YouSaid · the spoken record

GAUCI

lines on the record: 198
first: 1976-09-24
most recent: 1981-09-24
sittings or episodes: 5
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

“We therefore welcome the fact-finding mission of the European Economic Community and trust that the combined efforts under way through the United Nations will result in remedying the deficiencies of past and recent approaches, whose main features have been dismal failure and simmering resentment periodically exploding in wide- scale conflict. In the same context, we trust that friendly Lebanon will be spared further suffering and that the status of the Holy City of Jerusalem will henceforth be respected. 94. Despite these and other dark clouds that hover over the Mediterranean and that are fed by the divergent approaches of the major Powers, Malta has resolutely held to its policy of freedom from military attachments.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“The Palestine Liberation Organization [PLO] remains artificially excluded from the negotiating process even though the future of its people, the Palestinian people, is at stake. 93. Malta was foremost in taking a prominent role in alerting the conscience of previously marginally involved countries and in advocating a comprehensive solution to that problem by forcefully raising its voice, not in the cosy company of the like-minded, but in the halls of the Council of Europe, the Commonwealth and the Socialist International.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“Subsequently, belatedly, the persistent efforts of the Secretary-General managed to break through the procedural morass that had paralysed the intercommunal talks, but it remains to be seen whether the progress that the Cyprus Government seeks and the international community has repeatedly urged will in fact be forthcoming. Malta encourages the restraint now being shown and hopes that a dynamic momentum for progress can be generated. 92. No one would dare to underestimate the complexity of the Middle East—the most recent regrettable conflict is a sharp reminder of it—but that is no reason to overlook the core of the problem, which persists. The legitimate aspirations of the people of Palestine remain thwarted although they are now recognized and upheld by a quasi-universal consensus.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“We are endeavouring to negotiate more or less similar approaches with other Mediterranean countries and our efforts have also succeeded with friendly non-aligned Yugoslavia. We are dedicated to bringing peace eventually to the Mediterranean and to promoting ever increasing co-operation between Europe and the continents bordering upon it. 90. It is against the background of those objectives that, once again, we are forced to note with increasing dismay the paucity of political progress concerning the plight of the friendly Mediterranean sister island of Cyprus, caught as it is in a vice-like grip by outside influences which tend to ignore the real needs of the indigenous people of the island, who suffer the scars of artificial division brought about principally as a result of the heavy-handed events of 1974. 91.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“If the representative of Libya is willing to give a categorical answer to those two specific questions the whole world will be able to determine whether Libya's protestations of friendship towards Malta's independence and prosperity have any practical content, and the Security Council would then be guided accordingly. 89. In that perspective I am pleased to express my country's appreciation for the understanding shown by the Italian Government, as outlined in the statement delivered by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Italy on 23 September . It is the end result of a long series of negotiations which were finally concluded successfully—another example of the favourable evolution of history.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“President, ask the representative of Libya two specific questions. 86. First, is he publicly and solemnly willing to commit his country, in an appropriate manner, to go to the International Court this year? 87. Secondly, is he publicly and solemnly willing to state before this Assembly or in any other appropriate manner that his country will not in future use force against peaceful exploration activities carried out by Malta, under current international law and practice, on its side of the median line, subject to the understanding given by my Prime Minister and without prejudice to the claims of either side until the demarcation issue is settled by agreement or by legal process in accordance with the relevant provisions of the proposed law of the sea convention? 88.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“Libya itself seems to have so little faith in its own arguments that, as I have indicated, it has failed to honour its commitment to go to the International Court. Malta has been ready to do so from the very beginning. 84. Our latest contribution to an equitable accord was the honest though rather unusual step of declaring in advance that the benefits of any activities carried out by Malta would accrue to Libya if the International Court of Justice found in favour of Libya. But Libya remains singularly deaf to all approaches except those that put Malta in an economic strait jacket. 