YouSaid · the spoken record

Bemananjara

THE RECORD WRITES THIS SPEAKER AS BEMANANJARA

lines on the record: 108
first: 1984-09-24
most recent: 1990-09-24
sittings or episodes: 4
sources: un-general-debate

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“The key point for us now is to invest in the new capital of confidence that has been accorded to our Organization, to build innovatively on the experience of more than 40 years, to put to the test the true potential of the United Nations despite its momentary loss of credibility. If the United Nations is to be the expression of our international political conscience, we cannot continue to enclose it within the narrow framework of a Charter that needs to be revised, if only with respect to the right of veto. We must accept that the concept of security should be enlarged and that the concept of responsibility should be more binding.”
1988-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 43 (1988)
“Is it not ironic to note that at the end of the twentieth century those who dedicate themselves to preaching and to the-systematic use of human rights for political purposes, are sometimes the last to accept the consequences of respect for, and' the promotion of, human rights in southern Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America? That the flowers of human rights are blooming in a field of injustice, misery and poverty is something that is being accepted through a grim form of formalism. As I listen to the statements of my colleagues, or reread them, I have the impression that the quarrel between bilateralism and multilateralism, for which some other systems have been sought, is now a thing of the past.”
1988-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 43 (1988)
“Reasoning politically and legally, after the adoption of resolution 181 (IT) who can question the existence of a Palestinian State distinct from Jordan? Sooner or later, the independence of that State will be formally proclaimed. As an Organization, we must take an unambiguous stand.· That act will not suffice to end the conflicts between Israel and the PLO, but it would have the advantage of enabling the more hesitant to consider the International Peace Conference in new terms. This year, we are going to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and everyone will proclaim full and unqualified dedication to it, although no country is really free of allegations of violations of these rights.”
1988-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 43 (1988)
“On the other side, we see a people suffering in body and soul, but a people which, through the voice and through the initiatives of its liberation movement, the - African National Congress (ANC), is crying out for the right to participation, to freedom and to democracy. We are, still wondering when we, will find the resolve to apply concrete and comprehensive solutions to defeat the apartheid regime. Nothing can be built on immorality and compromise. One cannot expect anything from apartheid; reformed or not. As for the Middle East, it is time we stopped trying to find some form of balance at any cost, which is of advantage only, to one side, " The Palestinian people, a victim of injustice, oppressed, condemned to wandering and despair, has the right to demand more consideration and more sympathy.”
1988-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 43 (1988)
“We all hope that this first deadline will be respected and will not be made unduly dependent upon the results of the quadripartite talks on South West Africa. We maintain that only the immediate and definitive application of Security Council resolution 435 (1978) will make it possible for the Namibian people to regain their independence, sovereignty and dignity, until this happens, the political, legal and moral, responsibility of the Organization will be at stake. In South Africa we are still seeing a clash between two worlds. On the one side we see the illegitimate and illegal regime of apartheid, with all the ' tyranny, oppression, discrimination, inequality and monopoly that it involves.”
1988-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 43 (1988)
“After this summary of the disputes that have arisen between States, what can we conclude and what lesson can we draw, if not that the sense of responsibility of the countries of any region and their support for the settlement of conflicts in their geographic area have peeved more positive and effective than interference and intervention prompted by external interests. Having presented this somewhat optimistic view of the world, I am constrained to return to the painful realities affecting southern Africa and the Middle East, where conflict of interests is the order of the day. On 1 November this year the Secretary-General will begin to take the steps necessary for the deployment of the United Nations Transition Assistance Group (UNTAG) in Namibia.”
