149. In the first place, Madam President, let me congratulate you warmly on behalf of the delegation of the People’s Republic of Albania on your election as President of the twenty-fourth session of the General Assembly. 150. During this year, the course of events in the world arena has been characterized by the continued upsurge of revolutionary and national liberation movements, by the heightened struggle of the peaceful and freedom-loving countries to safeguard their independence and their higher vital interests. Those interests are being increasingly menaced by the policy of intervention and imperialist domination followed by the United States of America and the revisionists of the Soviet Union, which are intensifying their aggressive activities in accordance with their joint plans to subject the world to their hegemony. As a result of the policy of positions of strength pursued by these two great Powers, a serious international situation has arisen which is fraught with grave dangers for general peace and security. 151. Today the oppressed peoples and nations are more than ever aware of their legitimate rights. Their revolt is taking an increasingly vigorous form. The storm of the revolutionary struggle for national liberation and social progress is raging in the four corners of the earth. It is developing continuously to become an impetuous torrent which has shaken imperialism, colonialism and international reaction to their very foundations and which is getting the main hand, the great and glorious path of history, along which human society is rapidly advancing. The flames of the armed struggle for freedom burn ever higher, becoming stronger and spreading further, engulfing vast regions of the globe and extending from the Pacific and Indo-China to the Middle East, to Africa and other areas. The world is evolving in a direction favourable to the peoples and against imperialism, its allies and its tools. 152. The successive waves of the peoples’ struggle have dealt harsh blows to the ringleader of imperialism, the United States of America, and are speeding its decline. Following the most shattering defeat it has ever suffered in its armed aggression against Viet-Nam, and as a result of the reverses it has experienced throughout the world owing to its policy of aggression and of oppression of peoples, the United States of America is becoming more and more deeply enmeshed in serious economic, financial and political crises. Its internal and external contradictions become daily more flagrant. Its policy of global strategy and of world rule has received irreparable damage. United States imperialism has blundered into a blind alley from which there can be no escape. 153. The revisionist leaders of the Soviet Union are equally prey to numerous contradictions and insuperable difficulties, both domestically and internationally, on account of their betrayal of Marxist-Leninism and of their restoration of capitalism in the Soviet Union. Soviet revisionism has now unmasked itself on the world stage as a social imperialist Power linked to the United States of America in a counter-revolutionary “Holy Alliance“ seeking to rule the world. 154. The peace-loving peoples and countries are becoming aware that United States-Soviet collusion is the most serious threat and danger to their common cause, their sovereign rights and international peace and security, and that the struggle against such a conspiracy has become an imperative objective necessity. Indeed, the imperialists of the United States of America and the Soviet Union are hated; they are being increasingly fought and isolated by the peoples. This is their great weakness and will be of decisive importance in hastening their total collapse. 155. Faced with such a situation, the two great Powers are multiplying their aggressive efforts and actions; they are speeding up the arms race and their preparations for war, intensifying their collaboration and hatching new plots and conspiracies. Recently, the contacts between them, their negotiations and dealings both secret and open, which extend to various fields and affect the vital interests of the world community, have become still more frequent. In essence, all these plans and machinations are designed to counter the struggle for freedom of the oppressed peoples and nations, to enslave both them and other independent nations, to exploit the peoples and pillage their wealth, to establish the world hegemony of the two Powers by dividing the globe into spheres of influence. This is confirmed, inter alia, by the agreements and plans of these two Powers in the field of nuclear weapons, including the bargaining at present in progress between their Foreign Ministers with regard to strategic arms; by the many deals, deceptions and pressures of all kinds in connexion with the question of Viet-Nam and that of the Middle East; by the aggression against Czechoslovakia and its military occupation; by their haggling over the German question and over that of West Berlin; by their joint plans to bring Europe and Asia under their sway and, in particular, by the encirclement of the People’s Republic of China and the war being waged against it and in many other ways. 156. One