YouSaid · the spoken record

Dhanabalan:

THE RECORD WRITES THIS SPEAKER AS DHANABALAN:

lines on the record: 155
first: 1980-09-24
most recent: 1987-09-24
sittings or episodes: 8
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

“Locational advantages in such production have shifted rapidly, and, by and large, the lowest- cost producers are now countries in the third world, which are now being penalized for their success. 221. The problems of debt, famine and protectionism are interrelated. Protectionism freezes existing patterns of international trade in which the developed countries have consistently enjoyed huge trade sur¬pluses W.s-n-ws the developing countries. Such imbalances require financing and thus necessitate heavy borrowing and a growing debt burden. 222. Protectionism also deliberately restricts levels of food production. In Japan, North America and Europe protectionist agricultural systems have included measures to curtail the production of surpluses of major cereals and some other commodities.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“The result has been increasing protectionism in the form of a complex system of "orderly marketing arrangements", "voluntary export re¬straints" and a host of other euphemistically named non-tariff barriers designed to circumvent GATT. So prevalent have such practices become that the danger is that exceptions to GATT will become more numerous than instances of compliance. The effect of such protectionism has been to freeze the existing distribution of industrial capability and wealth. One recent study has demonstrated that three quarters of all actions to restrict imports under safeguard, surveillance and anti-dumping provisions dealt with only three product groups: steel, textiles and clothing.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“A renowned professor of the London School of Economics, which is not unsympathetic to the third world, once remarked that the misery of being exploited by capitalists is nothing compared to the misery of not being exploited at all. 219. The liberal trading regime set up after the Second World War and institutionalized in GATT has clearly been unable to cope with the stresses and strains generated by new conditions. The developed countries have been unable to cope with the increas¬ingly sensitive impact that one national economy has on another under conditions of interdependence and they have been unable to restructure their domestic economies to deal with new patterns of international trade, production and consumption. 220.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“The problems of debt and famine, which I have quoted as examples of the less headline-grabbing prob¬lems of the global community, are themselves only symptoms of a far more serious malaise in the inter¬national economy. 218. While the problem of global equity remains serious, what we are confronted with today is not simply the failure of the North to respond to the South's call for a more equitable economic relation¬ship but the incipient disintegration of the entire economic system that has sustained both North and South for the past 40 years. The consequences of such a total collapse would far outweigh the present injustices of the system.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“As the population continues to increase in the poorest regions of the world, more and more people will be forced below the subsistence level of food intake. Undernourishment and starvation are the work not of fate but of human action. They can be prevented. Much of the increasing starvation can be attributed to the failure of national policies. But we are not here to pass judgment on national policies; we are here to see how we as members of an international community can help these nations in their plight. The problem is particularly severe in Africa, where food con¬sumption per person is 10 per cent less today than it was a decade ago. 217.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“It is inconceivable to me how this debt can be repaid or the interest serviced. 215. Default on even a portion of the massive debts that have accumulated could trigger a total collapse of the global financial system, which would, in turn, lead to a deep global recession. The mild panic that seized the financial pundits of the West when they grasped the implications of the situation that they had got themselves into now seems to have been replaced by a mood of superficial confidence, perhaps because no one dares believe otherwise; no one dares say that the emperor has no clothes. 216. Another problem with grave implications is that of starvation. As much as 40 per cent of the world's population suffers from some form of undernourish¬ment. The fate of millions is downright starvation.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“It is a combination of the problem of non- oil-producing third world countries trying to adjust to changes in energy costs and the oil-producing third world countries embarking on massive development projects in anticipation of future oil income 214. The non-oil-producing third world countries were first hit by high energy prices. They were then hjt from another direction as the industrialized coun¬tries increased the prices of their products to meet increased energy costs. To add to these difficulties, the recession in the industrialized countries depressed the prices of the primary commodities produced by these third world countries. Squeezed between high costs and falling incomes, these poor countries have had to resort to massive borrowing for consumption and not for investment.