85. However, that is in the past and, despite the costly set-back inflicted on Malta, it is to the future that we must look. The issue has now been narrowed to two essential points. May I therefore, through you, Mr.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“Those photographs were witnessed by citizens of other countries and give the exact geographical co-ordinates and the date and time when the photograph of the incident was taken. 82. There is therefore no question but that force was used and that its use is still being threatened. The rig did not leave of its own accord, and any other rig in future will need either armed protection or an assurance from Libya that it will not be threatened. We prefer the latter alternative. 83. The fifth and final point is the claim by Libya that "the area" is disputed. But in order for a dispute to be genuine and not just a convenient pretext, it has to have some foundation. In Libya's case there is none; neither historical rights, nor geological criteria, nor contemporary international law and practice support Libya's unfounded claim.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“The telex sent on 20 August 1980 by the Libyan Minister for Oil, to the captain of the oil rig, stated explicitly: "We hereby warn you that your company should immediately refrain from performing any drilling operations, withdraw the rig and leave the area; otherwise, the Jamahiriya is obliged to prevent your company from doing so by all means including force, on the ground that what is being done by your company is a hostile action against a sovereign State." 81. I also happen to have available photographs of the Libyan warship—showing its identification number—taken by officials of the Maltese Government from the rig that was being threatened by the Libyan warship.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“But, as the representative of Libya would appreciate, through the actual experience gained by his country from the 30 or so off shore oil wells it is currently exploiting, expensive drilling operations are not voluntarily suspended before the operation is considered complete. The fact is that Malta's solitary oil drilling operation, well inside Malta's side of the median line, had to suspend operations under the threat of armed Libyan naval units pointing menacing guns against defenceless citizens and expensive equipment. 80.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“Besides, as I have already indicated, the proposed convention does foresee the necessity of interim arrangements until final agreement is reached. 77. Thirdly, Libya says it is ready to go to the International Court of Justice. Respectfully, I point out that this has been confirmed to us, repeatedly and at the highest level, over the past four years. But no action has been taken as yet, and the negotiated agreement remains unratified by Libya. 78. Fourthly, Libya says it did not use force against Malta, and does not intend to do so. To this fundamental point I have to reply at somewhat greater length. 79. It is, of course, true that no foreign forces landed in Malta, although we judged it prudent to take precautionary measures.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“In any case, if the Libyan People's Congress can ratify a complicated constitutional and political question of a merger with the Syrian Arab Republic in a few weeks, I feel justified in asking why it needs four years to ratify a comparatively simple agreement already negotiated between the two Governments. 76. Secondly, it is, of course, true that the Conference on the Law of the Sea has not yet completed its work, including the question of delimitation. But the world did not stop while the Conference proceeded with its discussions. Neither Libya, nor any other country, has ceased its own exploration activities. The proposed convention, in any case, does not inhibit current international law and practice, and Malta's activities were fully in compliance with those requirements.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“The Security Council suspended its examination of Malta's complaint so as to give Libya time to study the matter, and to this date Libya has not provided any reply, beyond stating in letters that: first, the question is a complex and technical matter which cannot be settled overnight; secondly, the law of the sea has not yet resolved the question of delimitation; thirdly, Libya is ready to go to the International Court of Justice; fourthly, Libya did not use force against Malta; and fifthly, since "the area" is disputed, Malta cannot carry out any activities therein until the border demarcation line is determined. 74. To those points I would reply briefly as follows. 75. First, eight years of patient but fruitless effort is not exactly "trying to settle the question overnight".”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“It is the least we can expect from a nation that has stood by us in difficult circumstances in the past. 72. Therefore, I very much regret that in his statement of 6 October the representative of Libya, while reviewing Mediterranean problems, did not even see fit to mention the acute controversy between his country and mine, as if that question, of such vital interest to Malta, is of no concern to his country. 73.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“That, like any other self-respecting country, Malta will never accept. And that action, whatever its source, the international community—primarily through the Security Council—cannot condone. 