YouSaid · the spoken record

Rabemananjara

THE RECORD WRITES THIS SPEAKER AS RABEMANANJARA

lines on the record: 95
first: 1968-09-24
most recent: 1971-09-24
sittings or episodes: 3
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

“In my endeavour to be objective, I have given much thought to the question of what can be placed to the credit of our Organization and of the various international bodies in the course of the year which has just elapsed. It may be that I am not well informed. But as regards my own country at any rate, I must confess that the results are tragically scanty. 66. In the economic field, I can mention only the International Sugar Agreement 1968 — an Agreement in which, however, two of the largest producers and consumers, the European Economic Community and the United States, are not participants — and the renewal of the Yaoundé Convention? 67.”
1969-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 24 (1969)
“Yet without such changes the developing nations — and all the experts are convinced of this — cannot get their economies moving. Their populations are on the verge of destitution, and their political independence amounts in fact to little more than a game of see-saw between the various suppliers of aid, the conditions of which, furthermore, are tending to become more burden- some from day to day. 64. All this is senseless. It is in flagrant contradiction with the innumerable declarations of responsible politicians, declarations made from this very rostrum. Never have we observed such a divorce between word and deed. Never has so much selfishness been masked by a rhetoric that is as profuse as it is hypocritical. 65.”
1969-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 24 (1969)
“Racism still continues to flourish in South Africa where, under cover of ideology, ten million black men are confined to subordinate tasks and — let us say it openly — are exploited by a few million white people. A similar situation is now developing in Rhodesia, without any genuine reaction being registered in the rest of the world. 62. For its part, Portugal maintains with impunity the fiction of its African provinces, while preventing the peoples of those provinces from expressing their opinion freely. 63. Finally, as though to crown the edifice and despite all the international conferences and the many meetings of the committees, sub-committees and other organs of UNCTAD, no concrete measures have yet been taken towards making the necessary changes in the iniquitous economic laws which now govern the world.”
1969-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 24 (1969)
“Even in Central America, for reasons which are not clear to distant observers such as ourselves, two States belonging to the same economic organization have found it necessary to cross swords. 60. Furthermore, throughout the world, human freedom and the right of peoples to self-determination continue to be shamelessly flouted. Totalitarian communism, even though divided and ready to embark on mutual self-destruction on the borders of Asia, has in no way relaxed its hold over nations which aspire to unity and the establishment of a true democracy. The “Prague spring” will soon be no more than the memory of a beautiful rose-bud, withered before it could open out in the sunshine. 61.”
1969-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 24 (1969)
“In the Middle East a war of attrition has followed the truce and tomorrow, if we are not careful, all-out war will again set the region ablaze, with all the risks that that entails for world peace. 58. In Nigeria no progress has been made in the quest for a cessation of the fighting. Worse still, there has been a failure of the efforts undertaken by the world’s highest spiritual authority and an inability on the part of men of goodwill to save from death thousands upon thousands of starving people. In the middle of the twentieth century, the terrors of the Middle Ages are engulfing old people, women and innocent children. The scandal is that the great capitals of the world are not profoundly shocked, and that the very decision-making centres seem to be struck with an intolerable paralysis. 59.”
1969-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 24 (1969)
“and from this same rostrum [1703rd meeting], I, like all the other leaders of delegations, analysed the world situation and tried to suggest some solutions for the more troublesome and serious problems that mankind has to face. On rereading my speech, I realized that I could almost repeat it word for word, so true is it that our problems have not fundamentally changed and that the behaviour of nations has remained the same. 56. In Viet-Nam, unfortunately, the war continues to rage, while negotiations in Paris are apparently making no headway and are still being held up by an insistence on prior conditions which continually delays the establishment of the just peace that is so much desired. 57.”
1969-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 24 (1969)
“I can, of course, become enthusiastic about the moon, Venus, Mars and Saturn, but I cannot decently refrain from thinking of the towns and the villages in my country and elsewhere on our planet where poverty, ignorance and violence still weigh heavily on lives which are rich only in their brevity and in the resignation with which they are borne. It will not be one of the least of the paradoxes of our time that man, before embarking on the conquest of space, did not think to secure his rearguard by first creating order in his affairs on earth. We may well wonder whether this leap forward is not really an escape from what lies behind. 55. Last year about this same time.”