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“The new wars in the South Atlantic and Lebanon have shown us how quickly and unexpectedly violence and turmoil can spread. Every day newspaper headlines and the television screen bring the terrible carnage into every home. 213. While these events have captured the attention of the world, an economic crisis, no less lethal In its effects on people, has been spreading through the world. One symptom of this crisis is the debt prob¬lem. In recent months the world's headlines have drawn attention to the problem of third-world debt. It is estimated that the third_ world's debt js more than $US 500 billion. These debts were not accumu¬lated overnight. The problem has been brewing for some time.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“But the unambiguous position of the vast majority of nations, as reflected in the resolution and the Declaration of the International Conference on Kampuchea, has denied legitimacy to the aggres¬sor, has stiffened and heartened patriotic resistance to foreign occupation and encouraged the various resistance factions to unite their efforts under the leadership of Prince Norodom Sihanouk. Thus, the aggressor has not been allowed to enjoy the fruits of its actions. 211. The position of my delegation on the other questions on the agenda of this session will be enun¬ciated when these items are considered by the General Assembly. 212. All the conflicts which the Assembly was con¬sidering when we last met are still with us today.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“Olof Palme of Sweden, has also made a number of interesting recommen¬dations on the same subject." I urge the Security Council to consider these recommendations as soon as possible. 209. Turning to the specific conflicts and situations which threaten international peace and security, the Secretary-General was cautiously optimistic on Namibia. He reports that after many setbacks, we now see some signs of the possibility of a solution. Apart from the solitary exception of Namibia, the past year has witnessed no progress in our efforts to promote negotiated settlements on the conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere. 210. In the conflict in Kampuchea, our various reso¬lutions have not brought about the withdrawal of Viet¬namese forces.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“With¬out such a system, first, Governments will feel it necessary to arm themselves beyond their means for their own security; secondly, the world com¬munity will remain powerless to deal with military adventures such as Israel's invasion of Lebanon, the USSR's invasion of Afghanistan and Viet Nam's invasion of Kampuchea; thirdly, local conflicts will threaten to widen and escalate; fourthly, there will be no reliable defense for the small and weak nations; and finally, all our efforts on the economic and social side may well falter. 208. The Secretary-General has made a number of specific recommendations on how to strengthen the United Nations collective security system. The Independent Commission on Security and Disarma¬ment Issues, chaired by Mr.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“I should like to begin by extending my delegation's congratulations to Mr. Hollai on his election to the presidency of this session of the General Assembly. He has served many years in the Organization. The reputation he has acquired among his peers is that of an extremely able, knowledgeable, affable man of goodwill. I should also like to say a word of thanks to his predecessor, Mr. Kittani, for the excellent job he did. 207. I have read the report of the Secretary-General on the work of the Organization with great admiration. It is refreshingly frank and self-critical. I agree with him that our most urgent goal is to reconstruct the United Nations collective security system.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“At the same time, a way out of the problem must be offered. It is the least we as a body can do to encourage those who courageously resist aggression and strive to preserve their national independence and uphold the principles of the Charter.”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)
“220. The debate and resolutions in the Assembly have over the past two years demonstrated to patriotic Cambodians and Afghans that they arc not alone and that they have not been forgotten by the world community. The United Nations has by its pronouncements given the moral basis and encouragement for others to help these patriots. 221. We, therefore, in this Assembly must continue to focus attention op these and similar problems, such as the South African occupation of Namibia and the South African incursion into Angola. And we have to focus attention not only in the General Assembly, but also through special conferences, like the International Conference on Kampuchea. 222. We the Member States should not, therefore, hesitate to mobilize ourselves to condemn any violation of principles of the Charter of the United, Nations.”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)
“But it gives reason for concern when a permanent member of the Security Council urges Members of this body to ignore its pronouncements and recommendations as en-shrined in various resolutions. It becomes a matter of even greater concern when a large country and leader of the non-aligned movement is publicly on record as saying that: "These overwhelming majorities mean nothing. We have had so many overwhelming majorities. . . . These votes do not mean anything." 219. For the past two years, the majority of us have not been taken in by such gratuitous advice. On the other hand, we have adopted resolutions which have in fact condemned Viet Nam for actions which are in breach of United Nations principles. Similarly, in Afghanistan, the invasion and occupation of a small non-aligned nation by a super-Power stands condemned in this Assembly.”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)