of the consequences of the great Soviet-American counter-revolutionary conspiracy is the armed aggression of the Yankee imperialists against the people of Viet-Nam, which has been in progress now for several years. Despite the barbarous means to which the United States imperialists have had recourse, despite the continuous escalation of the war in the south and the most ferocious bombing raids in the north, the people of Viet-Nam has, by its heroic struggle, dealt a series of shattering, blows to the aggressors and has driven them to the wall. It was precisely on the eve of total United States defeat in Viet-Nam that the Soviet revisionists made their greatest efforts, as compensation for the benevolent attitude adopted by the United States with regard to their aggression in Czechoslovakia, to extricate their imperialist United States partners from a difficult situation, to save their face and their imperialist positions and to win for them at the conference table what they had been unable to obtain on the battlefield, namely, the capitulation of the people of Viet-Nam to the Yankee aggressors. 157. But the people of Viet-Nam has never fallen to its knees. It is well aware of the fact that only by armed struggle can it win complete victory over the aggressors. It knows that “peaceful” negotiations, American-style, are intended to undermine its legitimate struggle for freedom and to perpetuate the United States occupation of South Viet-Nam in accordance with aggressive imperialist-revisionist plans against the other countries of the region and, primarily, against the People’s Republic of China. 158. The Albanian people and its Government have been and always will be at the side of their brothers of Viet-Nam. We are profoundly convinced that, by resolutely pursuing its armed struggle to the bitter end, the people of Viet-Nam will bring about the ignominious failure of these diabolical plots and will achieve its sacred aspirations. 159. Progressive humanity has unanimously condemned the perfidious armed aggression of the Soviet revisionists against Czechoslovakia. Law in Czechoslovakia today is made by tanks and bayonets. By fire and by sword the masters are trying to stifle the will of the Czechoslovak people to reconquer its national dignity, its freedom and its independence, which were trampled underfoot on 21 August 1968. 160. The events which have occurred during one year of occupation, and particularly the recent events on the anniversary of 21 August, have once again demonstrated to the whole world that neither a reign of terror, nor tanks, nor a state of siege, nor emergency powers can succeed in curbing the legitimate resistance and struggle of the Czechoslovak people. It will never bow to the foreign invaders and its struggle for freedom will be strengthened and developed in every possible way and by all possible means until victory is won. 161. The Albanian people and its Government resolutely and energetically condemned, from the very first day, the Fascist-like aggression against Czechoslovakia and formally denounced the Warsaw Treaty, which has become an instrument of aggression in the hands of the new imperialist Soviet Power against the other signatories of the Treaty. We have always followed with deep sympathy the resistance of the Czechoslovak people to the odious occupation régime. The people of Albania are and will remain on the side of their Czechoslovak brothers in their legitimate struggle against foreign occupation. 162. The aggression against Czechoslovakia and its military occupation, as well as the evolution of relationships between the Soviet Union and its “allies” in this region, have revealed that the policy and action of the Soviet leaders towards these countries are now based on blackmail and threats of force, the principal weapon being the Warsaw Treaty. Frequent movements of armed units of Warsaw Treaty forces or successive manoeuvres by the forces of that aggressive organization have recently taken place in those countries. It is clear that all this has been done to demonstrate the military power of the Soviet revisionists and to obtain, by the threat of force, obedience or concessions in favour of their policy of hegemony as well as to prepare for new adventures against other countries. 163. In their endeavours to find a theoretical foundation for this policy of hegemony and aggression, the Soviet revisionist leaders invoke the interest of the “socialist community”, i.e. their imperialist policy and the slogan of “limited sovereignty” borrowed from their mentor, Mr. John Foster Dulles. 164. The course of events and the well-known facts clearly demonstrate that the Soviet Government has now embarked on a policy of imperialist expansion. Large Soviet military forces are deployed in the territories of its allies, particularly along the Romanian frontiers, both on Soviet territory and on that of Hungary and Bulgaria. In the Mediterranean, the Soviet fleet is competing with the United States Sixth Fleet and is playing the same part: threatening the security and liberty of the independent countries of that region. It must be stressed that the naval bases of these two fleets constitute a grave danger both to the countries in which they are installed and to the other peace-loving countries of the Mediterranean. We energetically denounce the serious threat constituted by these bases to peace and security in the Mediterranean and in Europe as a whole. 