1969-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 24 (1969)
“The delegation of Madagascar believes that, under your guidance, the problems of the developing countries will be considered with particular attention. 52. Your lamented predecessor as President, Mr. Arenales, whose loss we keenly feel, took a very special interest in those problems. We should like to pay him a deeply felt tribute and to say that we shall always remember with gratitude his impartial approach, his outstanding ability and the skill with which he guided our debates. 53. It is a pleasant duty for me also to express the satisfaction of my Government at the efforts exerted by our Secretary-General, U Thant, to solve the complex problems he has had to face. 54. However, the thunder of rockets surging from the earth and the splendour of artificial suns cannot make me forget that I am a man and, furthermore, a black man.”
1969-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 24 (1969)
“The fact that you, Madam President, a daughter of Africa, should have been elected to preside over the twenty-fourth session of the General Assembly at such a decisive moment in the history of mankind makes us, as Africans, all the more moved and adds still greater warmth to our congratulations. The delegation of Madagascar fully appreciates the magnitude and scope of your task and the significance of such a choice by this Assembly. Your experience of international life and your great talents will undoubtedly help to bring about in this forum the atmosphere of serenity with which we should like all our work to be imbued. We are also glad to welcome you as the worthy representative of a sister country, Liberia, with which Madagascar maintains the friendliest of relations.”
1969-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 24 (1969)
“Since man has also succeeded in taming nuclear energy and has, like Prometheus of antiquity, stolen fire from the skies, it is neither outrageous nor blasphemous to say that he has triumphed over nature and that nothing can henceforth resist the boldness of his ventures. I therefore salute this exploit. I pay tribute to the astronauts, to the scientists, to the technicians, to the statesmen and to the countries that have been its architects and promoters. Their names deserve to be inscribed in the golden book of humanity. In this regard, I should like this Assembly also to pay them the tribute they deserve, because it seems to me important that this grand design, the conquest of space, should be seen to belong to all nations and to all human beings endowed with reason and feeling. 51.”
1969-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 24 (1969)
“This is undoubtedly so because, by creating new objectives, it gives a new meaning to human endeavour, while at the same time it is not unreasonable to hope that it may lead to the discovery of unknown resources capable of being mobilized for the service of mankind. 50. But what I wish to emphasize above all today is that this achievement is to be credited entirely to human intelligence. Reason succeeded in discovering the laws which govern matter. Mathematics and physics measured it. An advanced technology forged the instruments conceived by imagination and by mathematical calculation. Organizational skill, together with the power of computers, made it possible to master and control a vast quantity of diverse data.”
1969-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 24 (1969)
“49. The year 1969 will undoubtedly be considered by future historians as a turning point in history. As was so well put this morning [1773rd meeting] in the remarkable statement by Mr. Luns, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, the fact that men, overcoming the earth’s gravity, have succeeded in setting foot on the moon, in surviving there in spite of a particularly hostile environment, and above all in returning to earth cannot fail to have unimaginable consequences. This exploit means the end of the closed world; it opens up unlimited horizons to mankind. It marks the beginning of a new era.”
1969-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 24 (1969)
“But above all, its adoption would mean that Governments had become conscious of the serious dangers threatening mankind and of the duties that now face them. It would prove that all is not lost, that the sun is going to rise, and that men can still have hope. 187. In reaffirming my Government’s attachment to the principles of the Charter, to the aims and purposes of the United Nations, I would like to conclude simply with a few words from the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi: “May the United Nations remain an instrument of peace. May we sow faith amidst doubt, the joy of peace amidst the horrors of war, hope amidst despair and light amidst darkness.””
1968-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 23 (1968)
“It is for the purpose of dealing with this crucial question that Madagascar, along with Cambodia and Gabon, has taken the initiative of proposing the inclusion in the agenda for the General Assembly’s twenty-third session of the item entitled “One day of war for peace” [A/7183 and Add.1]. 186. It is my earnest hope that the General Assembly will seriously consider this proposal which, I must emphasize, has no ulterior political motive. I hope the General Assembly will give it a favourable reception. The resources it would liberate would serve the interests of all countries and would without any doubt bring about an improvement in economic and social conditions throughout the entire world.”
1968-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 23 (1968)
“Furthermore, in its anxiety to show the importance it attaches. to international institutions and its feeling of solidarity, Madagascar has just doubled its contribution to the United Nations Development Programme (Special Fund component). 184. The deterioration of the international situation and its corollary, the arms race, can lead at any time to a general conflict and the destruction of mankind. They involve considerable expenditure which might by rights be devoted to the economic and social betterment of the millions of men, women and children living in poverty, despair and humiliation. It is time, it is high time, that the world pulled itself together and behaved more sensibly. 185.”