“The justification has been offered that foreign forces were invited by the victims, but these have been shown to be spurious. 218. It is not surprising, therefore, that those who find themselves in the dock in the United Nations today on these two issues dismiss the resolutions of the United Nations against them as irrelevant and of no consequence. Yet, the records will show that those who dismiss the resolutions tried to win the approval of this Assembly for their actions in Cambodia and Afghanistan. Having failed to win the support of this Assembly, they now dismiss the resolutions as of no consequence. It is perhaps forgivable when a new member of this Organization expresses his belief that United Nations resolutions can be ignored.”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)
“If we trade support for issues with out regard for principles or allow the interests of big Powers to determine our position, we will lose all credibility. 217. On two of the questions which have engaged the General Assembly for the last two years—Cambodia and Afghanistan nearly two thirds of the Members have been unequivocal in their stand. In both cases, the majority of United Nations Members have taken the position they have because they have been able to see clearly that there has been armed invasion and occupation of small nations by other, larger, nations, with either direct or indirect participation of a permanent member of the Security Council of this Organization. It is a delusion to think that two thirds of the Members here are acting at the behest of other Powers.”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)
“It also provides justification for others among the world community to help the victims resist the aggressor with aid of one kind or another. The opinion of the United Nations fortifies and encourages both those who directly resist and those who help in the resistance. 215. Moral support and assistance to those who sustain the resistance against an aggressor does help, for it not only gives strength to the victim but also provides sustained international pressure on the aggressor. Over time, the aggressor will have to find a face-saving way out of the situation. 216. We who gather here annually, therefore, can play an important role in the peace process by our pronouncements on issues, provided those pronouncements are credible and based on fundamental principles of the Charter of the United Nations.”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)
“The United Nations may be unable to stake armed action collectively, but by the decisions and principled positions that we take here we can impress on potential aggressors that the use of military force in resolving dis agreements or expressing disapproval is unacceptable. 214. The resolutions that we pass here with regard, to such matters may at first glance appear to be mere words. But they can influence real events. Apart from denying a recalcitrant Member an honorable place among nations, the opinion of the United Nations, embodied in its resolutions, creates the moral ambiance for others to resist the actions of the aggressor nation. In such cases, it gives those who take up arms against a violators the right to do so.”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)
“With the "one State, one vote" norm, the United Nations has made it easier for us, the small countries, to link our strength and to exert the moral pressure that United Nations Members can collectively bring to bear upon a recalcitrant Member that pursues an expansionist policy. 213. Nations, like men, are interdependent. They are members of a community. They desire a place in the community of nations which will bring co-operation, re-spect and even approbation. Through the United Nations, we can deny a nation a place if it transgresses the principles of the Charter of the United Nations to which it sub-scribes.”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)
“The decisions in the United Nations and the moral pressure of the collective stand of the majority of the Members here can help ensure not only that an aggressor nation pays a high price, but that it is denied the fruits of its conquest. When the protagonists in a conflict and the super-Powers or other outside Powers indirectly involved in the conflict find that the price of their action is high, they can be led to see that it is in their interest to bring the conflict to an end. Through the United Nations, a face-saving way out of the problem can be provided. These are vital roles that the United Nations can play. 212.”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)
“It is for that reason that small nations have, from time to time, resorted to this Organization to solve their problems, be it the Middle East problem or problems in Africa, Afghanistan or Cambodia. For instance, on the Kampuchean problem, the overwhelming majority of United Nations Members have felt sufficiently strongly about it to call for an International Conference on Kampuchea. The attendance at that Conference confirmed the continuing concern of the international community with this problem. The Conference's Declaration and resolution provide a reasonable framework for a solution to the problem. 211. I believe that the United Nations has played and can play a role in matters of war and peace.”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)