1988-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 43 (1988)
“We should therefore pay our tribute to and congratulate all those who have made the prospects for this session less negative than they might have been. These include, first, the Organization, whose peace-keeping forces have just received the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of their contribution to achieving the fundamental purposes of the Charter and to bringing about the negotiations now under way, lb the United States and the Soviet Union, for concluding the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles for undertaking negotiations with a view, to reducing their strategic nuclear arsenals, and for their determination to explore those spheres in which significant progress can be envisaged·, Iran and Iraq, for accepting the cease-fire recommended in Security Council resolution 598 (1987) and carrying on direct talks on the establishment of a true peace, in a spirit of trust and understandings all those that, like Prance, decided, when the cease-fire was announced, to withdraw their naval contingents from the Gulf, thus reducing the dangers that a foreign military presence might represent for the independence, sovereignty and security of the States of the region the members of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the countries of Indo-China, which, despite the complexity and difficulty of their exchanges of view, especially on Kampuchea, are gradually moving towards the creation of a zone of security and co-operation in South-East Asia the Soviet Union and Viet Nam for, respectively, the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, in the framework of the Geneva Agreement and the establishment of a timetable for the withdrawal from Kampuchea; the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, which recently took initiative to bring about unification, conciliation and harmony and to eliminate confrontation, mistrust and tension, with a view to bringing about the reunification of the peninsula the Republic of Cyprus and other Cypriot representatives, who decided to attempt to achieve, through resumption of inter-communal talks, a negotiated settlement of all aspects of the problem, in a spirit of Independence, sovereignty and the unity of Cyprus, the Organization of African Unity for pursuing its mediation efforts to bring about a negotiated political solution to the dispute between Libya and Chad, which have just re-established their diplomatic relations Ethiopia and Somalia, which, after so many years of confrontation, have succeeded in normalizing their relations in a spirit of good-neighbourliness, Morocco and the Saharan Arab Democratic Republic, whose acceptance of the Secretary-General's proposals on Western Sahara constitute a positive step towards the implementation, in letter and spirit, of the relevant United Nations and Organisation of African Unity resolutions on initiating direct negotiations and the holding of the referendum on self-determination of the South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO), the sole and legitimate representative o£ the Namibian people, for having, at the beginning of the quadripartite talks, unilaterally announced the cessation of its military operations; and the countries of Latin America, which, despite the existence of internal and external problems, insist that the only way of solving the region's problems, without external interference or the injection of ideological considerations, remains the faithful implementation of the Guatemala agreement, the reaffirmation of which is urgently necessary.”
1988-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 43 (1988)
“Even if the advent of a golden age is not on the horizon, it would be wrong to abandon all hope, because we must examine the problems of security, development and peace from a global perspective, without any preconceived order of priorities, without pre-judging their interaction and without claiming a monopoly regarding initiatives or means of implementation. Such an approach, if adopted, would constitute a guarantee of the establishment of a true peace that would be shared by all, whether from East or West, from North or South. Nevertheless, we should recognize that progress has been made, in the quest for peace and in creating a climate favourable to its attainment, thanks to the convergence of unilateral initiatives, bilateral consultations and recourse to multilateral diplomacy.”
1988-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 43 (1988)
“As for us, we shall continue to argue, from the standpoint of a true development, code of ethics, that development is concerned above all with improving, the human condition that it calls for a consistent collective reaction in the form of a long-term programme with objectives, commitments and the availability of adequate resources that in the establishing of world economic security the United Nations has a primary political role to play, in the clear formulation of principles, the definition of priorities and co-ordination of the various organizations and institutions concerned with development, whose approach and ends are not necessarily harmonised or convergent. We shall continue to discover new problems, obstacles and disappointments on the way to security and development.”
1988-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 43 (1988)
“If that is so, then we must give up on that global vision of the world that has always been held out to us, especially at difficult times. So division is the rule, wait and see" remains the byword, and let each draw his own conclusions.”
1988-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 43 (1988)
“Its price remains enormous, increased unemployment, deterioration of social indicators, a decline in productivity, inadequate basic social services, under-utilization of human resources and so on. On the side of our partners, we find it hard to see the existence of a real will to tackle the problem of development, to give up the notion that growth can remain the reserve of the few, or to ensure that national policies and practices favour the e emergence of an economic order of benefit to everyone. Teamwork not followed by concrete action or supported by specific commitments is not real. It may be objected that so long as uncertainties deriving from the constraints of file world economy have not been removed, it will be difficult to restructure priorities, to redefine certain preferences and to alter objectives.”
1988-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 43 (1988)
“In this respect, let those who hold the initiative concede that the burden of debt is paralysing development efforts and that this is not the key to the problem. Development has many aspects and one cannot always put all the factors on an equal footing. This is the case, for example, with commodity prices, which we are told should depend on the laws of the market, and are not protected by protectionism. We may well wonder whether it is decent that the survival of a country should be subject to the clash of different schools of thought, degree of teamwork is called for here, even if some of the most valid rules occasionally need to be bent. We did not abandon our spirit of teamwork and solidarity when some presented to use the notion that structural adjustment would be our contribution to improving the international economic environment.”