165. It is clear that the Soviet leaders have already unsheathed the sword and are preparing for military adventures. They are plunging ever more deeply into a policy of aggression and of war. The aggressive actions of the Soviet leaders follow one another in an unbroken sequence. This is confirmed, inter alia, by their armed aggression against Czechoslovakia, their acts of armed aggression against Czechoslovakia, their acts of armed provocation and aggression against the People’s Republic of China and their blackmail and threats of force against Romania, Yugoslavia, Albania and other countries. One thing is certain, however: the lot of the aggressor will be total destruction, such as has always been the fate of aggressors and military adventurers, as history confirms. 166. As for anyone who has aggressive designs against the People’s Republic of Albania, we say to those who would dare to lift their hands against us that the new socialist Albania is invulnerable and will never be taken by surprise. The Albanian people, master of its destinies and with a long tradition of combating any invader, will know how to answer. It is not alone, and the assistance it will be given will know no frontiers. Anyone who dares to attack our socialist fatherland will, as always, fail lamentably. 167. Two years have already elapsed since the imperialist Israeli aggression against the Arab countries, and the resulting tragic and: unbearable situation in that region remains unaltered. The chief responsibility for that monstrous crime against the Arab peoples rests with the United States of America and with the revisionist leaders of the Soviet Union. With odious cynicism, these two imperialist Powers are vying with each other in extracting every possible advantage from this situation so as to assure for themselves dominating positions in the oil-rich and strategically important Middle East, and to gain the maximum profit at the expense of the Arab peoples. Meanwhile, the Israeli aggressors, emboldened by this situation, continue to apply their aggressive and expansionist policy in the occupied territories and against the neighbouring Arab lands. Their aggressive actions persist; they are constantly launching attacks and acts of armed provocation against the United Arab Republic, Jordan, Syria and the Lebanon. The Arab peoples in the territories occupied by the Zionist aggressors still live under a reign of terror. 168. The Arab peoples are becoming increasingly aware of the fact that the two great Powers are opposed to a just solution of the Middle East problem. While the United States of America openly supports Israel, continually provides it with arms and uses it as a tool for the realization of its plans against the Arab peoples, the Soviet revisionist leaders are taking advantage of the situation thus created to carry out their own designs for hegemony, calculating that the Arab peoples threatened by Israel will have need of them and will thus be obliged to defer and submit to them. The objective of both great Powers is to stifle the legitimate struggle of the Palestinian people and of the other Arab peoples, to eliminate the Palestinian problem and to maintain the tense and tragic situation which has been created to the detriment of the Arab peoples, in order to secure a position of dominance for themselves and to plunder the wealth of the countries of that region. The same objectives are served by United Nations resolutions, such as that of 22 November 1967 [resolution 242 (1967)], a product of the plot between the United States and Soviet Governments, or the other plans which they have been evolving in the course of bipartite, quadripartite and other negotiations in the United Nations or in the corridors of the Foreign Ministries. 169. The old and new imperialists and the Zionists imagine that they can easily impose their criminal plans on the Arab peoples. They forget with whom they are dealing. The Arab peoples have never agreed, and will never agree, to submit to pressure, intrigue or naked force on the part of oren or concealed aggressors. They are brave and freedom-loving peoples, with glorious cultural, warrior and humanitarian traditions, dating back many centuries, and they have illuminated the history of mankind in every field. They have given to the world since ancient times some most. eminent writers, historians, philosophers and scientists. Their universities have been celebrated; they revealed to Europe the treasures of ancient Greek philosophy. 170. These people who have struggled heroically against foreign invaders throughout the centuries, will not allow. themselves to be subdued either by intrigue or by tanks and aircraft, whether made in the United States or elsewhere. They are invincible; their power is great and it will inevitably triumph. Let their foes tremble! The heroic and glorious struggle of the Palestinian partisans is the best evidence of this. I wish, from this rostrum, to salute on behalf of the Albanian people our Palestinian brothers who, sword in hand, have raised high over the battlefield the banner of liberty and independence. 