First of all, I wish to convey to Mr. Salim our profound satisfaction at seeing him occupying the high post of President of this session of the General Assembly. His vast and important experience in this Organization, the intelligence and efficiency with which he has for so long directed the work of the Special Committee on decolonization, and his recognized personal and professional qualifications are all elements that ensure that his performance will contribute positively and significantly to the success of this session. Moreover, he represents the United Republic of Tanzania, a country with which Argentina maintains cordial relations.
283.	I believe it unnecessary to underline the important and positive role that the United Republic of Tanzania, as well as its African sister republics, plays at present in the international community. That important role constitutes one of the most characteristic events of the post-war era, and has contributed to stabilization and democratization in international relations. My Government is convinced that the growing and active participation of Africa in international life is an indispensable factor for an adequate solution of the grave political, social and economic conflicts that preoccupy the world and endanger peaceful and orderly coexistence among nations.
284.	My Government wishes to hail and congratulate also Mr. Salim's predecessor, Mr. Indalecio Lievano Aguirre, who so efficiently discharged his duties as President of the Assembly during the thirty-third regular session and with whose country, Colombia, the Argentine Republic is bound by so many close ties.
285.	The General Assembly, loyal to its adherence to the principle of universality, a few days ago admitted as a new Member of the Organization a young Latin American nation, Saint Lucia, whose recent independence and present inclusion in the comity of nations we celebrate greatly. We extend to the Government and people of Saint Lucia our warmest congratulations, and to its delegation we wish to convey our sentiments of goodwill for the development of close and fruitful cooperation within the United Nations.
286.	Peace, the preservation of which is the main objective that has brought together here the representatives of 152 countries, neither can nor should be considered the mere absence of armed conflict. The strengthening of peace and the consolidation of international security presuppose much more. Peace means a state of affairs in which conflicts, rivalries, distrust and attempts to impose political, economic or ideological supremacies are abandoned in order to open the way to understanding, harmony and co-operation. It means widening and deepening the incipient process of detente, which began to emerge a few years ago. It means, in other words, the realization of the purposes and the principles sanctioned by the United Nations Charter.
287.	Seen from this perspective, the review of the major world events since the preceding general debate does not allow us to draw very optimistic conclusions. Those conditions are far from having materialized; instead new hotbeds of tension that have appeared in-various regions increasing the possibilities of confrontation which are always latent.
288.	Subtle methods of penetration and destabilization, used for perfectly obvious purposes, are constancy being applied, thus rendering meaningless the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of States that is so often proclaimed and as often violated. Nihilistic violence, which aims at the destruction of free societies incapable of reacting, has continued to manifest itself and affect even those who, having given refuge to those terrorists defeated in other countries, believed that they were immune to their criminal attacks.
289.	This last aspect of a rather discouraging overview is also linked to the subject of human rights, the distorted treatment of which is adding to the list of disturbing factors. Indeed, the noble cause served by the protection of those rights is being inadmissibly exploited as a political weapon in order to affect relations between States. The good faith and credibility of States are challenged, while accusations levelled at them by exiled groups dealing in terror are accepted at face value. Furthermore, official opinions, tinged with subjectivity, are frequently broadcast by those who lack a thorough understanding of things alien to them, about sovereign decisions adopted by other countries in their domestic affairs. This violates the most elementary norms of international coexistence.
290.	Curiously enough, many other countries which have appointed themselves prosecutors of the behaviour of others conveniently resort to amnesia when it comes to flagrant violations of human rights that they committed only a few years ago. If we were to start a trial here and assign responsibilities, recent events would supply us with more than enough examples to turn those who accuse us today into the accused.
291.	We wish to be very clear in stating our points of view. We believe that the protection of human rights is one of the fundamental achievements of the entire civilized world and not the questionable patrimony of one country or group of countries in particular. Consequently, we declare our most firm support for any measures which by common consent might be approved by the United Nations in order to strengthen those rights and make uninterrupted progress in this field. But with equal firmness, we reject any attempt to take advantage of the exalted feelings aroused by the invocation of those rights when this is done for minor political ends.
292.	Having conceived of the protection of human rights as a common endeavour by the community of nations represented here, we must recall the approach taken by General Assembly resolution 32/130. Quite correctly, this resolution maintains that it is necessary to look for global solutions to those problems, taking into account both the over-all context of the various societies in which they present themselves, as well as the need for the promotion of the full dignity of the human person, which is closely linked to the political, economic and social development of each country. To isolate the individual from this reality, to deny the special circumstances of each community or to pretend to see human rights as an abstraction detached from other rights and duties essential to nations would be tantamount to dooming to failure in advance the efforts which must be made to achieve progress in this field.