“It is in the United Nations and through its numerous organs that our diplomats and officials deal directly with one another. Through this process we have become more sensitive to each other's concerns. As others have said, our agenda now goes beyond mere questions of security and territory. We are concerned with problems of energy, environment, population, resources and even our seas. We the small nations need the United Nations all the more to protect our interests, and it is to our advantage to use and develop the United Nations machinery. We have to search for new and more effective ways to mobilize and express the view of those who are exercised by a problem. 210.”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)
“Thus the United Nations has not been able to act directly to bring about peace in armed conflicts except, as I said, in rare instances. Are we therefore wasting our time here? Is this just a charade on stage with no bearing on real events? I do not believe so, because if we did so believe, most of us would not be here. 208. Most of us here are small nations. Ninety-seven of us have a population of less than 10 million, and 90 of us have a gross national product of less than $US 10 billion. Unfortunately, many of the conflicts in the world involve us, the small nations. 209. For us, the United Nations offers the most effective forum in which to highlight our problems of peace, to bring pressure to bear on militant nations and to work towards a solution in a conflict.”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)
“This, in fact, was the underlying assumption be hind the founding of this Organization that the cooperation of the great Powers would make collective action possible. Our experience, sadly, is that this has not materialized. Collective action has not been possible except in a few and rare instances. 206. From a number of great Powers at the founding of the United Nations, we have today two super-Powers. Every conflict involving any two or more nations is seen either as an opportunity to advance the interest of one super-Power or as a danger to the interest of the other super-Power. The United Nations, where the super-Powers are supposed to co-operate in collective action to ensure peace, has instead become a cockpit of rivalry between them. They use the United Nations to further their interest in whatever way possible. 207.”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)
“Those who are victims of these conflicts and others who are cynics may well ask whether the United Nations has been of any use at all. To those of us who think that it has, the more pertinent question is, perhaps, what would have been the experience of the world without the United Nations? 205. There are many of us who feel that the United Nations, in order to be an effective security organization, must be able to intervene in conflicts on the side of the victim against the aggressor. We wish that the United Nations could be a supranational body with the capacity to impose peace. This assumes that the great Powers that are Members of this Organization will act in unity and out of a common perception when faced with matters of war and peace.”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)
“Among the industrialized countries, the perceived margin of safety seems to have increased as their fears of attack by one another have receded. Yet the fact remains that local wars and proxy wars have been raging every where since the end of the Second* World War. What we are really going through are times of troubled peace. 204. Students of the subject tell us that since the end of the Second World War there have been more than 100 wars and military actions between nations. Millions have died in these conflicts and, in fact, more have died in conflicts since 1945 than in the Second World War. Many more have been maimed and made homeless. Millions have been dispossessed and have been living as refugees, becoming endemic problems to host countries.”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)
“It also gives me great pleasure to welcome a fellow-member of the Commonwealth-, Vanuatu, as the 155th Member of this Organization. / 202. Today, another country, Belize, gains independence, and I look forward to welcoming it also to this Organization. 203. This session of the General Assembly is the thirty- sixth since the United Nations was founded. This Organization was born out of revulsion against the horrors of the Second World War. It was with high hopes that the first 51 Members met in San Francisco to inaugurate this body. Since then we have been able for 36 years to avoid a world war, but world peace has evaded us. The cost of resort to force against each other and the fear of a nuclear holocaust have kept the super-Powers from being locked in a direct war. The recourse to war by them seems less likely.”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)
“199. Sir, I should like first of all to congratulate you most warmly on your election to the presidency of the thirty-sixth session of the General Assembly. You have spent almost a quarter of a century in this Organization, as a representative of your Government and as an official of the United Nations Secretariat. You have an enviable reputation among your col leagues. They regard you as a person of high intelligence, of great ability and of unquestionable integrity, and there is no doubt that you will lead this session with fairness and efficiency. 200. I should also like to pay a brief tribute to your immediate predecessor, Mr. Rudiger von Wechmar of the Federal Republic of Germany. He presided over the thirty- fifth session of the General Assembly with efficiency, fairness and punctuality. 201.”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)