171. Imperialism and international Zionism have striven for decades to introduce Jews from all over the world into Palestine and to establish there a bridgehead of domination and aggression. Jews from various Western countries as well as from the Ukraine, Poland, Romania and elsewhere have infiltrated into that land. My Palestine brothers, they have come into your territory, financed by international Zionism, and, usurping your land, have forced you to live in tents in the desert. But, as one, you have arisen in a valiant fight for the recognition of your sacred rights. The imperialists and the modern revisionists, however, are applying the rule of silence with regard to your struggles. 172. As a representative of the Albanian people and as your loyal brother, however, I will raise my voice here, in the United Nations; I shall speak of your rights and of your heroic struggle and I shall do so always and incessantly “though all the world should fall” (hatta ua laou dounya kharabat). They accuse you of terrorism, of outrages; but you are a people of great ideals, of noble and pure spirit; you are warriors who, under the threat of oppression, have for years been struggling night and day for your freedom, dignity and honour, for the honour of your women and for a happy future. 173. Your policy is one of fraternity towards all your Arab brothers and towards all the progressive peoples of the world. You have also shown a truly humane attitude towards the Israelis. But you are not a people with the spirit of slaves. It is those who oppress you who are slaves in spirit and — whether today or tomorrow — they will be defeated by your heroic struggle, an integral part of the struggle of the Arab peoples. 174. There are those who claim that Israel is strong. This is not true. A State which is rapacious, represses other peoples and drowns them in blood cannot possibly be strong. The truth is that the alleged strength of Israel stems above all from the temporary difficulties of the Arab peoples. No one should deceive himself, however. As for us, the people of Albania, we are firmly convinced; that the Arab peoples will rise up in ever-growing strength and will surely overcome the enemies of their freedom and sovereignty to use one of your own expressions, we believe in this as in the air we breathe. 175. Some might, perhaps, nourish the hope of a political settlement to this question of life or death for the Arab peoples — a political settlement through deals between the United States imperialists and the Soviet revisionists, with the direct or indirect assistance of Israel and international Zionism. No settlement will come from that source, but only from the freedom struggle of the Arab peoples themselves. The pseudo-mediators and pseudo-defenders are well aware of this truth and fear such a settling of scores. Not only, therefore, is it wrong to foster illusions or cherish. hopes of a so-called peaceful solution, but those Powers must not even be permitted to continue their dealings amongst themselves, since the facts show that as long as such bargaining goes on, the horizon will remain dark. This is quite understandable, since the aim of United States imperialism is, above all, to strengthen its position of domination in the Middle East, Africa and the Mediterranean, while the Soviet revisionists — the new imperialists — are also seeking to reinforce their positions in the same areas by turning the temporary difficulties of the Arab peoples to their own advantage. 176. In conclusion, the question of the Middle East can, in the hands of the two imperialist Powers, serve only as a kind of currency for use in bargaining amongst themselves to smooth over their disagreements in various parts of the world. This should be evident to all. Some recognize it, others do not. Some think that, under these equivocal conditions, they can disengage themselves from a situation which, for various reasons, they find uneasy. That is quite another question. Nevertheless, we Albanians think and act frankly, openly expressing our points of view. We are sure that our friends will never hold it against us if we speak the truth in all sincerity, because we love them with all our hearts, and will the more so in times of difficulty; if our enemies are offended, this in no way disturbs us. 177. The popular partisan struggle is an integral part of that great fight for the liberation of the peoples which the occupiers and the enemies of free countries dread so greatly. The imperialists and revisionists are endeavouring, through pressure and demagogy, to impede and stifle your heroic partisan struggle, my Palestinian brothers. You are fighting a just fight; the ultimate victory will inevitably be yours. 