293.	These concepts, to which Argentina adheres, were welcomed and endorsed a few days ago by the Sixth Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries, held in Havana from 3 to 9 September 1979. Their reiteration continues to be indispensable every time certain countries stubbornly ignore the universal demand contained in General Assembly resolution 32/130 and fail to co-operate in the creation of the political and economic conditions which would make for a better life for all mankind. The various organs of the United Nations, including the Secretariat, must apply that resolution in its spirit and its letter as soon as possible, if we wish to preserve the credibility and authority of our Organization.
294.	Functioning indisputably as the underlying cause in the majority of problems and localized international crises, competition among the centres of Power to maintain, acquire and increase their spheres of influence and hegemony plays a significant role. This situation has direct repercussions on the arms race being perpetrated by the super-Powers, which has reached unheard-of proportions quantitatively as well as qualitatively.
295.	Argentina welcomed the signing of the second SALT Treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union. We nevertheless believe it is necessary to emphasize that its positive side lies mainly in the fact that its implementation could lead to the improvement of the political climate between the two countries and their respective allies. From the point of view of the reduction of nuclear arsenals, the results are unfortunately very poor and fall far short of the logical expectations generated by the lengthy negotiation for the agreement. This short-coming transcends the bounds of bilateral relations since, as we maintained on 26 May 1978, at the special session of the General Assembly devoted to disarmament:
" .. .in any generalized nuclear conflict between the two super-Powers there would be no possibility for any nation to proclaim itself neutral, or for innocent peoples to remain passive spectators. They would all, without exception, willingly or not, find themselves involved in the holocaust and suffer its consequences.'
296.	At the same time, the increase in recent years of conventional forces deployed in certain critical areas in the world creates permanent security imbalances in a play of balances and counter-balances which give rise to justified anxiety. I refer in particular to Central Europe, the Middle East and the Indian Ocean. Here again, the special responsibility of the United States and the Soviet Union becomes apparent. Detente should therefore also manifest itself in these and other areas of the world through restraint and self-limitation of military expenditures and simultaneously through the development of maximum efforts to solve political problems which may become more complex because of the increase in armaments.
297.	While the great Powers continue to accumulate weapons of every description at a speed that exceeds by far any reasonable level of legitimate self-defence, some of the industrialized countries persistently raise secondary issues in order to shift attention from the grave threat posed by vertical proliferation. The need to avoid the emergence of additional nuclear-weapon States is given as a pretext and is emphasized in order to protect the monopoly of nuclear technology for peaceful purposes through discriminatory practices that endanger international co-operation on this subject. The General Assembly clearly stated in its resolution 32/50 the inalienable right of developing countries to develop or to acquire such a technology in conformity with their national priorities, interests and economic and social needs.
298.	The tenth special session of the General Assembly, devoted to disarmament, later reiterated those ideas and recommended that new efforts be undertaken to achieve an international consensus on non-discriminatory and universal ways of checking the proliferation of nuclear weapons, In the pursuit of these goals, both the nuclear Powers and those countries which need atomic technology to increase their sources of energy and accelerate their progress bear a joint responsibility. Therefore, as an essential quid pro quo for non-proliferation, restrictive and collective practices that give rise to legitimate mistrust and hinder the development of the least developed countries should cease to exist.
299.	We consider that a greater democratization of international relations would at least contribute to alleviating some of the problems that we are discussing here. The unity of human destiny and, in the long run, the community of interests of all nations are facts the understanding of which no one can evade. To try to achieve peace and security on a global scale without undertaking the balanced development of all peoples is to pursue a myth that our century cannot afford. To accept an error of such magnitude would be tantamount to believing that injustice can endure and that at present the well-being of the few can stand on solid foundations at the expense of others.
300.	Hunger, destitution, disease and the exodus of refugees in different parts of the world undoubtedly have profound humanitarian undertones, but the implications of those situations transcend those areas and, under certain circumstances, provoke political tensions with the attendant deterioration in international relations,
301.	Such is the case of the millions of Palestinians who have been displaced from their homes in the Middle East and whose situation is of fundamental importance in the search for any just and lasting solution of the area's serious problems. That is why today my Government once again states its conviction that, until the rights of the Palestinian people are recognized and implemented, the idea of a comprehensive peace in the Middle East will continue to be Utopian and all the peoples in the area would suffer the painful consequences of such a reality,
302.	Another serious problem that has a direct bearing on the maintenance of international peace and security is the situation obtaining in southern Africa, where the questions of Namibia and Southern Rhodesia, as well as the persistence of apartheid, combine to form a pattern of conflicts of seriousness too obvious to require reiteration. My country, whose position In this matter is well known and, moreover, is in accord with that of the Organization, is confident that the parties involved will make all the necessary efforts so that those questions may be solved in a peaceful, speedy and just manner through negotiation and in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the General Assembly and the Security Council.