1968-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 23 (1968)
“At best, we shall have replaced the under-development we now deplore by another kind of under-development, just as intolerable and just as pernicious. 182. Of course, Madagascar does not expect everything to come to it from outside. It is familiar with the proverb, “God helps those who help themselves”. That is why it has mobilized all the nation’s internal resources. Auxiliary structures — a national bank, a national investment company, an industrial production development bureau, co-operatives, federations of communes, State farms, civic services — have been set up as part of the five-year plan. 183. An increasingly large proportion of budgetary credits is being allocated to investment. Even in 1966, it already represented 13 per cent of the total budget, but it rose to 40 per cent in 1967.”
1968-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 23 (1968)
“I wish to state clearly here that the Government of Madagascar will enthusiastically welcome an arrangement on a world scale, and is ready to accept its share of sacrifices the moment an acceptable solution appears. But it is obvious that, responsible as it is for its nation’s future, it can only do so once reasonable and concrete proposals that can be implemented immediately have been put before it. 181. Still in connexion with UNCTAD, may I express a wish? It is that more attention should be paid to the problem of transfers of technology. Technology is now progressing at a dizzy rate, but it remains the prerogative of the privileged nations. Unless we are careful, the privileged nations will always be in a position to ensure their domination.”
1968-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 23 (1968)
“I should also like to stress that, despite the relative failure of the New Delhi Conference, Madagascar will continue to support the efforts of UNCTAD in its patient and laborious search for an improvement in assistance and world trade. 178. UNCTAD is, in fact, the supreme platform for the proletarian nations, the tool from which they expect changes in the grossly unfair and unjust economic laws by which the world is at present governed, and whose harmfulness cannot be over-emphasized, since those laws contain the seeds of strife and war. 179. Madagascar and a group of other countries have often been reproached with having helped to paralyse UNCTAD’s work by their attachment to regional forms of co-operation. Everyone will understand that I am referring to our association with the European Economic Community. 180.”
1968-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 23 (1968)
“I should like to express to this Assembly my great pleasure at the recent extension of assistance to Madagascar by the great international organizations, in the full sense of the term: the United Nations Development Programme (Special Fund component), the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the World Food Programme. That is a type of assistance that is greatly appreciated, for we know it is completely objective and disinterested. 176. The Government of the Republic of Madagascar would however like to see that assistance directed rather more towards Africa, and made more accessible by a modification of some procedural and basic provisions, especially those concerning, for example, the problem of counterpart funds. 177.”
1968-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 23 (1968)
“At the African level, the closest collaboration has been maintained with the French-speaking countries, first in the Afro-Malagasy Organization for Economic Co-operation, then later in the joint Afro-Malagasy Organization. A de facto free trade area has been set up and the African and Malagasy coffee and sugar organizations have now gained international recognition. 174. The Government of Madagascar feels that it must go further. It is for that reason that it is taking an active part in the preparatory work for the establishment of a common market for East Africa; it is for that reason that it would like to see the efforts of the Organization of African Unity directed more specifically to economic problems. 175.”
1968-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 23 (1968)
“Michel Debré, France’s Foreign Minister, stated: “...the widening gap” — [between industrialized countries and those that are not yet industrialized] — “must become a source of bitterness and rebellion. The solidarity which should be a bond of union between developed and developing peoples is not solely a humanitarian policy; it is also a rational policy. However, the action that is being taken, along lines that have been described in so many speeches, is still inadequate.” [1683rd meeting, para. 99.] 173. ti recent years, Madagascar has not neglected any form of co-operation. At the bilateral level, after normalizing and strengthening its relations with the former metropolitan country, it has negotiated and signed a whole series of agreements, quite a long list of them — with other countries.”
1968-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 23 (1968)
“Its active participation in the International Conference on Human Rights, its welcome of the plans for an “International Education Year” [see resolution 2306 (XXII)], its ratification of the Treaty on the peaceful uses of outer space and the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons are evidence of its desire to co-operate in every field of endeavour. There is, however, one field in which my Government is more particularly interested: and that is the field of technical, economic and financial co-operation. There is nothing surprising in that for, as I emphasized in my preliminary remarks, Madagascar is an under-developed country, and it can be forgiven if it is obsessed by development; need I remind you that from this platform such an authority as Mr.”