178. In the perfidious plans of the United States and Soviet Governments, an important place has been allotted this year to their co-ordinated designs on Europe and Asia. The repeated proposal of the Soviet revisionist leaders concerning “European security” and their proposal for a “collective security system in Asia” are unquestionably interconnected. They are the product of joint Soviet-American machinations for the suppression of revolutionary movements in the countries of Europe and Asia and are aimed at bringing those countries into submission and involving them — particularly those of Asia — in the aggressive adventures of the two Powers on that continent, especially against the People’s Republic of China. The two great Powers are seeking to use the peoples as cannon-fodder in implementing their aggressive plans for world domination. This is also the purpose of the efforts made by the President of the United States, in the course of his tour of Asia, to create a defence system in that continent. Having learned the lesson of their failure in Viet-Nam and in view of the crisis and the whole series of grave problems which have resulted from it, the United States leaders are attempting to achieve the same objectives — those of their aggressive policy — by making still greater use of the peoples of Asia. In other words, this is a great imperialist-revisionist conspiracy aimed at assuring by means of such military pacts — in parallel with the aggressive NATO and Warsaw pacts—the preservation of the status quo in Europe, the subordination of that continent to the suzerainty of the two “super-Powers” by dividing it up into spheres of influence and by transforming it into a secure rear base from which to undertake a crusade against the revolutionary peoples and peace-loving countries of Asia, particularly in order to implement the Soviet-American plan to encircle great socialist China, the main obstacle — the insuperable obstacle—to the realization of their monstrous objectives, and to launch an aggressive attack against it. 179. The Government of the People’s Republic of Albania can well understand the preoccupation of some peaceful countries of Europe concerning the cause of peace and security in that continent. The facts reveal, however, that the policies and actions of the two great Powers are following a course diametrically opposed to the noble objectives to which all European peoples aspire. We are happy to know that many countries of Europe have expressed reservations concerning those perfidious plans, and that many Asian countries have categorically refused to become involved in the aggressive policies of the imperialist Powers and to allow themselves to be caught in the trap of their military adventures. 180. How is it possible to conceive of the security of Europe and Asia under the direction of the two Powers, when it is precisely because of their aggressive policies and activities, and of their collaboration, that the freedom-loving and peaceful peoples of the two continents are living in a state of insecurity and when, as a result of that collaboration, bargaining is carried on, plots are hatched and armed aggression is waged against their freedom, sovereignty and national independence? 181. How can there be any talk of such security when the armed forces of those two Powers are actually stationed in many foreign countries, trampling underfoot their sovereignty and independence and constituting a serious danger to their own safety as well as to international peace and security; when their war fleets, cruising in the Atlantic, the Mediterranean and the Pacific, threaten the independence and security of the peoples in those areas? How can there be any talk of security in Europe under the guarantee of those two Powers when, among other things, it is precisely because of them that a quarter of a century later, the problems arising from the Second World War have not yet been settled in that continent; when not only has the German problem not been solved, but when the Soviet leaders are making use of it and of the West Berlin problem as a bargaining counter with the American imperialists and the West German “revisionists”, to the detriment of the German Democratic Republic, and of the German people, the other countries of Europe and the very security of all the peoples of Europe? No, the peoples of Europe and Asia will not allow themselves to be deceived; they will not allow themselves to be cheated by the two imperialist Powers; they will never allow themselves to fall into the traps laid for them; they will never agree to leave their security and their destiny in the hands of the American and Soviet leaders. 182. It should be noted that the American imperialists and the Soviet revisionists, in addition to their collaboration at the expense of the peoples, also have their disagreements; they quarrel through greed and their desire for hegemony; this is perfectly understandable and natural when the imperialist nature of the Soviet-American alliance is borne in mind. In particular, the United States Government, taking advantage of the weaknesses of the Soviet leaders and of their readiness to make concessions, persistently puts forward ever-growing pretensions. American imperialism not only claims the lion’s share but is also trying to oust its partner and replace it in the very countries which the latter claims to regard as its reserved areas. This also accounts for a certain sensational initiative taken in this respect at the appropriate moment by the United States Government. 