303.	When referring to the ordeal of the refugees, I cannot fail to mention that Argentina does not content itself with expressing solidarity in mere declarations devoid of any real content, but makes it tangible by means of practical action. The painful predicament sustained under such varied circumstances by hundreds of thousands of refugees from South-East Asia has moved Argentina to open its doors to numerous groups of families, the first of which have already arrived in our country. Surrounded by the hospitable affection of our people in a climate of freedom and order, they will be able to forget all their past suffering and fully enjoy a better life. This is yet another tangible contribution we make to a well-understood protection of human rights.
304.	For many decades, Latin America has kept itself apart, physically as well as mentally, from the serious conflicts that have played havoc in other parts of the globe. The States of our region, after having fought for the achievement of their independence and the establishment of their national identity, very early on began a long process towards integration, a process that was favoured by the common historical and cultural legacy of their peoples and decisively led by illustrious statesmen from all parts of the continent who saw unity as the best possible defence in the preservation of a patrimony that was won at such a costly price.
305.	Many and arduous efforts were made to establish the inter-American system, which has a place in history as being the first case in which sovereign countries laid the foundations of organized coexistence in order to regulate the harmonious development of their relations and to preserve their freedom and independence. We proudly claim for the Latin American republics the privilege of having been the first ever to proclaim and practise the fundamental principles that lead to international law and justice and that have been incorporated into the United Nations Charter. Suffice it to mention, inter alia, those of the juridical equality of States, respect for their sovereignty and territorial integrity, non-interference in their internal affairs and the pacific settlement of disputes.
306.	But Latin America, in spite of its own organization and uniqueness, is part of a world reality and, like other regions, is exposed today to fluctuations in international policy, foreign interference, compromises arrived at outside it and the consequences of a generalized economic crisis that is already showing its menacing traits.
307.	We are aware of the growing interdependence of nations and of the unity of the larger destiny of mankind. We are, however, certain that, in order to play an outstanding role in the common enterprise of forging a decent and acceptable future, Latin America can make its best contribution by acting in unison, closing ranks and offering its experiences and achievements while also demanding that its rights and aspirations not be curtailed.
308.	Now, more than ever, we have to unite all our forces and conjure the ideals inherited from our forefathers and the profound feelings of brotherly friendship that bind us together, in order to overcome temporary differences and to serve those permanent interests that are common to all of us.
309.	At times one loses sight of those permanent interests for merely circumstantial reasons or sacrifices them on the altar of certain political currents, which, after all, serve only interests that are completely alien to our region. But we trust that those values that are unique to the American peoples will inevitably lead to the reality of regional integration that will consolidate our structures and erect the best possible barrier to foreign ambitions of penetration.
310.	As regards its relations with neighbouring countries, Argentina wishes to express from this forum its deepest gratitude to His Holiness Pope John Paul II for having accepted the request that, together with the Republic of Chile, it addressed to him pursuant to the Montevideo Agreement of 8 January of this year,'' that he act as mediator to guide both countries in the negotiations they maintain with regard to the southern region of the American continent. Our gratitude goes also to the Holy See for the activity displayed at a higher level with advice, suggestions, and ideas in order that a rapprochement might be achieved between the two countries in the search for an equitable and honourable solution of that dispute.
311.	The most recent meeting of the non-aligned countries at the highest level of political representation took place only weeks ago, and for the first time on our continent.
312.	Fully aware of the responsibility implied by full membership in the non-aligned movement, we went to Havana to explain Argentina's position on the main items of the heavy agenda and, in particular, with a view to contributing frankly to the examination of the movement's structure and of the role it should play in world affairs.
313.	We took the opportunity to reaffirm our conviction that the non-aligned movement should continue substantially to use its influence in world affairs, which requires that it remain faithful to the basic concepts which led to its creation. This implies, in essence, a reaffirmation of its total independence and flat rejection of the strategy of those Powers or blocs which try to impose their systems or ideologies on others.
314.	The movement is made up of nations which have diverse political, economic and social regimes, but which are of one mind in their decision to preserve their national identities and retain their freedom of action in the face of any overt or covert attempt at domination or influence by the most powerful. This unity of purpose in diversity and plurality is its raison d'etre and the source Of its power and authority to guide the never-ending search for the solution to the serious problems faced by mankind.