“It is that, in trying to justify their actions the Soviet Union and Viet Nam have attempted to circumscribe the application of some of the most basic principles of the United Nations Charter, including the principle that every State is entitled to respect for its sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other States and the principle of non-use of force in international relations. We must defend these principles against any attempt to revise or undermine them, for these Charter principles afford us, the small countries, some degree of protection in a world in which a few who have the military might may want to impose their will on the many.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“Thirdly, through our stand here on those two issues we must show clearly to the superpowers that we will have no truck with the policies of their proxies. If we condone Vietnamese action in Kampuchea it will be a clear signal to the superpowers that they have our licence to canvass for proxies among the nonaligned nations to promote their interests. 118. The events in Afghanistan and Kampuchea are not distant events that have no bearing on us. The security of small countries like mine is adversely affected whenever the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of other countries are violated. This is why we must speak out and defend the independence and integrity of Afghanistan and Kampuchea. There is another reason why we must continue to condemn the actions of the Soviet Union in Afghanistan and of Viet Nam in Kampuchea.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“Both the Soviet Union and Viet Nam would have us believe that the root cause of the problem is the resistance by the people of Afghanistan and Kampuchea. They would have us believe that the way to solve the problem is for resistance to cease. Are nationalists fighting against foreign invaders for their nationhood, their dignity and self-respect to be told by us that they are wrong? Does that not go against the very principles which united us Members of this Organization? The least we can do is to stand by the nationalists of Afghanistan and Kampuchea. No effort or great sacrifice is demanded of us. All we are asked to do is to vote for their just cause. The moral force of such a vote will mean a great deal to people fighting against the invaders at desperate odds. It is the least we can do for a just cause. 117.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“Are we going to allow the legitimate Government of a country, which is fighting against a foreign invader, to be unseated just because the foreign invader has been successful in establishing a puppet regime in the capital city? Some are advancing the idea of leaving the seat of Kampuchea vacant here in the United Nations. That would only punish the victim and reward the aggressor because an empty seat is a prelude to the puppet regime's making a bid for the empty seat. 116. Secondly, we must continue to insist that foreign occupation forces must be withdrawn from both Kampuchea and Afghanistan, and that the people of Kampuchea and Afghanistan be allowed to chart their own destiny. The root cause of the present problem in Afghanistan and Kampuchea is the occupation of those countries by foreign forces.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“How do we reject and oppose those moves? First, on Kampuchea we must resist any attempt to unseat Democratic Kampuchea from the United Nations. To allow Democratic Kampuchea to be unseated would be to endorse and encourage the policy of aggression by Viet Nam. We are not here to decide on the merits of the Democratic Kampuchean Government in its dealings with its c v people. We did not create the Government of Democrats Kampuchea nor did we sustain it. Vietnam nurtured and sustained it and defended its internal policies until 25 December 1978. It was only after Viet Nam invaded Kampuchea that it seemed to have suddenly discovered that the Government of Democratic Kampuchea was a barbaric and genocidal Government. 115. Here in the United Nations we are faced with a simple question.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“We must make it abundantly clear that, just as we fought to dismantle capitalist imperialism, we will resist communist imperialism or any other form of imperialism. We must make it clear that we reject the right of any nation to violate the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of another nation to impose or preserve communism, capitalism or any other form of government. We must reject the notion that either the communist or the capitalist State or any other type of State has a moral right to pursue an expansionist foreign policy. 113. We have to reject all forms of imperialism for our own preservation. We are not anti-Soviet or anti-Vietnam. We wish those Governments well in whatever way they want to pursue the happiness and wellbeing of their own people, so long as their foreign policies do not endanger our security. 114.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“We are also asked to accept that if a people of a nonaligned country wants to change its Government from a communist or pro-Communist to some other type of Government, then it can be prevented from doing so by another communist Power under its internationalist obligation to safeguard the gains of revolution. 110. We are asked to accept that communist Powers are not under an obligation to uphold the principles of independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty and that communist imperialism and interference in the internal affairs of other States are morally justifiable and acceptable since they promote socialism and not capitalism. 111. To accept that code of conduct would be to spell our doom. We must reject those propositions and make it clear that we are against all forms of imperialism and domination. 112.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“Those are only a few examples. 106. What are the elements of this new code of conduct that we are asked to accept? 