70. That is the only issue—a vital one for Malta, though perhaps minor for Libya—which is exacerbating relations between the two countries. That provocative and illegal attitude flies against the interest of Mediterranean cooperation and of reducing tension in the Mediterranean, to which Libya allegedly is dedicated. 71. In the past, it has given me great pleasure to praise Libya's understanding. Today, I have no option but to call it into question and to ask Libya to change its present attitude. I do it with the utmost candour, which is the true expression of friendship, so that existing doubts and anxieties will be removed.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“the States concerned, in a spirit of understanding and co-operation, shall make every effort to enter into provisional arrangements of a practical nature and, during this transitional period, not to jeopardize or hamper the reaching of the final agreement." 68. Malta, in its search for agreement, although constantly faced with dismaying delaying tactics and totally unfounded claims by Libya, has made a practical suggestion. Up to this very moment the only Libyan reply has been a deafening silence. 69. A heavily armed, richly endowed country thus, consciously or unconsciously, stifles the legitimate rights of a small, unarmed country, totally lacking any natural resources, from peacefully exercising those rights, thereby impeding its indigenous potential for economic development.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“As the Minister for Foreign Affairs of France so correctly stated in his address to this Assembly, "When law is violated, silence acts as an accomplice" 66. We know—there is already evident proof—that the incident provoked by Libya is not an isolated one. It is bound to occur again in the future, as it has in the past. Therefore the Security Council must pronounce an appropriate code of conduct; it must not condone breaches of the peace; it must ensure that they do not recur. 67. The proposed law of the sea convention is innovative, but it does not inhibit established international law and practice. In fact, it foresees the necessity of practical interim arrangements until boundary agreements are reached. Article 83, paragraph 3, provides that, pending agreement, "...”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“In the circumstances which Libya has provoked, our only honourable course, as a peace-loving country, and after all efforts at good offices had been frustrated, was to seek the protection of the Security Council, instead of answering threat by counter-threat. 65. Like the Secretary-General, we feel that, as experience has abundantly shown, the Security Council should not be used as a last resort when any given situation has gone out of hand. We believe firmly in the Security Council as the promoter and the guarantor of international peace and security. We therefore do not believe that it should vacillate in the face of actions which are clearly in violation of international law and of the Charter of the United Nations. There cannot be two codes of international conduct—one for the strong and the other for the weak.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“Without explanation, without reason, Libya sent armed naval forces and insisted on a cessation of the peaceful and legitimate activities so vital for Malta's economic viability, on the unfounded pretext that the area of operations was a "disputed area". 64. Libya—or any other country for that matter—cannot apply two weights and two measures; once it has exploited resources on its own side of the median line, it simply cannot deny the exercise of the same rights to Malta, by using force to impede our legitimate activities on our own side. We, for our part, have not presumed to impede lawful Libyan activities, but the Libyans have impeded ours and say that they intend to continue to do so.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“Malta was at the receiving end of the confrontation in the Mediterranean and has suffered bitterly as a result of action taken against it by a country which professes to be Malta's best friend. 62. I shall not repeat all the details of the incident, since the matter is before the Security Council. I only mention that we have spent eight years of expensive and wearisome negotiations with Libya, to no avail. For four years Libya has delayed ratification of a painstakingly negotiated agreement to refer the matter for adjudication by legal process. 63. Faced with those delaying tactics, Malta finally decided, on the advice of several friendly countries consulted in advance, to authorize exploration activities well on its own side of the median line separating Libya and Malta.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“We again compliment that nation, not only on its admission to the United Nations, which we were honoured to sponsor, but also on its perceptive statement, as an island developing country, on the importance of offshore resources and the relevance of the median line as the boundary between opposite States for the territorial sea and the economic zone, within internationally recognized limits. 