315.	If for any reason the movement should abandon—even momentarily—its non-aligned stance and identify itself with the interests or objectives of any Power, its very existence would lose all meaning.
316.	We believe that the exchange of views which took place at the Sixth Conference had positive results. We hope that the principles which inspire and nurture the common endeavours of the non-aligned countries will be strengthened, as that would have favourable repercussions as a factor for rapprochement, cooperation and peace in the United Nations.
317.	The Republic of Argentina, like other Latin American countries, has suffered and resisted, throughout its history as an independent country, all sorts of attempts to encroach on its territorial integrity, to determine its domestic policies and to modify its behaviour in the field of international relations. We have faced embargoes, blockades, subversion, campaigns to discredit us, and the occupation of our national territory.
318.	Even today, we continue to be the victim of the illegal occupation of an inseparable part of our territory, the Malvinas Islands, which in 1833 were usurped by force, thus giving rise to the dispute on sovereignty which since that time we have continued with the United Kingdom.
319.	The United Nations has discussed this problem on many occasions. As is known, the question of the Malvinas Islands has appeared on the agenda of the General Assembly and of the Special Committee on decolonization for many years and both organs have adopted important decisions on the question. The most recent of these calls on the parties to the dispute—the Governments of Argentina and the United Kingdom—to pursue negotiations without delay in order to put to an end the colonial situation prevailing in the Islands.
320.	On the basis of that resolution, the two Governments have already held four rounds of negotiations, the results of which have been promptly communicated to this Organization.
321.	My Government, which has repeatedly expressed its conviction that direct negotiation between the parties constitutes the best way to settle disputes, reiterates its firm determination to persevere in the search for a prompt and just solution to this problem. But Argentina's decision cannot be unilateral. It has to be matched by a similar spirit on the part of the British authorities, so that with a view to the future we might jointly eliminate the only obstacle still standing in the way of our traditional links of friendship and resume our common effort for broad co-operation in every field. This reference to the question of the Malvinas Islands would be incomplete if we did not express here our gratitude to the non-aligned movement, which has consistently and firmly supported my country in its legitimate claims. The recent Conference in Havana adopted the following declaration on the issue:
' 'In the special and particular case of the Malvinas Islands, the Heads of State or Government firmly reiterated their support for the Argentine Republic's right to the restitution of that territory and sovereignty over it and requested that the negotiations in this regard be speeded up."
322.	With respect to the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, I should like to state that we are concerned by the intention of some industrialized States to enact unilateral legislation on the mining of the sea bed. Such action would seriously hamper the conclusion of the Conference and would jeopardize the very future of the convention, at a time when the General Committee of the Conference has already decided to adopt it at the next session.
323.	Moreover, and as we have done repeatedly in the past, we wish to reaffirm our full rights in the maritime areas subject to our national sovereignty, and our firm determination to ensure respect for them in all their implications, including that concerning the innocent passage of warships.
324.	In conclusion I should like to state that the disturbing situation I have tried to describe—and by no means exhaustively—adversely affects the search for solutions to the global problems which should spur the imagination and the joint efforts of all the Members of this Organization.
325.	Many are the questions requiring urgent attention which could be solved if we decided to use to the full measure of its potential the invaluable instrument of co-operation that is the United Nations.
326.	This General Assembly, in particular, should continue to seek to reflect the problems of the world and at the same time act as a catalyst for the changes that our times require. For this to happen, it is essential that the Member States agree on an order of priorities and concentrate on those items which, because of their importance and urgency, can be entrusted to no other forum. This role, assigned to the Organization by its Charter, of being a centre for the harmonization of the efforts of the international community, calls for a process of selection, for our resources and our time are limited. Questions which, because of their nature, could be entrusted to other organizations, should yield to those which, because of their impact on peace, security and development, require the political will of all the nations represented here.
327.	If we do not urgently undertake the procedural and substantive rationalization of the General Assembly, we run the risk of distorting its true function. We would become entangled in the enormous bureaucratic machinery that is already apparent today, and we would see a blurring of the dividing line between the principal and the secondary, between the vital and that which is a mere academic exercise or an item of lesser political or economic significance.