107. First, we are asked to accept that a country has the right to invade another country and set up a puppet Government if the invading country considers its security threatened or if it disapproves of the internal policies of the neighbouring Government. 108. Secondly, we are asked to accept that it is the internationalist duty of the Soviet Union and communist States to provide military aid to elements in other countries which seek to overthrow their Governments by force and establish communist and pro-Communist regimes. 109.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“And on 23 June Vietnamese troops made incursions into Thailand, again allegedly to fight the Chinese menace. 104. The events in Afghanistan and Kampuchea have great significance for us small nations. Precedents and principles are being established which have profound implications for us. Unless we resist and reject them now, one of us may become the next victim. 105. In both Afghanistan and Kampuchea, we are being asked to accept a certain code of international relations. The elements of that code have been clearly expressed in numerous Soviet and Vietnamese publications and broadcasts, such as the Vietnamese commentary entitled "From Phnom Penh to Kabul" broadcast by Radio Hanoi on 31 January 1980, an article in the Soviet New Times in January 1970 and an article by one Alexander Bovin in the Soviet newspaper Izvestia of 22 April 1980.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“They should therefore understand how dearly their neighbours value their independence. For 15 years Viet Nam fought against the United States in a war which the United States claimed was aimed at containing China and preventing the rest of Southeast Asia from falling into communist hands. With that experience, the Vietnamese should know the fallacy of overrunning a small nation on the grounds that that is intended to counter the threat of China. They now advance the same reasons as did the United States in the past. They claim they are a dam containing the Chinese menace. How are they containing the Chinese menace? Not by confronting China. Today it is Kampucheans who are dying, not Chinese. Vietnamese troops are unwelcome guests in Laos, not in China.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“That question is not as farfetched as it sounds. Today the Soviet Union already has allies and proxies in the nonaligned movement which are completely in support of its policies. Viet Nam, for example, declared on 15 July 1980 that "solidarity with the Soviet Union has always been the basis of our foreign policy". With such allies and proxies within the nonaligned movement, the Soviet Union can be assured that there will be no clear consensus among nonaligned countries to oppose its moves against a nonaligned nation. 103. What is most distressing is that Viet Nam, a member of the movement, a nation that has suffered the ravages of war for 30 years, should have betrayed the nonaligned movement and the ideals for which it sacrificed so much. The Vietnamese underwent an heroic struggle for their independence.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“For many years the Soviet Union supported the concept of nonalignment to such an extent that some members of the nonaligned movement even championed the Soviet Union as the natural ally of the movement. Today, events in Afghanistan and Kampuchea have shown that nonalignment by itself no longer offers us protection. Both Afghanistan and Kampuchea were nonaligned nations. Both professed the communist ideology. In both cases the national integrity has been violated, in the case of Afghanistan, directly by the Soviet Union and, in the case of Kampuchea, by Viet Nam with the aid and support of the Soviet Union. 102. Did the Soviet Union support nonalignment all these years as a cover, to persuade countries to dissociate themselves from and weaken links with Western Powers until the Soviet Union was in a position to bring than within its orbit?”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“In Kampuchea, a Government that refused to accept the leadership of Viet Nam in an IndoChinese federation was considered to be a threat to Viet Nam's security. The pattern of invasion was the same in both countries. Having concluded that its security was involved, the aggressor nation first invaded its neighbour with massive military power, then established a puppet regime and then got the puppet regime to acknowledge subsequently that it had invited the foreign forces. 101. Most of us have no wish to become partisans in the rivalry and contests between the big Powers. We wish to avoid the fate of becoming cannon fodder in the conflicts between the great Powers. This is why many of us chose to be nonaligned. For many years we have held the view that nonalignment is our best safeguard.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“Today they are increasingly admitting that their real reason for intervening militarily in those two countries is that events in the neighbouring States threatened their own security. In fact, one Soviet commentator, Alexander Bovin, went so far as to say that "We [the Soviet Union] knew that we would cease to be a great Power if we refrained from carrying the burden of taking unpopular but necessary decisions". In other words, an imperial Power would lose its credibility if any of its satellites or protectorates were allowed to pursue an independent policy. 100. In Afghanistan, the Soviet Union considered that a revolt by the people of Afghanistan against their communist Government was a threat to the security of the Soviet Union.