1968-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 23 (1968)
“I was really horrified to read in a French newspaper these words by a Soviet journalist: “The free play of political forces within a capitalist society benefits the working class because it assists the struggle to satisfy its needs. But in a socialist society when political power is in the hands of the working class, such free play would represent a descent to a lower level of development.” Such reasoning and such principles reveal an alarming mental aberration. Their acceptance would inevitably pave the way for a world of concentration camps. 171. And here I come to the last part of my statement, in which I should like to set forth my Government’s views on international co-operation. 172. My Government is more than ever convinced that it is there and there alone that the solution to the problems facing mankind is to be found.”
1968-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 23 (1968)
“If it were applied effectively, the German problem would have been settled long ago and the recent painful events in Czechoslovakia would never have happened. 169. With regard to Czechoslovakia, and because I represent a country with a socialist government, I cannot refrain from castigating its occupation in the name of socialism, For us in Madagascar, socialism means control of the principal means of production by the people as a whole, equal distribution of wealth, the eradication of parasites; but above all it means the liberation of man through democracy and freedom of expression. We cannot understand a socialism that is unable to maintain its existence without censorship. We cannot understand intervention with apparently the main purpose of bringing journalists and artists to heel. 170.”
1968-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 23 (1968)
“True, Madagascar’s support is not always expressed in ringing statements, by spectacular and ephemeral gestures. But, as our Head of State, President Philibert Tsiranana, has rightly emphasized, one of the best ways to overcome the last strongholds of colonialism and to combat racism is by demonstrating that different races can live together in perfect harmony. Madagascar is a prime example of that. Its frontiers are open; anyone can come and see that black, yellow and white work and live in peace there together. 168. As a former colonized African, I was tempted to say nothing of Europe, But I feel bound to state that the principle of a self-determination should apply to Europe as well.”
1968-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 23 (1968)
“I hope there will be a speedy cease-fire, that the talks at present broken off will be resumed and that in those talks the two brothers in conflict will not forget that the dismantling of African States would inevitably lead to the Balkanization of our continent, a result that would be completely incompatible with the aims of the Organization of African Unity. I also hope that a misplaced sense of propriety will not lead us to ignore the events that have provoked a murderous struggle between the different ethnic groups in certain regions of Africa. 167. Finally, I would like to assure our African brothers who are fighting for their independence and being kept in a state of subjection by racism, of the support of the Malagasy Republic.”
1968-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 23 (1968)
“The United Nations presence is a moderating and dissuasive factor, as we have noted elsewhere, particularly in Cyprus over the past two or three years. 165. As [I said just now, Madagascar is particularly sensitive to the situation in the Middle East, especially as a result of the closing of the Suez Canal. I now make a fraternal appeal to Israel and to the Arab States to embark on serious negotiations for the recognition of the State of Israel and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the occupied territories. 166. I would beg our African brothers who are killing each other on Biafran battlefields to abandon a futile combat that is imposing intolerable sufferings on thousands of women and children.”
1968-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 23 (1968)
“Would the great American people really be running a considerable risk it if were to stop the bombing of North Viet-Nam completely? Then we would really be able to gauge Hanoi’s desire for peace. If the infiltrations of men and supplies continued and terrorism persisted, it would mean that Hanoi did not really want peace and was accordingly opposed to the establishment of a government by democratic process. 164. My country considers that, in present conditions, since the Pueblo affair and the attempted assassination of South Korean leaders by elements infiltrated from the North, retention in Korea of the United Nations Commission for the Unification and Rehabilitation of Korea and a United Nations force is more necessary than ever.”
1968-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 23 (1968)
“Madagascar will still not vote in favour of the draft resolution requesting the admission of the Peking régime: first of all, we cannot accept a country which does not hide its contempt for United Nations principles and for the United Nations itself; secondly, how can we help but feel most distrustful of a régime which attempts to impose its will by violence and subversion on millions of human beings whose only aspiration is for freedom? 162. Madagascar strongly urges the Paris negotiators, both American and North Viet-Namese, to seek a peaceful solution that will enable the Viet-Namese people to choose freely and independently the form of government it wishes to see established in its country. 163. I would like now to repeat the recent words of Vice-President Humphrey.”
1968-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 23 (1968)
“Philibert Tsiranana, President of the Republic, “non-interference in the affairs of other countries, respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of States, non-recourse to threats or force, conciliation, negotiation, arbitration, strengthening of international co-operation". I shall not expatiate on those principles. Their wording seems to me to be clear enough and self-explanatory. They are the very theme of the Charter. 160. I would, however, like briefly to remind you of my Government’s position on some of the major problems, a position that in essence conforms with the views expressed from this platform by my two regretted predecessors, Mr. Albert Sylla, Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Mr. Louis Rakotomalala, Madagascar’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations. 161.”