1988-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 43 (1988)
“The policy of laissez-faire has entrenched itself in international economic relations, and it is the debt question that finally has aroused some awareness of responsibilities and disparities. We recognize that the impasse faced by national and international financial institutions has led them no longer to address the question of debt in financial and accounting terms to seek means that were formerly thought of as legally dangerous to accept that structural adjustment should take into account human, social and political elements. There are, of course, risks in such an exercise, but an accumulation of bad debts cannot serve the cause of international monetary and financial stability, and even lees the cause of an equitable, just and sustained development.”
1988-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 43 (1988)
“But let us suppose that the industrialized North, cutting across all lines, has resolved its problems of stability, confidence, security, restructuring, liberalisation, inflation, growth, unemployment, interest and exchange rates, budgetary balances and integration. Could we then conclude that the dispossessed South would automatically benefit? We still remember with bitterness the promises of the 1970s, when we were advised to wait until inflation was brought under control before we called for any increase in development aid. As for the "trickle-down effect" and the laws of the market, the length of time necessary and the precariousness of their results are matched only by our patience.”
1988-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 43 (1988)
“Conversely, so long as international security is not secured, the efforts and resources that could be devoted to development will be diverted to other goals; politics will prevail over economics, and the rivalry of the great Powers will continue to have repercussions on choices of nodes of development. Ideally, on both fronts - security and development - initiatives should be taken concurrently and simultaneously. Gut the realities are otherwise. The struggle against underdevelopment is momentarily being left aside and we are being led to believe that the North must organize itself and ensure its security before the South can benefit.”
1988-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 43 (1988)
“We shall be told that this is merely one more slogan. But the immediate and complex problems posed by development could, if left unresolved, undermine political and military security, which, we must acknowledge, for the moment benefits only the North. There has often been discussion of a clash between North and South, because poverty and wretchedness know no borders, nor do they disappear merely because of logic or debate. And what would it be like, a world one half of which enjoyed the benefits of security while the other half continued to struggle with countless economic difficulties?”
1988-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 43 (1988)
“Thus we have no alternative but to fall back on some arguments we have often used in the past. The promoting and safeguarding of security cannot be dealt with exclusively by reference to a past that has not always been glorious. If new prospects are opening before us, which should lead us to recognise far-reaching changes in our society, then let us have the generosity and courage to admit that such an endeavour requires the involvement and participation of all that the interests of some must yield to the common interest and the interests of the international community; and that spheres of influence, interference, dependence domination and exploitation are now obsolete. In short, let us have security for all, and in all spheres. There can be no security without development, nor development without security.”
1988-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 43 (1988)
“Must we for much longer accept this theory that the only security is military security, with its recurring pattern of cold war, retrenchment, detente, confrontation and balance of deterrence? May we now hope that the great thaw between East and West will indirectly have some effects on the political-economic situation of the South? To a degree, the events of the last nine months seem optimistic in that regard, especially for those who hold to a geocentricism not necessarily justified by a healthy grasp of the world situation. Indeed, there are still stubborn hotbeds of insecurity in the political, economic and social spheres, as well as at the regional level. The arguments we are hearing in the present debate do not allow us fully to face those challenges, particularly since some of them have an urgent if not immediate tone.”
1988-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 43 (1988)
“The most idealistic among us still dream of a system of collective security as provided by the Charter while at the same time we realize that this structure rests on the will of the great Powers and on their ability to go beyond the constraints of national interests and their willingness to accept an end to the status quo that has paralysed us for two generations. Occasionally it happens that we support initiatives regarding the establishment of a general system of peace, the strengthening of international security and the redefinition of that system by making it better adapted to the realities of a changing society. On each such occasion we are told about the sacrosanct character of the Charter or the grim prospects of an Organization that would be dominated by propaganda or a false ideology.”
