has triumphed in one third of the world and since 1945, more than sixty countries have regained their independence, These changes are not, however, reflected in the Charter or the organs of the United Nations, and the rights of the socialist and African-Asian States are not respected. The General Assembly will certainly recall how, in December 1963, the great Powers joined together in opposing amendments to the Charter for increasing the number of non-permanent members of the Security Council and the membership of the Economic and Social Council in favour of the African-Asian countries. On that occasion, Albania resolutely supported the countries of Africa and Asia, which fully appreciated the part played by Albania in the adoption of the proposed amendments [see resolution 1991 (XVIII)].
60. The Government of the People's Republic of Albania considers that it is time that the rights of the African-Asian countries and of all Member States were respected on an equal footing and reflected in the membership of all United Nations organs. The independent States of Africa and Asia are making a very active contribution to international life. The Albanian Government fully supports their efforts to strengthen their independence and national sovereignty and their solidarity against colonialism and imperialism. It wishes every success to the Organization of African Unity and to the second African-Asian conference, which is to be held in the near future. The peoples still subject to the colonial yoke are waging a heroic struggle. They have not been deluded by the attempts of the apologists of colonialism to divert them from their just struggle with such bogus threats as "any spark might lead to a nuclear war" and "imperialism is a tiger with atomic teeth". These peoples are marching steadfastly onward towards victory and freedom.
61. I should like to take this opportunity to express the congratulations of the People's Republic of Albania to the Gambia, the Maldive Islands and Singapore on their attainment of independence and their admission to the United Nations.
62. The peoples of Africa, Asia and Latin America have always had, and always will have, our backing in their struggle for freedom and national independence, which is an indisputable right and the very basis of international relations. The national liberation movement is an important factor for peace and progress and will inevitably lead to the elimination of the colonial system. However, the Charter of the United Nations recognizes the existence of the system of non-self-governing and dependent territories, which at the present time is an inadmissible anachronism. The United Nations should not be content with an academic consideration of the implementation of General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV) against colonialism, which was adopted in 1960. 1 duty is to take effective measures to support the peoples of Oman and South Arabia, Angola and Southern Rhodesia, Mozambique and so-called Portuguese Guinea, North Kalimantan, Puerto Rico, South West Africa, Bechuanaland, Basutoland and Swaziland in their struggle for national liberation.
63. Moreover, the United Nations should not only take a stand against racial discrimination and oppression, but should also condemn in the strongest terms the crimes of genocide perpetrated before our eyes in South Africa and the United States of America against the coloured population.
64. In conclusion, the delegation of the People's Republic of Albania considers that, if we want the United Nations to emerge from the unhappy state to which it has been reduced and become once again an international organization capable of serving the cause of peace, national independence and international security, it is high time that various forceful measures be taken along the following lines in particular.
65. First, free the United Nations, all its bodies, all its organs and all its machinery from control and manipulation by the United States of America, either alone or in collusion with any other Power, and make it a true centre for harmonizing the efforts of equal nations to achieve the aforementioned objectives in conformity with the fundamental principles of the Charter.
66. Secondly, restore the lawful rights of the People's Republic of China in the United Nations without delay and at the same time expel the Chiang Kai-shek puppet.
67. Thirdly, amend the Charter so as to make the sovereign equality of all Member States, without distinction or privilege, one of the foundations of the Organization's activities. It is only on this basis that the United Nations can have any meaning or justification.
68. Fourthly, delete from the Charter any provision or reference which is incompatible with the freedom and sovereignty of peoples or which in any way recognizes colonialism.
69. Fifthly, let the United Nations support by every possible means the peoples who are victims of imperialist aggression, and let it condemn such aggression vigorously and effectively; let it support anti-colonial and anti-imperialist liberation movements; let it support the recently liberated States so that they may consolidate their national independence and sovereignty in all respects; and let it actively defend peace and the cause of progress.
70. In making these observations and suggestions, the delegation of the People's Republic of Albania is prompted by the desire of the Albanian Government that the United Nations should not meet the fate of the League of Nations, but should become a dynamic organization capable of meeting the basic current needs of peace-loving peoples and States and the requirements of international co-operation on the only possible and effective basis, namely, equality, sovereignty and mutual respect and advantage. The Albanian delegation will be glad to co-operate in this way with other delegations guided by the same desires and aims, The strained international situation requires the United Nations to justify its existence and play the role incumbent upon it in accordance with its mandate and with the Charter; this, in our opinion, makes it essential for the aforementioned measures to be adopted without delay.
71. I have stated the viewpoint and position of the Government of a small country, the People's Republic of Albania, on certain important aspects of the international situation and our Organization.
72. The overwhelming majority of the Members of the United Nations are small or relatively small countries, but all are sovereign and equal States. Each small country makes its contribution to the great cause of freedom and progress, and we have all, great and small, the right to express our views openly, to defend the principles which are sacred to us and our fundamental rights of freedom, independence and national sovereignty against the arrogance, greed and injustice of the great imperialist Powers.