328.	The principles and purposes of the United Nations Charter form a cohesive whole which has been developed and supplemented by numerous declarations and resolutions of the General Assembly, the most representative political body in the international community. On many occasions consensus has proved to be an effective means for decision-making, since it commits all Member States to make their positions compatible with a common objective. On other occasions the principles involved were not, by their very nature, susceptible of compromise. But in every case, the taking of decisions should be preceded by a process of negotiation, accommodation and flexibility, marked by the mutual respect which would be a guarantee, not only of the effectiveness of the results, but of full knowledge and understanding of the viewpoints of those who do not share the same ideas,
329.	This negotiating process demands time and goodwill. In order for time to be available and for the necessary goodwill to materialize, we feel that the General Assembly should concentrate its work on a limited number of priority questions and should entrust the rest to other agencies of the system. Only in this way shall we be able to transform the Organization into an efficient tool and silence those who argue that the really important problems are not brought to this forum because it lacks the means of achieving adequate results with a guarantee of implementation.
330.	These are some ideas which we wish to submit to the consideration of our fellow representatives in this Organization. As always, we are inspired by the desire to contribute to the effective unity of the nations here assembled, with a sense of active militancy for the high ideals that led us to San Francisco 34 years ago.


It is my unhappy duty to present on behalf of the Malagasy delegation our heartfelt condolences to our sister delegation of Angola on the passing of President Agostinho Neto. The loss the Angolan people have suffered is felt even more deeply by us since we consider ourselves, like the Angolans, committed to the struggle for a common cause—a struggle in which President Agostinho Neto was one of the prime movers and one of the most ardent combatants. The work which has been undertaken will continue. We owe this to his memory, to our peoples and to an independent and militant Africa.
109.	The excellent and fraternal relations which prevail between the United Republic of Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Madagascar give me every reason to express to you, Sir, the joy and the pride which we feel in seeing you preside over the thirty- fourth session of the General Assembly. Your qualities as a diplomat, combined so naturally in you with those of an honourable man have been known to us for some time, as has been the wealth of experience which you have acquired in defending the interests of Africa, the non-aligned movement and the international community as a whole. All this guarantees the success of this session, for which we all earnestly hope. I hardly need to tell you that we are prepared to give you our complete co-operation, particularly in upholding the ideals which are common to us all.
110.	To Mr. Indalecio Lievano, we should like to pay a particular tribute for the calmness, the equanimity, and the perfect objectivity with which he conducted the work of the thirty-third session and ensured its success.
111.	We welcome Saint Lucia on its assumption of its international responsibilities and we wish to assure the delegation of that country of our desire, to co-operate with it in order to achieve our objectives and to promote our interests as island States.
112.	Finally, we must recognize what has been done in the inter-sessional period to prepare for this session by our Secretary-General, Mr. Waldheim, using all his patience, initiative and imagination in order to defuse situations which were sometimes judged desperate, and to ensure, on our behalf, that there is effective participation in efforts to find a solution to a number of international problems.
113.	It is customary, at every session, when assessing the role of our Organization, seen as an instrument capable of adapting itself to the most varied and unexpected changes, that we should endeavour to refer to the purposes and principles of the Charter, the incantatory nature of which sometimes overwhelms us, after having very laboriously sought in the events of the past year some justification for an optimism which is becoming less and less justified.
114.	However necessary these periodic exercises may be, sometimes they may make us lose sight of the fact that international life cannot be conceived in any restrictive way, and that it would even be dangerous to attempt to isolate certain specific trends simply because they serve a specific policy or make it possible to mask the failures that have been accumulated in other areas.
115.	We approached the 1970s with caution, and the celebration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the United Nations gave us an opportunity to advocate the institution of a new international society more in keeping with the ideals which had been bequeathed to us by the authors of the Charter. We refrained from indulging in over-jubilation and, after many trials, we have now reached the end of a decade which has simply resulted for many of us in the aggravation of the general state of disenchantment despite the burgeoning of activities— that sometimes lead to nothing.
116.	Far from playing down the success of international years which have been celebrated or the decades which we have inaugurated, we should nevertheless wish to ask whether it is not really despite the nobility of their objectives that these initiatives have simply concealed from world public opinion the impotence to which our Organization has been reduced.
117.	Undoubtedly the challenges of the 1960s have accustomed us to gain confidence in ourselves, and the projections we made during that period promised that there would be prospects where the watchwords of peace, justice, liberty and progress would not be reduced to mere delusions, and that our adherence to these principles would be subordinated to events which we could not have faced up to with more determination.
118.	But what has in effect occurred? We are floundering in a peace which has been sundered by limited wars, by direct and indirect aggression, the threatened use of force, state terrorism, annexationist adventures of all kinds, the denial of the rights of peoples, and the violation of the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of States.