1968-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 23 (1968)
“The supreme irony of this is that it is all happening in the middle of the Development Decade. What, then, would be happening if a number of solemn undertakings had not been given in 1961? What will happen tomorrow when the tension resumes, when we once more begin to think and act in terms of power, when the arms race gathers speed even though there are already enough to blow up our planet ten or twenty times? What will it be possible to offer the third world countries apart from idle promises, military bases and perhaps the pill? 159. Faced with these gloomy prospects, what are we to do? My answer lies in those principles which represent the constants of Madagascar’s foreign policy, as defined by Mr.”
1968-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 23 (1968)
“At the same time, the percentage of assistance granted by the developed countries, which had been 0.87 per cent of national income in 1961, fell to 0.62 per cent in 1966. In Madagascar, a country that is considered to be especially privileged in this matter, it is noted that in 1967 foreign assistance in the form of subsidies or loans decreased by 17 per cent in relation to 1966. 158. Thus, against every hope and in spite of torrents of fine words, trade and capital movements still continue to flow in the same direction, from the poor to the rich, from the weak to the strong, a paradoxical blood transfusion from the anaemic patient to the man bursting with health. The inflexible law of wages seems now to have been succeeded by the inflexible law of under-development.”
1968-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 23 (1968)
“The GATT annual report for 1967 states that: “...there was a marked slowing-down in the economic growth of developing countries in 1965 and 1966. In those two years, gross product (at constant prices) expanded at an annual rate of only about 3.5 per cent which, having regard to population growth, represents an annual increase of only 2 per cent in per capita income. This was the first time since the early 1950s that there had been such a low growth rate for two consecutive years.” 157. The same report notes that in 1956 the growth in developing countries’ imports was more rapid than the growth in their exports, so that the deficit in their balance of payments increased. It also notes that the third world’s share of world trade is decreasing steadily: 27 per cent in 1953, 21 per cent in 1961, 20.4 per cent in 1965, 19.3 per cent in 1966.”
1968-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 23 (1968)
“But as the spokesman for a proletarian nation, I cannot but deplore from this platform the meagre progress achieved at New Delhi in sectors as fundamental for us as financial assistance, organization of commodity markets, guaranteed access to markets, transfers of technology, and the preparation of global development plan. 155. Of course, it is some comfort that when the New Delhi Conference was over, we were able to feel that the ground had been prepared, that problems had been isolated and that there had been a general recognition of the problems involved. It is also true that negotiations have not been broken off and that committees of experts anxious to solve those problems are already at work. But time is short and, as in the political sphere, the situation, alas, is steadily deteriorating. 156.”
1968-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 23 (1968)
“And he added: “If this trend is not reversed, and if the principle of non-intervention in the free destiny of nations is not re-established, the future of the international peace and security itself is indeed a very dark one.” [Ibid.] 153. It was inevitable that all those dramas, those lowering clouds, accompanied by so much unproductive expenditure, should have unfortunate repercussions in the economic sector and that, alas, most of the hopes of the countries of the third world should be dashed. 154. I have no wish to dwell on the results of the New Delhi Conference; too much has been said about it here already.”
1968-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 23 (1968)
“In Europe, in one tragic night that will go down in history, 600,000 Warsaw Pact soldiers have put an end to what was called the “Prague springtime", and ridden rough-shod over the legitimate hopes of a people merely seeking justice, equity and freedom. 152. I could quote lots of other examples. But what is the use? You all know them. To weigh the consequences and the risks, I cannot do better than repeat the words of our eminent Secretary-General,U Thant, when he said that the world is faced with a serious decline in international morality [see A/7201/Add.1, para. 174], with States relying increasingly on force and violence as a means of resolving their international differences.”
1968-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 23 (1968)
“In the Middle East, the arms race has started again; surprise attacks and reprisals follow each other at an increased tempo in spite of the Security Council resolutions; the Suez Canal remains closed and it is distressing to find that no one seems to be thinking seriously about reopening it, though it is obvious that the economies of a great many countries — my own country, Madagascar, being one of the first among them — are suffering cruelly in consequence. 150. Nigeria is still plunged in fratricidal war. The right to self-determination is still denied to the peoples of Angola, Mozambique and so-called Portuguese Guinea. Racism is still rampant in South Africa and Rhodesia; in the latter country, unfortunately, it is now taking the form of bloody repression. 151.”