61. Those rights have been enunciated in numerous resolutions proposed by developing countries. They are recognized by current international law and practice. Yet the attitudes and interpretation of States in various regions in relation to those rights and legal principles vary considerably; already in some areas there has been armed confrontation—over the past month alone—in Africa, in Latin America and in the Mediterranean.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“59. The recognized right to exploration and exploitation of natural resources has now become an acute and actual need for ail countries, but particularly for developing countries which depend on energy imports and are faced with constantly escalating costs. That was stressed by the President of OAU in his statement to this Assembly of 24 September. It was referred to by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in his statement of the previous day [6th meeting], and it has been highlighted by the representative of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the newest Member of the United Nations. 60.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“Apart from the national legislation on sea-bed mining by one country, there is the refusal of some States to agree to an enforceable system of law, or even to existing disputes being subjected to the procedures that would apply to future disputes of the same kind. Those disputes are not theoretical; they are now being encountered in practice and applied against the weak to the advantage of the strong. 58. With advancing technology, dwindling energy and mineral resources, and escalating prices, offshore exploration is bound to assume increasing and frequently competing importance. Powerful technologically advanced nations fronting the oceans are currently extracting resources from dozens of rigs operating hundreds of miles offshore. Malta has been forcefully prevented from operating one single rig at a modest offshore distance of 50 miles.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“We now have grave doubts as to the financial benefits that will actually accrue to the international community as a whole, and particularly to developing countries, from the eventual utilization of those resources. Therefore, apart from our readiness to host the proposed international sea-bed authority, it is to these sober expectations that the high hopes raised by Malta in 1968 have been reduced in 1980. And the litigation likely to arise in future from some of the vague provisions in the proposed convention will create a paradise for international lawyers but a nightmare for national leaders. 57. Already ominous signs are emerging.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“The second achievement, the progress in the hitherto slow-moving Conference on the Law of the Sea, welcome as it is, does not blind my delegation to the severe dent in our original expectations as to what should derive from the concept of the common heritage of mankind. 55. During the negotiations, it has become clear that extensive, rich and more readily accessible areas of the ocean floor are now likely to fall under national jurisdiction, mostly benefiting a few well-endowed nations, at the expense of the international community as a whole. The originally envisaged international area has shrunk considerably as a result. 56. The recovery and utilization of the resources in the international area, moreover, require a most sophisticated technology and highly capital-intensive efforts, of which only a handful of countries are capable.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“We therefore augur that this session also will produce similarly positive and enduring results. 53. As others have pointed out, we have two outstanding elements on the credit side of our performance rating. The first, the long drawn-out saga of Zimbabwe, finally ended in a significant achievement which we have already welcomed, overdue as it undoubtedly was. Even that achievement, however, reminds us of the continuing frustration over Namibia and the even more insidious anomaly of apartheid, practised as national Government policy by South Africa. That system continues to outrage the conscience of mankind at a period in history when human dignity, social equality and racial harmony should be the. hallmark of modern times. 54.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“It is symbolic of your country's effective stimulus to economic development that, in the short span of less than a decade, the pragmatic efforts of the small team of experts on industrial promotion that the Federal Republic of Germany sent to Malta have been so successful that, I am glad to state, your country is the only industrially developed nation with which Malta maintains a favourable balance of trade, in a mutually advantageous partnership of German technology and Maltese skilled labour. 52. This model of modern friendly relations between two countries, forged through the vicissitudes of past history, inspires Malta's foreign policy; it is a success story that is a good foundation for Malta's hopes for the future regarding all other countries.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“And the President of the current session has now taken up the challenge of leadership in the strenuous months ahead. My country and I personally welcome your election, Mr. President. It is a well-merited acknowledgement of your personal qualities and of the important role that your country has assumed in the present stage of international relations. I am confident that your experience and dedication will serve us well. 51.