119.	The reduction in the number of military alliances has been accompanied by a concentration and redeployment of strategic objectives, by a recrudescence of interventionism, by the extension and consolidation of spheres of influence and by the upward spiralling of military expenditures, thus leaving the world in a state of dangerous and uncontrollable over-armament.
120.	What is worse, we consider all these phenomena as necessary evils in order to lay to rest the spectre of nuclear war, and we acquiesce in the name of a certain concept of peace in the fact that in Africa, Asia and the Middle East there are continuing explosive situations which are maintained, if not inflamed, by the imperialist Powers and interests.
121.	This illusory feeling of peace has brought about detente and decentralization which ought normally to have resulted in an attenuation of conflicts and rivalries. However, through precisely the opposite process, which has been caused by the pre-eminence of certain national interests, and despite the professions of international co-operation, the normal divisions, instead of becoming blurred, have deepened or at best have shifted.
122.	In point of fact, in seeking a multi-polar equilibrium, the world has become an unbalanced world which time and again has had its attention claimed by the convergence of new interests seeking recognition. A new matrix of international relations has thus emerged, but in a total confusion of values and a cynical and indistinct choice of means available.
123.	The same situation can be observed in the economic field. There has been one conference after another but their results have been meagre. Progress and order have turned into disorder and disintegration, to such a point that the third world, which was simply aspiring to less dependence on external factors, is now facing an impossible choice: forcible reintegration into a system which has so frequently been denounced, or the search for a new order which for some has become a myth sustained by sentimental rhetoric.
124.	The capitalist world, for its part, continues to maintain the crisis in order to ensure its orderly re-structuring of capitalism, to strengthen the imperialist division of labour, to perpetuate its economic and financial hegemony, and to increase profits the world over.
125.	Where, then, are true co-operation and necessary interdependence? Is the world so doomed to injustice that we must agree not to carry out timely readjustments and simply to content ourselves with what others may condescend to offer us or to promise us? Do the proletarian nations have rights or do they have to make the power centres recognize that fact?
126.	Those who warn us constantly against the dangers of confrontation should take up this challenge, because we can no longer accept a global situation characterized by the mediocrity of purported negotiations and dialogues, by the redistribution of political and economic power, while maintaining the structures of domination by the asymmetry of relations in no way conducive to the promotion of genuine international security which would cover all areas.
127.	After these general remarks it is quite logical that we should continue this statement by taking up questions which are of particular interest to our continent without, as some do, claiming that they are of sole concern to us.
128.	In southern Africa, despite the confusion which the gradualist policies of the western Powers have created, for us the situation has always been quite clear- cut. On the one hand we have the survival of a regime which is a genuine insult to human intelligence, a regime which is surrounded by dominions which it keeps hostage, where are professed the virtues of a so-called outmoded coexistence through which opportunist puppets get rich. On the other hand, we see a growing strength in the liberation movements which the imagination and ethnocentrism of the Western Powers tries to pit against one another, but which continue none the less to benefit from the unconditional support of militant Africa.
129.	We have denounced the inconsistency and collusion of the Western Powers, but they do not seem to care, perhaps because one more denunciation does not make that much difference. Instead of Chapter VII— which has become inapplicable, because the Pretoria regime cannot be considered by some as an "enemy" within the meaning of the Charter—we are offered plans, programmes and conferences which have been manipulated in advance so as to safeguard interests which will ultimately be condemned.
130.	The Namibian people, which the Westerners still treat with benevolent neglect, cannot decide their future without the capitalists and racists making their claims heard, thus making any solution subordinate to their desire for domination and exploitation. The United Nations itself, which has embarked upon the perilous path of negotiations, is bereft of authority, and everything seems to depend on a certain demilitarization, as if this were some kind of kriegspiel of the past that is being played out, while people ignore the legitimate struggle of the Namibian people under the leadership of SWAPO.
131.	Unreality has reached its zenith in Zimbabwe, because the power given to the renegades of Salisbury is unreal. Maintaining the fiction of multiracialism, which has been a failure for 20 years, if not longer, is unreal. The problem is not simply the fact that a constitution has been drawn up which takes no account of the existence of a new attitude and an environment that is no longer colonial. The Patriotic Front has its demands, and the sacrifices the Front, African solidarity, and especially the front-line States have made over the last eight years will not allow it to cast doubt on the main objective, namely, genuine independence in which a majority will not be held hostage by a minority even for a moment.