73. At this stage of history one cannot accept the idea that a small State must submit to a big State, that a small country, in order to gain the right to live in this world, must follow blindly and willy-nilly the policy of a large country, that an economically weak country must make itself subordinate to the economy of an economically powerful country. The freedom, independence and sovereignty, the right to self-determination and self-government, the political decisions of every independent people and State must be preserved in all circumstances from every form of intervention, whether open or concealed.
74. The great imperialist Powers and certain degenerate chauvinist leaders have not renounced this policy of oppression, political and economic blackmail, gross intervention and dissimulated or blatant intrigue against sovereign peoples and countries. They insist on prolonging the life of this sordid policy and resort to all possible means in order to make it appear "democratic”. They varnish it with pseudo-peace-loving and pseudo-humanitarian slogans and swaddle it in a cloak of pseudo-peaceful-coexistence. This policy is a cover for aggression, blackmail, political and economic pressure and armed intervention. It is a threat to peace and a prelude to war.
75. When the Powers and the leaders I have just mentioned are resorting to every means in their fight against freedom, against the independence of the peoples and countries that want to live in freedom and to be sovereign and independent, do we little countries not have the right and duty to fight with the greatest determination against this situation, which threatens us every day and at every moment? We certainly have such a right, and we must carry out this vital task with courage. Right is might, and we are in the right. Neither the imperialists nor their partners, of course, deny us this right in their demagogic words, but in practice they do everything in their power to stifle us.
76. We are not against the great Powers or against the great peoples as States and peoples, nor are we against the people of the United States or any other great people. We favour friendship with all peoples, but we will fight to the end against servitude, slavery, barbarous exploitation, colonialism, blackmail and the warmongering imperialist policy followed by the leaders and Governments of these Powers.
77. The strength of the small peace-loving countries is enormous by comparison with that of world imperialism. Let us realize our considerable strength, which neither the vast armaments of the imperialists nor their economic power can resist. This great truth is confirmed by time, and it is becoming more obvious every day in practice.
78. There are some who are afraid of the imperialist bogeyman and of reprisals, who fear the suspension of credit and the plots that the imperialists may organize in their countries. But it is possible to face the threats as well as the plots and the gross intervention, even if armed. It is possible to face anything, as heroic, decent and brave men and peoples have done and are doing every day, The history of mankind and the history of each people taken separately is made up of a brilliant record of revolutionary struggle against tyrants, cruel invaders, colonialists and imperialists.
79. The Albanian people are small in number. The Albanian State is small in size, but it has never done harm to anyone, whereas several other countries have done harm to it. They have invaded the country with fire and sword and massacred the people, but they have never been able to achieve their diabolical aim of crushing our people, of subjugating them physically and spiritually and enslaving them, because the Albanian people have fought, they have resisted, and they have not been afraid, even at the most trying moments in their age-long history. The example of our small nation is only one of many in the brilliant history of peoples who have struggled for freedom, independence and sovereignty.
80. The Governments of the United States of America and the United Kingdom have been and still are unwilling to establish diplomatic relations with Albania because they cannot bear the thought of a small people being able to live in freedom and independence. That has not, however, affected our country, in any way; the People's Republic of Albania exists and prospers. The Government of another great Power has also broken off diplomatic relations with Albania with the aim of intimidating and crushing us. The Albanian people have nevertheless stood firm, and the People's Republic of Albania exists and prospers.
81. The enemies of our country and of our people, behaving as they do in general towards all countries which defend their liberty and sovereignty and uphold justice, are accustomed to call us satellites of one country or another because we are a small people. Tomorrow perhaps they will say that we are satellites of the moon, despite the fact that there are no satellites of the moon. The Albanian people have been able to put in their place all those who have tried to meddle with their destiny and the destiny of the People's Republic of Albania and who have tried, behind a hypocritical mask of friendship, to impose their treacherous and enslaving views on them.
82. The new Albania, which maintains and is developing friendly relations with a considerable number of countries on the basis of the principles of equality, non-intervention and mutual respect, has acquired, by its just and peaceful policy, the right to speak freely in this Assembly, to express its opinion openly and plainly, even if that does not please the representatives of the United States of America and certain others. Albania is more than certain that it enjoys the sympathy of you who honourably represent the majority of countries in the world, regardless of the type of régime you represent, and that is where little Albania's great strength lies.
83. We speak for different countries and different régimes. On various questions we may not and do not have identical opinions, but with regard to what I have just said your hearts and minds, like the staunch hearts and minds of the peoples you represent, will agree that we have no great differences. And that is the basis for the unity and sincere co-operation of the People's Republic of Albania with your countries and Governments in the struggle for the great issues which occupy mankind as a whole, against world imperialism, against the plundering wars of imperialism and for a just peace, in equality and justice.
84. The People's Republic of Albania, faithful to its principles and to its policy of peace and friendship among peoples, to its policy of support for and solidarity with the movements of liberation and revolution and of peaceful coexistence among States with different social systems, joins with other peaceful countries in seeking to avert the threat of a new world war, to thwart the aggressive policy of United States imperialism, to eliminate colonialism completely and to settle important international problems in the interests of peace, freedom, national independence, democracy and social progress. This is the policy and these are the aims which will guide our delegation at this session of the General Assembly.