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“A lasting legacy of the imperturbable performance of Ambassador Salim of the United Republic of Tanzania, the previous President of the General Assembly, is the clarity and perception with which he reviewed the performance of this Assembly over the past 12 months, objectively highlighting the major problems confronting us. 49. Similarly, our hard pressed Secretary-General has once again helped us to focus attention on the major problems we face in his concise, analytical and dedicated report on the work of the Organization, which convincingly reminds us—because we need to be reminded—that our Organization is here to serve the international community, to the extent that all Members utilize its services in their duties as representatives of the peoples of the United Nations. 50.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“With detente always considered so fragile, why are there elephantine lurches by one side or the other, which are bound to destroy, perhaps at a single stroke, all the patient attempts at progress made in the past? Is it possible that there can be such a lack of perception and communication in the world of today? 47. We do not lack the tools. The Charter of the United Nations is our prescription and our objective, and the Organization is our means to attain our ends. What we lack, desperately, is the will to use its institutions and to use them efficiently. Next to political will, our scarcest commodity is time, which is fast running out. 48.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“That seems to be the end-product of their commitment to what has now become almost a meaningless ritual— a verbal commitment to "general and complete disarmament under effective international control". In reality, as the study on nuclear weapons by the Secretary-General concludes, the major Powers are toying with a perpetual menace to human society. In a recent survey carried out in Britain, almost 50 per cent of "the people interviewed predicted an outbreak of nuclear war within the time span of the current generation. 46. For how long, then, can reasonable hope prevail over barren performance? Have the major Powers not yet realized that every action taken by either of them has worldwide ramifications and calls for an inevitable response from the other?”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“We have in fact been declaring the same objectives, perhaps in different words and with different emphases, for the last 35 years. Our methods and our approaches have not changed much. We give rise to great expectations in debate, but negative factors overwhelm our modest collective gains. 45. We still have the protagonists of each military alliance continuing to engage in the apparently all-absorbing activity of the pot calling the kettle black. For instance, the only significant additions to their repetitive statements on disarmament have mostly been dictated by the new weapons systems that they themselves have commissioned in the period intervening between one session of the Assembly and the next.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“Last year in this Assembly I expressed unease over the dark clouds gathering on the international horizon and detected early warning signals of a new round of escalation in lethal weapon systems. Malta's forebodings of yesterday have transformed themselves into the grim realities of today. 43. Old problems have become more complicated and new ones have emerged. The political world is behaving irrationally. Adventurism, interference, and even intervention arrogantly stride the world stage. Military options are being applied to problems which are essentially political in nature. Here, at least, we all seem to agree that the very foundations of peace are in acute danger, that we must inject new momentum into our efforts to halt our reverses and so change direction to forward movement. 44.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“That is a good start, long overdue perhaps, but all the more welcome on that account. Malta's hope and constant striving is that this is but a precursor of even better things to come. 203. Let us close the door on the 1970s as the decade of debate on the principles that guide our actions, and of persistent probing for equitable solutions to enduring obstacles. Let us enter the 1980s resolutely determined to apply objective, practical and peaceful remedies to long-outstanding and long-discussed problems. Let 1980 be the first year of the decade of accomplishment, as our Organization enters it prime of life.”
1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)
“We welcome the additional step towards universality that has been taken through the admission of Saint Lucia, another developing island country, among the growing family of nations. 201. We hail the accord over the Panama Canal. We were greatly encouraged by the inspiration in the timely message of His Holiness Pope John Paul II who reminded us that our activity—all political activity—"comes from man, is exercised by man and is for man". 202. We congratulate the President on his appointment—we also congratulate his predecessor—and on their contribution to the work of this Organization. The President has already steered us successfully into adopting procedural improvements in our work. He has introduced the essential discipline of punctuality, and a recognition of the need for cost-efficiency in our work.”