132.	In a different political and geographical context, we have witnessed, almost impassively, the tragedy that has been visited upon the Saharan people, a pawn in the game of influence and interests played by Powers outside Africa. That people has been claimed as the possession of both sides and its territory has been constantly usurped. Self-determination has been flouted in the name of an ill-defined territorial integrity and an international law which is no longer valid, since the Madrid agreement has fallen by the wayside after its de facto denunciation by Mauritania and its violation pure and simple as a result of Morocco's annexation of the southern part of the Territory. The Democratic Republic of Madagascar condemns the illegal occupation of Western Sahara by Morocco, whose annexationist designs and expansionist plans are not likely to re-establish very quickly the climate of confidence and co-operation so vital to that part of Africa.
133.	Turning from southern Africa to the Middle East, we recognize practically the same problems, the same facts, the same attitudes and the same whimsical desire to impose on a people solutions that are inspired by a determination to ensure global domination at all costs.
134.	Like the peoples of South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe, the Palestinian people demand recognition and respect for their identity and aspirations in a well- determined context. The United Nations has endorsed those just claims, but the fact that one or two States, with their allies whose ranks are becoming ever thinner, stubbornly refuse to recognize those realities is not something that should prevent us from breaking the vicious circle of isolation and ostracism which surrounds the PLO, or from reaffirming all those principles contained in the programme of action designed to implement the rights of the Palestinians and to give priority to the Palestinian question in any consideration of the over-all situation in the Middle East.
135.	But, as a result of the Camp David agreements and the Israeli-Egyptian treaty, those rights have been reduced to the hypothetical enjoyment of an ill-defined autonomy. Even the colonialists at the beginning of the century did not go that far in their retrograde policy. How can we therefore fail to condemn the separate and partial treaty which was the outcome of the Camp David agreements and which deals so cavalierly with the Palestinians? How can we accept that the future of a region which is so vital for international peace and security should be left to the whim of one, two or three States which vie with each other in finding ingenious ways to control it politically, economically and militarily? How can we endorse the tripartite plot and the betrayal of which the Palestinian people have been the victim? And, finally, how can we still let people believe that a peace process has been initiated at a time when the end-result of that so-called peace has simply been the negation of the Palestinian nation and increased Israeli arrogance, aggression and extortion of Arab land, particularly in the southern part of Lebanon? There can be no simple solutions for settling the Palestinian and Middle East problems; but, at least, a little more equality and sense of responsibility before history should enter into whatever action is undertaken.
136.	We could collectively have exercised that responsibility before history last week when we took up one aspect of the situation in South-East Asia. Excessive insistence on principles, which in the final analysis simply amounts to interference in the conduct of bilateral relations between sovereign States and in the choice that a people makes of its own political, economic and social system, has led us down a path when it will be even more difficult for the United Nations to give proper co-operation and assistance to the Khmer people and bring about a solution of the situation in Kampuchea. Everything seems to indicate that the previous outright condemnations have been followed up by gestures of political appeasement explained away as legal constraints. In our naivete, we believed that this somewhat cynical game belonged to a different era.
137.	We would hasten to emphasize that, as a matter of principle, the Democratic Republic of Madagascar recognizes not governments but States. Nevertheless, in our relations with any particular Government we must be mindful of three classic criteria, namely, control of the territory, the loyalty of the people and the exercise of political power. As a matter of principle also, it is our hope that the disputes which may arise between States in South-East Asia will be settled, above all, by negotiation and conciliation, if only in the name of the struggle which their peoples have constantly waged against colonialism and imperialism.
138.	The final point that we should like to raise in this consideration of specific situations relates to the Korean peninsula. Despite the efforts made by the United Nations and despite the fact that for seven years now we have had before us a joint communiqué which could have served as a reasonable basis for a lasting settlement, two essential problems remain: the withdrawal of foreign troops from the peninsula and the independent and peaceful reunification of the Korean homeland.
139.	Electoral promises were made three years ago regarding the withdrawal of American troops from South Korea. That represented a very encouraging commitment; but, unfortunately, those promises have been belied by subsequent facts, to such a point that South Korea has become a vast American aero-naval base, which is supplied with the most sophisticated arms and even nuclear weapons.
140.	Equally, reunification, which was the subject at that time of proposals that took into account the political realities prevailing in both parts of Korea, was downgraded when it was made subordinate to the initiation of tripartite "talks" that were then extended to the point where they altered the bilateral Armistice Agreement which was signed on behalf of the United Nations.
141.	We vigorously denounce that anachronistic desire to create a state of cold war in the Korean peninsula at a time when other people are preaching detente and normalization. We cannot agree that the Korean people should continue to be the victim of out-and-out interference and subject to an aggressive and permanent threat.