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“Similarly, in Afghanistan, Soviet airborne troops landed at Kabul on 25 and 26 December 1979. On 27 December, they attacked and captured governmental installations, killed Amin, the head of Government, and disarmed Afghan army units. They brought in one Babrak Karmal, who was not even in the country during the Soviet invasion. They installed him as head of a new Government and then announced that they had been invited under the Treaty of Friendship, Good Neighbourliness and Cooperation of 5 December 1978 between Afghanistan and the Soviet Union. 99. While the ostensible reason advanced by the Soviet Union and Viet Nam is that they were invited by the Governments of Afghanistan and Kampuchea, the real reasons have since begun to emerge. One need only read the various publications of the Soviet Union and Viet Nam for evidence.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“In Kampuchea, the formation of a group called the National United Front for the Salvation of Kampuchea was announced by Viet Nam on 2 December 1978. Three weeks later, on 25 December 1978, Vietnamese forces invaded Kampuchea. By 11 January 1979, the large Vietnamese forces had overrun the country. They then set up a puppet regime headed by one Heng Samrin. On 18 February 1979, nearly two months after the invasion, a so-called Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Cooperation was signed between Viet Nam and the puppet Heng Samrin regime. It was subsequently claimed that under the terms of this Treaty—a Treaty signed two months after the invasion—Vietnamese troops were invited into Kampuchea. Today, Vietnamese troops numbering more than 200,000 remain in Kampuchea. 98.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“The majority of us in the United Nations, especially those of us in the third world, have taken a clear and unequivocal position on the issues of Afghanistan and Kampuchea. We will continue to oppose the actions of the Soviet Union and Viet Nam in those two countries. If we show that we acquiesce in, compromise with or condone the actions of those two countries, we in the third world will surely pay the price, as the next victim will come from our ranks. 96. The Soviet Union and Viet Nam claim that they were invited to send their military forces into Afghanistan and Kampuchea and that this is a sufficient and legitimate reason for them to intervene militarily. A brief review of the events in Afghanistan and Kampuchea will show that this was never the case. 97.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“Likewise, 104 countries voted in the United Nations General Assembly in January this year to call on the Soviet Union to withdraw its forces from Afghanistan. 94. The Soviet Union and Viet Nam have dismissed those resolutions. They argue that those countries were pressured by the United States and China to support those resolutions. This is an argument which, in my opinion, does not warrant repetition. They must know it is simply not true. We hope that, in spite of such public postures, both the Soviet Union and Viet Nam will pay careful heed to the frank views which are expressed by many nonaligned nations on those issues in this Assembly. If they want to retain the confidence of the world community, especially that of the nonaligned nations, they must change their policies in Afghanistan and Kampuchea. 95.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“But, when their external policies impinge on our security and set precedents which can be used against us, we have no alternative but to do all we can to cause them to change those policies. 93. It is in this context that I ask this Assembly to consider our views on the events in Afghanistan and Kampuchea. They arise from a deep concern for what those events portend for us who belong to the third world. Singapore is not alone in its concern. Many other countries, especially the small nonaligned nations, share this concern. Like Singapore, they too have been alarmed by the implications for themselves of these events. The 91 countries that voted in the United Nations General Assembly in November last year to call on Viet Nam to withdraw its forces from Kampuchea did so for this reason.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“Since we are small, it is in our interest to be friendly, not only with our immediate neighbours but with all countries. It is not at all in our interest to be caught in the press of power contests, be they contests between superpowers or regional Powers. However, when the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of other small nations are violated by bigger nations we feel that our own security is endangered. This is why, for the past two years, Singapore has spoken out clearly against certain of the policies of the Soviet Union and Viet Nam. We are not anti-Soviet or anti-Viet Nam because they have chosen a system of government and economy that is different from ours. What internal policies they follow is entirely their business.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“Most of us were colonies or protectorates or subservient to imperial Powers in one way or another. Those who gained their independence early helped others to gain theirs. We sought and obtained help from many quarters in this struggle for independence and national dignity. We had the support of liberals within the imperial countries. We had the support of socialist States like the Soviet Union. The material and moral support. We received from those various forces will not be easily forgotten by us. It is natural that, because of our history, for most of us suspicion of and antagonism towards the Western imperial Powers are not far below the surface of the friendly and amicable relations we have established since independence with most of the colonial Powers. 92. Singapore is a small country that gained its independence only 15 years ago.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)