1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)
“Malta will be glad to play host to such a gathering at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta, and is prepared, together with other Mediterranean countries, to embark on the necessary consultations in order to devise the agenda and modalities for such a meeting. 199. Before I close, I wish to reassert that Malta is proud of its membership in the United Nations, and will pursue its contribution to the causes of peace. It will be evident from what I have said that we share the insight, the preoccupations, the dedication and the objectives of our Secretary-General, whose thoughtful analysis in his report on the work of the Organization. We have carefully studied. 200.”
1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)
“We look forward to this meeting, in the expectation that it will be action-oriented, and that the participating countries will not find, as happened in recent meetings, that once we had laboriously defined principles we had great difficulty in reaching agreement on their practical application, and had to content ourselves with polite exchanges or, at times, vituperative accusation and counter-accusation, 198. In particular, we attach importance to the advantages of prior consultation, during the first half of 1980, between the Mediterranean States of the non-aligned movement and the Mediterranean States participating in the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, to launch practical projects of co-operation and to prepare for the Madrid meeting of the Conference next year.”
1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)
“On Malta's initiative, in February 1979, an examination of potential sectors for projects of concrete co-operation among participants in the Conference and all Mediterranean countries in the economic, scientific and cultural fields was carried out, for the first time in the history of the Mediterranean. 196. The meeting, despite early-warning signals of divisive influences promoted from outside the region, ended on a positive note; many concrete areas of cooperation were singled out, and new initiatives envisaged. These matters, as well as the overriding question of security, will be taken up in the forthcoming Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe to be held in Madrid next year. 197.”
1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)
“We have repeatedly urged our European friends to play a protagonist role in the search for a comprehensive solution of the problems besetting our region. I renew that call today. 194. We had harped on this message as soon as the dawn of detente led to an all-European conclave. At the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe we were the ones first to raise the relevance of the Mediterranean and, as a start, we secured the contributions of non-European Mediterranean States in the proceedings. At the end of the first marathon meeting, a chapter on the Mediterranean became a permanent feature of The Final Act of the Conference, signed at Helsinki on 1 August 1975. 195. Since then, of the follow-up meetings of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe, one has been held in Valletta.”
1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)
“We have understood the popular longing for peaceful change that cries out for tangible fulfilment among the countries of the region. We have noted that the enduring obstacles to progress, particularly the questions of the Middle East and Cyprus, required our urgent attention and constant endeavours for a regional and equitable solution. To these objectives, we have ceaselessly contributed, as the record shows. 193. As a centre for peace and a bridge of friendship between Europe and the Arab world, we have stressed the important fact that the Mediterranean countries— the first to suffer from the existing Middle East confrontation—should take the lead in concerting their views so as to promote unity and progress in a regional setting.”
1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)
“We are seeking to enlarge this circle, in the common interest. 191. We also sense that other countries would prefer us to resume our previous role as the military watchdog of the Mediterranean. We tell them frankly and firmly that our decision is irrevocable, and that from them, too, we would welcome understanding and support for our economic development and peaceful policies, which require our immediate, undivided attention. 192. I also give assurance that our commitment to the imperatives of genuine peaceful co-operation will not come to an end with the closure of the foreign military bases on our soil. In our region for years we have sensed unease over the acute confrontation that persists in the Mediterranean.”
1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)
“Our aim is to turn the Mediterranean into a zone of peace and cooperation by promoting Arab unity and by strengthening the common interests that European and Arab countries share, something that will give our region its best guarantee for independent action and security, free from big-Power rivalry. 190. Last year in Belgrade and this year in Colombo and in Havana, the non-aligned movement hailed Malta's contribution and expressed support. We welcomed this expression of intent. We are anxious to see it applied in practice, both to Malta's national development as well as to the pursuit of tangible cooperation in the Mediterranean region. I take this occasion publicly to express Malta's gratitude to our Arab friends, some of whom are already giving moral and material support to Malta's newly acquired status.”