183. It is obvious that in spite of their contradictions, these two Powers understand one another within the framework of their global strategy, and can reach agreement where it is a question of stifling the struggle of peoples fighting for their freedom, independence and self-determination. 184. It is typical that the leaders of the Soviet Union are now showing more and more zeal in their collaboration and joint counter-revolutionary actions with the American imperialists. They are sparing no effort to find new ways of continuously consolidating the new “Holy Alliance” and refrain from any action likely to weaken it. Indeed, after every pseudo “anti-imperialist” gesture made for demagogic purposes, they hasten to reassure their partners in Washington of their loyalty and to give them practical proof of the real meaning of the noisy. declarations they make for form’s sake. 185. Terrified at the immense successes and the uninterrupted consolidation of great socialist China, particularly after the historic victory of the great proletarian cultural revolution which set the seal on the complete failure of the plots of imperialist-revisionist agents trying to take the Chinese citadel from within, the Soviet leaders have gone over to overt and sanguinary attacks against the Chinese people. 186. During this period, they have distinguished themselves in particular by their aggressive actions against the People’s Republic of China, accompanied by an unbridled campaign of anti-Chinese calumnies. The attention of world public opinion has been particularly drawn to the successive incidents they have provoked on the Chinese-Soviet frontier, particularly through acts of armed provocation on the Ussuti river and in the Chinese territory of Sinkiang. The Soviet Union has also concentrated enormous forces in the Far East, near the Chinese frontier, and has become deeply engaged in a policy of aggression and preparation for war against China. The Soviet leaders thus stand revealed as rabid partners of United States imperialism in the anti-Chinese alliance. 187. For their part the American imperialists, along with their feverish attempts to implement the two Powers’ joint plan to encircle and wage war against China, excel themselves in instigating their Kremlin partners to commit themselves ever more deeply to that military adventure, just as the Western imperialists did on the eve of the Second World War, striving to launch Hitler’s Nazis into war against the Soviet Union. The Soviet leaders show similar tendencies with regard to the United States of America, and both partners fear great socialist China. 188. Peaceful countries and international public opinion are following with close attention the evolution of this dangerous situation, which is a grave threat to peace and security in Asia and in the world. 189. Whatever the plans, the intrigues and the deals, the acts of provocation and of aggression which may be contrived and undertaken by the United States imperialists and the Soviet socio-imperialists, they cannot succeed in intimidating the peoples; they will never be able to mislead them as to their true designs as rabid enemies of the peoples and of international security. For its part, great socialist China is little concerned by the hysterical outbursts and aggressive actions of the American imperialists and Soviet revisionists. There is no force in the world which can bring the Chinese colossus to its knees. China, with its population of 700 million, is stronger today than ever before, and if the imperialists and the Soviet revisionists dare to undertake any act of aggression against China, they will receive the answer they deserve, and that will be the end of them. 190. The struggle of the peoples against imperialism, colonialism and neo-colonialism has entered a new phase. It is becoming ever more powerful and better organized. Workers’ strikes and revolts by young people and progressive students in support of rights are breaking out everywhere in Europe, Asia and the Americas. The peoples still groaning under the colonial yoke are intensifying their resolute armed struggle to deliver themselves once and for all from the chains of slavery. The people of Viet-Nam, the people of Czechoslovakia, the people of Palestine and of the other Arab countries, victims of Israeli imperialist aggression, the people of Oman, the people of Laos and of a number of Indo-Chinese countries, those of Angola, Mozambique, Guinea (Bissau), South Africa, Namibia, Southern Rhodesia, Puerto Rico and all the other peoples suffering from imperialist, colonialist and racist oppression are waging a great struggle; in every continent and in all parts of the world, they are dealing furious blows against the old and new imperialists, their colonialist allies and agents. The ground is giving way beneath the feet of imperialism. 191. It would be superfluous to stress here the responsibility resting upon the United Nations in the face of the situation at present prevailing in the world arena and of the major problems of concern to the peoples of the whole world. Indeed, as a consequence of the pernicious influence exercised on it by the United States of America and its chief collaborators, the present leaders of the Soviet Union, not only is the United Nations incapable of actively fulfilling its mission, but is at the same time being transformed into an instrument of the two Powers’ policy of aggression and pursuit of hegemony. 