1988-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 43 (1988)
“The axiomatic character and the linear development of this argument may seem troublesome, but no statement can escape that fact, and this demonstrates that despite our differences we are moving towards a universal way of speaking. I hope I shall be forgiven for these haphazard reflections, but I have the impression that we are choosing the same topics, expressing the same ideas and arriving at the same conclusions, although the words may change in connotation depending on the ideology, the commitment or the degree of economic development and the social situation of the country in question. I take, for example, the question of security, a question that worries us all and erne on which we cannot afford to have substantial differences. But that is not so.”
1988-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 43 (1988)
“The Assembly had given him the task of disentangling the political, financial and administrative crisis of our Organization. At the same time we expected him to pursue his missions of peace, mediation and conciliation in Western Sahara, Central America, Western Sahara, Afghanistan and Cyprus, among other places. We pay a tribute to his diplomatic initiative, the results of which speak for themselves, and for the efforts he has constantly devoted to restoring to multilateralism and to our Organization the role to which they are entitled. During this decade two words, "global" and "interdependent", have been spoken so frequently that there hardly seems to be any need to define them any longer. Development is global, as are peace and security, and the three words are interdependent.”
1988-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 43 (1988)
“The Democratic Republic of Madagascar would like to express to Mr. Dante Caputo its felicitations on his election to the presidency of this session. In him we congratulate the representative of a country that has consistently proclaimed its dedication to the principles of non-alignment. I am confident that once again he will devote to the service of our Organization the distinguished qualities which have characterized his brilliant career. To Mr, Peter Florin, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of the German Democratic Republic, we convey our thanks for the able way in which he guided our work, and we lay special emphasis on his perseverance, impartiality, detachment and sense of political responsibility. We would say to the Secretary-General that this year will have been for him and his chief co-workers a challenging and exciting one.”
1988-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 43 (1988)
“We should mark this event by making of the Organization the symbol of hope for a desperate mankind threatened with sudden annihilation by unbridled technology; the symbol of a better world where man, having finally restored his dignity, will be able to devote himself increasingly to the service of the common good, that is, the good of the peonies; in short, the symbol of responsibility genuinely shared among nations working together for the most noble causes.”
1984-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 39 (1984)
“In the final analysis, the goal of the United Nations, as set forth in the provisions of the Charter, is not to provide a convenient forum for the venting of differences between Member States, or crystallizing their differences; rather, its purpose is to guide us towards the necessary common will to respond to the fundamental aspirations of all our peoples for a world of peace, security and justice. For our part, we assure anyone sharing these views of our readiness and, indeed, our commitment to meet this challenge. 211. Next year we shall be celebrating the fortieth anniversary of the founding of the United Nations.”
1984-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 39 (1984)
“We respect the diversity of opinions and divergence of interests which are manifested in this body. We understand that a country can, without necessarily being hostile to us, adopt a mode of conduct different from our own, because outside the bilateral context it acts in accordance with its own principles, its particular commitments and specific priorities. 210. A member of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries, we remain true to ourselves by our refusal to become a pawn in the East-West confrontation. Our determined devotion to multilateralism and internationalism reflects our allegiance to the principles and purposes of the Charter of the United Nations, and we share the views and concerns expressed on the subject by the Secretary-General.”
1984-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 39 (1984)
“Those very States that would deny an institutional role to the United Nations attach disproportionate importance to the votes cast here, instead of considering them, if those States wish to be consistent, as having a purely indicative value with regard to a given situation. Others, however, rise above the essentially evanescent nature of ideas and are struggling to confer on the Organization a positive role of vigilance and monitoring which would reflect the international conscience and make of it a true assembly of peoples, a privileged forum for the exchange and clash of ideas and views among nations. 209. Our position on all the questions debated at the United Nations is in keeping with the principles of sovereignty, mutual respect and non-interference.”
1984-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 39 (1984)
“For our part, in spite of the political, economic and social costs of adjustment programmes, we have taken important measures for adjustment which have made it possible to obtain encouraging results: reduction of the budgetary deficit, increase of the gross national product, and improvement of current accounts and the trade balance. 208. An analysis of the conduct of States Members of the United Nations demonstrates that some see the Organization merely as an idea, an abstraction, and would deny it a role in the promotion of harmonious international relations. But this is a paradox which verges on contradiction.”