1968-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 23 (1968)
“Of course, we had no illusions about another night of August the fourth, about robbing the rich to give to the poor, but we did think in all simplicity that something new, something original, something truly humane would be done and that at last, in the words of Dr. Raul Prebisch, the United Nations Development Decade was going to cease to be a development decade without a development policy. Alas! the least that can be said is that up till now, 1968 has scarcely fulfilled the promises of 1967. 147. In Viet-Nam blood is still being shed and ruins pile up, while in Paris the talks are stalled over preliminaries which can only lead to doubts as to whether there is any real will to peace. 148. In Korea the situation has again become explosive. 149.”
1968-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 23 (1968)
“It even seemed possible that substantial progress on the thorny problem of general disarmament might quickly be achieved. Finally there was a feeling that, freed from the spectres of racism, ideology and war, the world was about to turn to building the future and to make up honestly, seriously and effectively the great question of the division of the world into rich and poor, into over-developed and under-developed countries. 146. We representatives of the third world had come from the Algiers Conference where in all humility we had drawn up a charter which was intended to be moderate and constructive and which, in broad outline, it seemed to us, was bound to be accepted without too much difficulty at the international Conference at New Delhi.”
1968-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 23 (1968)
“We are all the more attentive because, although it may not always be directly and strikingly affected by it, Madagascar cannot help but be profoundly moved by the deterioration of the international situation, and deeply concerned about the future of peace, respect for human freedom and the independence of nations. 145. When I was here in this same hall, last year at the same time, there was an atmosphere of détente, of hope. There was what I might call a relative optimism. There was talk of burying the cold war once and for all and of setting forth resolutely on the path of peaceful coexistence. There was reason to think that arms would be laid down in Viet-Nam, in the Middle East and in Africa, and that reasonable and humane solutions would be found to those bitter conflicts by negotiation.”
1968-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 23 (1968)
“At the same time, the aim of Malagasy diplomacy, hinged mainly on international co-operation, has been to find abroad the additional financial and technical resources needed to equip the country, and to promote the establishment, on a world scale, particularly with regard to trade, of the indispensable conditions for the achievement of our development plan. 144. But however committed we may be in this battle, and however bent on our own aims, the Government and people of Madagascar are none the less attentive to what is happening in the rest of the world.”
1968-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 23 (1968)
“I speak on behalf of a country which, thanks to its geographical situation and the wisdom of its President and its people, is able to live in peace and, in these difficult times, to devote itself entirely to the only battle that is, in its opinion, worth fighting, the battle against under-development. Ever since the proclamation of the Republic, whose tenth anniversary was recently celebrated in Madagascar with unprecedented enthusiasm and fervour, the essential aim of the Malagasy Government has not changed: it is to secure the well-being and security of the great island’s inhabitants and to seek to free them forever from the age-old scourges of ignorance, hunger, disease and fear of the morrow. 143. All the nation’s resources and strength have been mobilized for that purpose.”
1968-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 23 (1968)
“Despite the limitations of the Charter and the complex and shifting realities with which he has constantly had to contend, he has invariably given proof of his determination that the United Nations should fulfil its role not only as a deliberative body, but as an instrument of positive stimulus and action. 141. I should like to extend fitting congratulations to Swaziland and Equatorial Guinea on their accession to independence. The admission of those brother countries to the United Nations is a special source of pleasure to me because it marks a further stage in the process of the total liberation of Africa. 142.”
1968-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 23 (1968)
“I would like to see his election as, on the one hand, evidence that talent is always recognized within the United Nations and, on the other hand, a promise that the problems of the developing nations will be considered here with all due attention. 139. My delegation would also like to pay tribute to the outgoing president, Mr. Corneliu Manescu, whose impartiality and skill greatly contributed to preventing a confrontation that might have led to the break-up of the United Nations. 140. The Malagasy Government would say the same of the untiring and persistent efforts, in every field, of our distinguished Secretary-General, U Thant.”
1968-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 23 (1968)
“137. The Malagasy delegation would like first of all to extend its warmest congratulations to Mr. Arenales on his election to the Presidency of the twenty-third session of the General Assembly. I am certain that he will devote to the service of our Organization the outstanding qualities of which he has given proof throughout a brilliant career. His experience of international life and his great gifts will, I am sure, help to create in this hall the serenity with which we all hope our labours may be marked. 138. I am also glad to salute in him the representative of a small country, Guatemala, and a country of the third world.”
1968-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 23 (1968)