1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)
“At the beginning of this decade, we were considered the unsinkable aircraft carrier of the Mediterranean, a base for a military alliance. Today I solemnly affirm before this Organization that there is not one single foreign soldier on our soil— neither today or in the future. 189. Despite the economic burden which our new role entails, by popular choice and of our own free will, unilaterally, we have therefore made our maximum contribution to non-aligned objectives and to the promotion of peace in our region. We have lit a small beacon of hope for a brighter future.”
1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)
“Although our economy still requires foreign support, nevertheless we felt that we had to fulfil at the appointed time our voluntary commitment to the imperatives of peace in the region. 187. Last year I informed this Assembly of our intentions. Today I am pleased to confirm their implementation. On the historic day, 31 March 1979, through peaceful negotiations, in friendship and without rancour, the last British troops departed, never to return. Warships and warplanes have been replaced by tourist liners and civilian aircraft, military personnel by tourists. 188. Our neighbours can be assured, once and for all, that Malta will not be used as a spring-board by any Power in acts of aggression against them.”
1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)
“The challenging objective which Malta set itself in June 1971 contemplated a radical transformation of its centuries-old history. It entailed enormous upheavals in the structure of our national economy. We were not deterred by the sacrifices involved. We were convinced that the decision was correct and in the interest not only of the people of Malta, but also of all the neighbouring States of the Mediterranean. We gave ourselves a breathing-space of only seven years in which to accomplish our objective, 186. Malta pursued its chosen programme consistently over that period. We attempted to change our economic sinews to be able to sustain us in the chosen role.”
1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)
“We recognize that coexistence must be enhanced by understanding, and that co-operation must eventually replace confrontation; we have found that the constraints of a military alliance thwarted initiatives for peace and perpetuated confrontation; we have discovered that the advocates for peaceful change were among the ranks of the developing and non-aligned countries, so much maligned in the Western press; we have therefore decided irrevocably to move away from our past history as a base for military confrontation; instead, we have already assumed a new role as a bridge for peace and co-operation in our region; we put these options before our people, to be decided by them through a democratic electoral process. In 1971 and again in 1976, the new approach was preferred by the Maltese electorate. 185.”
1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)
“This applies equally for political, social, economic and cultural issues. These regional initiatives deserve every encouragement and would be enhanced and expanded in their application through interregional contacts. 183. There remains the essential contribution made by each individual country, and in such a dangerous, complex and inequitable world, what can a small country like Malta offer as a contribution to peace and security, without which economic progress would elude us? 184. My own Government has applied in practical terms the considerations I have just outlined.”
1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)
“This has been demonstrated in the remarkable progress made, for instance, by the countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and of the European Economic Community, acting in concert in the pursuit of common objectives, forgetting their past differences and gradually expanding the spheres of their co-operation. This is only natural. The application of universally agreed principles calls for flexible supportive mechanisms that respond to the perceived interests and specific issues arising in the various geographical regions. The countries in any one region, through better perception, greater commitment, consistency and proximity are in the best position to make effective contributions to various situations of particular concern in which they are directly involved.”
1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)
“I urge the Secretariat to consider these points as it pursues its probe into the working methods of our Organization, 182. Certainly, the United Nations has firmly established its role as the moulder of international opinion, as the spotlight for crisis, as the centre for defining universal standards and as a place for large and small countries to meet on an equal footing. We can anticipate the world's problems and we can point out considered solutions. But the contribution of individual countries, or of a spontaneous grouping of individual countries, then becomes the most direct and efficient means for producing tangible results.”
1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)
“A few tentative areas for investigation come to my mind—which I hope others will supplement: for instance, first, how can we make the general debate more productive and less time- consuming; secondly, what techniques can we devise to render the process of ascertaining a consensus more rapid and more substantive; thirdly, what is the best means of ensuring an adequate follow-through on decisions reached by consensus; fourthly, what is the optimum or average time-frame in which we can reasonably expect significant progress between one meeting and another; fifthly, how can the press and the public at large be better informed about the complex activities of our Organization so that we may generate continued world-wide support?”
1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)