1984-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 39 (1984)
“Five years after it was put forward, this proposal remains as relevant and as urgent as ever, because far from wishing to replace arbitrarily international monetary and financial organizations, the machinery proposed would be complementary to them and would represent the contribution of the South to the necessary reform of the current system. A summit conference of third-world countries on economic questions would undoubtedly enable us to go into further detail on our commitment to South-South co-operation. 207. The solution to our economic problems remains, first and foremost, the responsibility of each country and each Government.”
1984-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 39 (1984)
“Through realism once again, we should concede that the conditions attaching to the assistance rendered by Bretton Woods organisms often leads to results contrary to those sought. Through realism, finally, we should not seek to camouflage the asymmetrical and inequitable nature of the processes of adjustment and multilateral control. 206. These thoughts should not be allowed to obscure the importance of South-South co-operation. Within this context, we recall the proposal of the Democratic Republic of Madagascar for the creation of funds for the development and stabilization of commodity prices.”
1984-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 39 (1984)
“Indeed, if the industrialized countries refuse to take the necessary measures, or claim that they are powerless to bring down these rates to more tolerable levels, they should at least agree that their effects should be mitigated for the developing countries. Moreover, all of us on both sides must be realistic. Through realism, we can conceive of machinery which would preserve the interests of both the creditors and the debtors, by establishing, for example, a link between debt-servicing and the level of export earnings. This would have the effect of revising certain rules applied by the Club of Paris. Through realism, we should also recognize that the developed countries have something to gain by increasing the flow of assistance for development to the least privileged countries.”
1984-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 39 (1984)
“Africa, which is at the very bottom of the scale of development, is now the focus of attention of assistance organizations. There are many programmes of action, and so-called emergency assistance measures are proliferating. 204. Without underestimating the need for these measures, we cannot overemphasize, as was done in the Special Memorandum on Africa's Economic and Social Crisis, adopted by the Conference of Ministers of the Economic Commission for Africa, the importance of producing in the United Nations a general, consistent and concerted framework for action to rehabilitate and revitalize African economies. At the same time, we must pursue a global approach to the problem of indebtedness, which cannot be dissociated from that of interest rates. 205.”
1984-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 39 (1984)
“How, indeed, can the conditions for a sound and lasting economic recovery be re-established when the international environment is not propitious, when the minute growth in exports is swallowed up by the burdensome weight of indebtedness, when the real flow of capital to the developing countries has never been as low as it is today, when so-called austerity measures have increased domestic social tensions and when structural problems inherited from a lengthy colonial period remain? If we add to that the effects of disasters of all kinds, we find we have very little ground for hope and perseverance. 203. Of course, at times we do see signs of encouragement. The international community seems to have awakened to the daily tragedy of our countries.”
1984-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 39 (1984)
“The tentative recovery to be observed in certain industrialized countries has not restored order to monetary and financial markets, nor has it halted the wild fluctuations of exchange rates or brought interest rates down to tolerable levels. The prices of raw- material commodities have continued to fall and the terms of trade have continued to decline, while the spectre of protectionism has arisen. 202. When the crisis got under way, the third-world countries were urged to carry out economic adjustments, and most of them did so with courage and logic. Their sacrifices, however, have not been recompensed.”
1984-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 39 (1984)
“Lastly, as an island State that contributed to the negotiation and conclusion of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Madagascar wishes to reaffirm its support for that legal instrument and to state, further, that the resources of the sea-bed beyond the limits of national jurisdiction are and remain forever the common heritage of mankind. It is for that reason that we deplore any arrangement or mini-treaty, past, present or future that may be prejudicial to the provisions of that Convention. 201. Like the continued existence of so-called regional conflicts, the economic problems afflicting developing countries remain a subject of great concern for the future of international peace and security.”
1984-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 39 (1984)
“In this connection, the Government of Madagascar regrets that some States, through their negative attitude, have tried in an unwarranted manner to delay the convening of that Conference and, thereby, the summit meeting of interested and concerned States proposed by the President of the Democratic Republic of Madagascar. 199. As to the Malagasy Islands in the Mozambique Channel and the Indian Ocean, their status as belonging to Madagascar has been confirmed by relevant resolutions of the United Nations and the OAU, as well as by the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries. My Government hopes that the exploratory talks recently held in Paris will be pursued and will contribute to drawing up a solution in keeping with respect for the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and mutual advantage. 200.”