192. Far from helping to settle the major problems of our time, which affect the legitimate rights and higher interests of the peoples, the United Nations is acting in a manner flagrantly opposed to the fundamental purposes and principles of the Charter. It has profoundly disappointed the peoples struggling for their freedom and independence, who have now lost all confidence and have come to the conclusion that no good can be expected from the United Nations as long as it is manipulated by the United States and is subserving American-Soviet plots and collaboration. 193. Many Member States are seriously concerned over the deplorable situation which has grown up within this Organization, and at the grave harm done to its prestige and authority in the eyes of the peoples. There is no doubt that the first task to be undertaken is the urgent restoration of the legitimate tights of the People’s Republic of China in the United Nations and its organs. The immediate elimination of the unprecedented anomaly whereby the seat of the great Chinese nation in this Organization is usurped by the remnants of a venal clique, representing nothing, is a categorical imperative. The restoration of China’s rights is not only a vital reparation for the most flagrant and shameful violation of the Charter and of the elementary rules of international law, it is also in keeping with the urgent need of this Organization to have in its ranks great socialist China, which represents one quarter of mankind and without whose membership, as must be obvious to all, none of the great international problems can be solved. It is well known that it is not China which needs the United Nations, but rather the United Nations which needs China. 194. We do not deem it necessary to speak on this occasion of the hostile and imperialistic designs with regard to the Chinese people which have prompted the United States of America to impose its will upon a number of Member States in order to deny the legitimate rights of China in this Organization. In addition to the fact that this is well known, we shall have the opportunity to speak on it at length as well as on other aspects of the question, when it comes up for discussion in the General Assembly. We would, however, wish to stress at this point that a decision to restore the rights of the People’s Republic of China in the United Nations would mark an important advance in the direction of ending the manipulation of the United Nations by the United States and would encourage new steps in the same direction. 195. China is a founding Member of the United Nations and a permanent member of the Security Council. The Government of the People’s Republic of China is unquestionably the sole legitimate representative of the great Chinese people; it and it alone is entitled to enjoy the legitimate rights of China in this Organization. 196. We would express the hope that those peaceful Member States which cherish the fundamental principles of the Charter and are aware of the immense role of the great land of China in the world will have the courage to take a stand in favour of the request made by 14 countries, including Albania, that the rights of the People’s Republic of China in the United Nations and in all its organs be restored, and that the Chiang-Kai-shek clique be immediately expelled from this Organization [see A/7652]. 197. The Albanian delegation deems it necessary to stress once again that, in its view, Member States which are seriously interested in respecting the principle of the sovereign equality of States, non-intervention in domestic affairs, observance of the territorial integrity of other States and respect for the rights of peoples to self-determination cannot fail to dissociate themselves from the two great Powers in their treacherous and aggressive plans, which are dictated by the aims of their imperialist policy of dividing the world into spheres of influence and thus dominating it. The urgent task of such States is, in our view, to oppose those two Powers and their collusion at the expense of the cause of peace-loving peoples and countries, and to combat their dangerous plans to place various peoples and countries under their tutelage, whatever form such plans may take. American-Soviet collusion is today the greatest danger to international peace and security. It is the primary duty of peace-loving Members of the United Nations, therefore, to concert their efforts here to oppose the diktat of the two Powers and their conspiracy to control this Organization. 198. The work of this session of the General Assembly coincides with the twenty-fifth anniversary of the liberation of Albania, which the Albanian people will celebrate on 29 November next. Ideals which inspired and guided the revolutionary struggle of the Albanian people for their freedom against the Fascist invaders, as well as the principles upon which the new socialist State was built and developed after that victory, form the basis of the foreign policy of the People’s Republic of Albania. 