1984-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 39 (1984)
“Any demonstration or escalation of great-Power presence in that area, such as foreign military bases and installations, logistical support services and the stockpiling of nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction, contrary to the oft-expressed will of the States of the region, would constitute a flagrant violation of that Declaration. Such activities are liable to jeopardize the independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and peaceful development of the States of the region. We are convinced that the immediate convening of the Conference on the Indian Ocean, scheduled to be held at Colombo in the first half of 1985, is the only way of reducing tension in the area.”
1984-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 39 (1984)
“Unfortunately, other pre-conditions have been raised, and we very much fear that the opportunity to find a peaceful political solution to all the problems in Central America and the Caribbean may have been frittered away. 198. Before ending my remarks on this subject, I should like to refer to the question of the Indian Ocean and the Malagasy Islands. My Government reaffirms its determination to continue, within the Ad Hoc Committee on the Indian Ocean, to work for the implementation of General Assembly resolution 2832 (XXVI), containing the Declaration of the Indian Ocean as a Zone of Peace.”
1984-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 39 (1984)
“In that connection, the proposals recently put forward by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea for tripartite talks constitute a positive contribution towards the resumption of dialogue between North and South Korea. 197. In Central America and the Caribbean, events in recent months have sounded a note of alarm for the development of international relations. We believed that the proposals of the Contadora Group had been accepted by the parties concerned, and we were already gratified at the fact that Nicaragua had risked the alternative of peace by subscribing to the terms of the Contadora Act on Peace and Co-operation in Central America.”
1984-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 39 (1984)
“No one thinks of thwarting the joint efforts being made by the States of Indo-China and the States members of the Association of South-East Asian Nations to narrow their differences and to organize co-operation and coexistence among them in accordance with respect for each party's freedom of choice. However, we can demand that in all such actions account be taken of the principles of the Charter of the United Nations and of non-alignment, and, in particular, the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and non-interference. 196. Those are also the principles to which we appeal when we assert the need to normalize the situation in the Korean peninsula and to bring about peaceful, independent reunification there, free from outside interference.”
1984-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 39 (1984)
“From Afghanistan to Korea, the peoples' aspirations to normal relations, to peace, to co-operation and to stability are constantly being frustrated by ideological or strategic considerations. 195. No one can accept a situation such as that in Cyprus, where a succession of faits accomplis and unilateral steps have taken us ever further from a solution that should have been freely accepted by both communities, equal in rights and obligations. No one can be against the idea that the situation around Afghanistan should return to normal and that the Secretary-General's mediation in that matter should be allowed to continue and lead to direct negotiations.”
1984-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 39 (1984)
“In the face of this impermissible disparity, the only solution is the restoration of the rights of the Palestinians and an international guarantee of those rights in order that an end may be put to the suffering and devastation to which the Lebanese and the Palestinians have been subjected for so long. 193. For the same reasons, in the Iran-Iraq conflict we are following very closely the response to the Secretary-General's three-part appeal for the protection of the civilian populations victimized by a frenzied fratricidal struggle that is casting an unnecessary shadow over the image of non-aligned unity. 194. In other parts of Asia, we find peoples being caught up between present and past interests that pursue their course without regard to those peoples.”
1984-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 39 (1984)
“The result is a diplomatic void on the international level, one that cannot be filled by reaffirming Security Council resolution 242 (1967)—at this point largely outdated—nor by the increasing number of unilateral or bilateral initiatives. Such negative factors reflect the internal and external tensions in the region and are being used either to force us to accept faits accomplis or to make us better accustomed to the state of latent war, or even to accept the worst of paradoxes in which a people who have been promised a homeland now have a State, while another people, whose right to a State has been expressly recognized by the United Nations, find themselves being offered a homeland as a kind of consolation prize.”
1984-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 39 (1984)
“Arbitrariness, domination and exploitation persist in that region, while adjustments introduced following various tensions but with disregard for law and equity have hardly contributed to an acceptable solution. At the same time, the PLO, like every liberation movement, is going through a difficult period which the play of powers in the region have not helped. Thus, there is osculation between solicitude and ostracism, between sympathy and indifference, between ambiguity and support. Finally, the programme drawn up by the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People is relegated to dead-letter status, as is the international conference proposed by the non-aligned countries. Prospects for negotiations at the Security Council level are hampered by the exclusion of the PLO. 192.”
1984-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 39 (1984)
“The Democratic Republic of Madagascar would be failing in its duty if it did not appeal for awareness of the solidarity and affirmation of the identity of African men and women and their ability to contribute to the solution of the problems afflicting our continent. 190. The similarities between the situations in southern Africa and western Asia have been mentioned on several occasions, and in such precise and objective terms that it seems unnecessary to revert to them in great detail. I shall therefore confine myself to certain considerations that might help bring about understanding of our position and lay the foundations for analysis. 191. In 40 years, the fundamental facts of the question of Palestine, at least as regards the United Nations, have remained unchanged.”
1984-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 39 (1984)
“In this connection I should like, on behalf the Democratic Republic of Madagascar, to hail the withdrawal of foreign troops from Chad, which will make it possible for the various factions and groups to meet and try to find a solution that will be in the interests of the people of Chad and in keeping with the resolutions of the OAU, without replacing African and even international solidarity with paternalism. 188. Finally, as a representative of my President, Mr. Didier Ratsiraka, and of my Government and as a son of that great continent that is the object of so much greed and struggles for influence, I cannot fail to invite my brothers and sisters to settle our political problems first and foremost among ourselves. 189.”
1984-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 39 (1984)
“Such a thesis cannot be sustained, nor can it explain the intransigence of Morocco, the ostracism of certain circles vis-a-vis the Saharan Arab Democratic Republic or the rumours designed to give credit to the argument that the OAU should drop this case in favour of other bodies. The application of the African solution to the Saharan problem should not be unduly delayed by considerations that would mean our shirking our responsibility vis-a-vis the Saharan people. Because we intend to meet this responsibility, we maintain the common African position, which is that there should be a cease-fire and withdrawal of the Moroccan troops from Western Sahara so that there may be a peaceful and fair referendum. 187.”
1984-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 39 (1984)
“We also continue to believe that the interplay of strategic and political interests has made decolonization go astray in Western Sahara. After years of bitter discussions, confrontations followed by accommodation, at its last summit conference, Africa succeeded in achieving unanimous agreement on ways and means of restoring peace in the region. Is the scheme proposed by the OAU perhaps not fully in keeping with the principles of the Charter of the United Nations and respect for the inalienable rights of the Saharan people? Has the United Nations perhaps been wrong in supporting it, with the few reservations we are all familiar with? 186.”
1984-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 39 (1984)
“For us, as for the great majority of the Members of the United Nations, the course to be followed is clear. Whatever stratagems may be used, Namibia will become independent. The democratization of political, economic and social relations in South Africa will bring about the day when the black, the white, the Coloured and the Asian populations are free of the apartheid regime and its collaborators. Our dignity as Africans is incompatible with the continuing detention of Nelson Mandela, and we demand his immediate release. We affirm that southern Africa can be an area of true harmony, peace and co-operation only when an end has been put to the political and economic hegemony of the racist regime and to foreign interference. 185.”
1984-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 39 (1984)
“Some advocate pragmatism and patience, but in the name of the struggle against international terrorism they want to do away with SWAPO and the ANC, whose authenticity, representational character and historic role in the liberation of Africa need no longer be demonstrated. The front-line States are being subjected to intolerable blackmail, and none can be fooled as to its purpose. Who could for a single moment believe that the Pretoria regime has suddenly seen the light and the virtues of dialogue, non-aggression and good-neighbourliness? In truth, the only possible answer is an immediate increase in support and international assistance for the front-line States in order to give them the means to face up to aggression that is all the more pernicious since some might support it. 184.”
1984-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 39 (1984)
“Is this not tantamount to ensuring the survival of the minority racist Power in order better to defend values some label democratic in an environment that is viewed as hostile? 183. But this is only one of many contradictions. We want to put an end to the cycle of violence, yet some discreetly or openly applaud when the cycle of injustice is coupled with the adoption of so-called constitutional reform. Very little importance is attached to the military and economic pressures on the apartheid regime, but these are included in a strategy that should presumably lead to mediation and negotiation.”
1984-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 39 (1984)