199. Just as during the course of its struggle for freedom, the Albanian people, still firmly united around its workers' party, headed by its beloved Comrade Enver Hoxha, and relying unshakably upon its own resources, has, in the past quarter of a century, achieved such success in building the new socialist life, despite numerous difficulties, some natural and some created by its enemies, that it has radically changed the face of our country. Once a backward agricultural country, Albania has now become a country whose agriculture is being modernized and mechanized and whose industry is advanced. Albania’s industrial production is today some 52 times higher than in 1938, the last pre-war year. In other words, our industry now produces in one week what was produced in a year in the pre-war period. 200. In socialist Albania, the exploitation of man by man has been eliminated once and for all. The material and cultural standard of living is incomparably better than in the past. The national income is 7 and a half times greater than before. Nowadays, not only has illiteracy been completely eliminated, but education and culture have become the property of the masses of the people; one person in four attends school and the number of students receiving higher education is 25 times higher than in 1938. 201. The tremendous achievements in all fields, obtained in a relatively short period, provide striking evidence of the supremacy and vitality of our social system. They are a guarantee of further victories and of a happy future. 202. Guided by the profound aspirations of the Albanian people, our Government has followed an independent and revolutionary foreign policy which is fully in keeping with the defence of our independence, our sovereignty and the inviolability of our fatherland and of our socialist victories, as well as with the great cause of peoples and countries struggling for their freedom, independence and self-determination, in order to ensure genuine international co-operation. 203. The People’s Republic of Albania has pursued and will continue to pursue its policy of friendship and fraternal co-operation, on the basis of the principles of Marxist-Leninism, with the peoples of the socialist countries; its policy of friendship for and solidarity with the peoples of countries struggling for their freedom, democracy and progress and, in particular, with its brothers the Arab peoples, the peoples of Africa, Asia and Latin America and with all anti-imperialist forces. 204. A close and fraternal friendship, inspired by common ideals, links the Albanian people with the great people of China. Albanian-Chinese friendship, forged by the two heroic parties, is indestructible, since it is built on immortal foundations. It provides a striking example of relations between socialist countries, a lively demonstration of the strength and vitality of genuine socialist relationships, which know no obstacle and will triumph over every enemy. 205. The Albanian Government has constantly followed its policy of good-neighbourliness and of normal relations between States having different social systems, on the basis of the principles of sovereign equality, non-interference, respect for independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity and co-operation based on mutual advantage. 206. The People’s Republic of Albania has become a factor for peace and progress in the Balkans and the Adriatic. It plays an active part in and is making a constructive contribution to the cause of peace and security in Europe and in the world. Thanks to this policy, the People’s Republic of Albania enjoys today the sympathy, respect and support of all progressive and peace-loving countries. The Albanian people is fully aware of all this and of the obligations incumbent upon it in this respect. As always, it will fulfill its obligations with determination. 207. The People’s Republic of Albania will continue to co-operate, as in the past, with the peaceful countries which are Members of the United Nations; alongside with those countries, it will not fail to make its modest contribution to the struggle against the imperialist policy of aggression and of oppression of peoples. 208. We should like to take this opportunity to say here how much we appreciate the spirit of co-operation that a great number of Member States have shown us with respect to many important international problems, thus proving that we have many common interests. We should also like to express our gratitude to all friendly countries and peoples for their sympathy and solidarity with, and sincere support for, our people in the various situations which have arisen over the last 25 years. Their friendship and solidarity have been and will continue to be precious to our people; they constitute and continue to constitute important factors in our achievements and successes, in all the victories of the People’s Republic of Albania, which thus offers a historic and living example of the extent to which peoples, whether great or small, are powerful, of the extent of their possibilities when they are unshakably resolute in their struggle for freedom, independence and progress.