142.	The situations which we have just described have been engendered, maintained and magnified in spite of our efforts, in the name of those realities which are a reflection of the diversity of our world, and also because of our inability to provide a global basis for peace, and to preserve and reinforce it. The machinery which is provided for this purpose by the Charter has never been completely or effectively utilized, and the alternative system, which is centred on the Security Council, has yielded only relative results, allowing conflicts and tensions to develop at the whim of our indecision and or commitments which are incompatible with collective responsibility.
143.	Furthermore, the hindrances to the normal functioning of the Security Council, such as the abusive use of the veto or efforts to produce a consensus more formal than political, have undermined the authority and credibility of our Organization and given a chancy and even discriminatory character to the way in which the provisions of the Charter concerning the maintenance of peace are applied.
144.	Therefore, we have to provide, and even devise, machinery which is more adequate, which will make it possible for us to impose respect for our principles, and which will lead States to make their conduct subject to the provisions of the Charter and to settle disputes in a peaceful way according to established procedures.
145.	We must make the best possible use of the institutions available to us, adapting, reforming and transforming them, and we are among those countries which attach the highest importance to the work of the Committee entrusted with the revision of the Charter. However, this exercise would be pointless if it were not accompanied by a change in thinking, if we continued to equate peace with the mere absence of conflict, and if we did not adopt a more positive and active approach to it.
146.	This is indeed our conviction. It is also the main message which emerged from the Sixth Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries, during which a number of measures were proposed or reiterated to strengthen international peace and security. Among these measures was that of making of the Indian Ocean a zone of genuine peace
147.	The creation of this zone of peace should normally be the result of compatible interests on the part of the countries in the region, those that fear for the security of their supply routes, and those that feel that that part of their territory which is adjacent to the Indian Ocean is threatened. No progress can be achieved, however, if some seek to arrogate to themselves the rights and privileges of international policemen. We cannot acquiesce in accepting this, and we shall not rest until all foreign military bases are dismantled and until all foreign military presence in the Indian Ocean is removed.
148.	The way to the demilitarization and the denuclearization of the Indian Ocean—in other words to the full implementation of the principles and objectives of resolution 2832 (XXVI)—is long and arduous. But a new stage was indeed reached at the recent Meeting of the Littoral and Hinterland States of the Indian Ocean. A Final Document was drawn up which set forth the implications of the concept of such a zone of peace as well as the obligations of each category of States concerned.
149.	The participation in that Meeting as observers of the permanent members of the Security Council and the main maritime users was significant, and it encouraged us to propose at the present session of the General Assembly that a conference on the Indian Ocean should be convened if possible before the holding of the next special session of the General Assembly devoted to disarmament.
150.	This still remains our attitude despite the vicissitudes which have marked the bilateral negotiations between the Soviet Union and the United States of America. It is still our position because it is based on the pre-eminent value of collective action and of equitable co-operation, which should be a feature of our common enterprises.
151.	The machinery which was set up after the tenth special session of the General Assembly, devoted to disarmament, is designed in the same spirit and is aimed at promoting the role of our Organization as a centre for study, negotiation and action in an area in which in principle it holds the main responsibility. It is possible that it is not perfect, but at least it has the merit of responding to most of our desires and taking account of realities, such as the existence and continuance of bilateral negotiations between certain nuclear States.
152.	In this connexion, we welcome the conclusion of the Treaty reached at the conclusion of the second round of Strategic Arms Limitation Talks [SALT], which, inter alia, will make possible the entry into more decisive stages of the reduction of strategic weapons and the taking of genuine disarmament measures. Indeed, such agreements should be seen as part and parcel of the objectives which we have laid down in our desire to achieve not only general and complete disarmament but also concerted and orderly disarmament.
153.	We shall not rehearse the problems with which we have been dealing for 20 years, nor shall we go into the priorities which have been established in the overall disarmament programme adopted by consensus. Now, as was emphasized by the Group of 2 at the end of the session of the Committee on Disarmament in Geneva," we must go beyond the stage of general discussions and take up genuine negotiations. We share the concern of that group at the lack of real progress on the main items on the Committee's agenda, whether relating to nuclear disarmament, to the general prohibition of nuclear tests or to international arrange merits guaranteeing the security of non-nuclear States.
154.	On all these points States must demonstrate a genuine political will. They should also establish and reinforce a climate of trust among themselves; otherwise it will not be possible to have valid negotiations. Finally, they must all be convinced of the importance of disarmament in order to usher in a new international order which will make it possible for all peoples to pursue their economic and social development in full liberty and security.
155.	In the economic field, it would be somewhat tiring for us to formulate and rehearse in detail the concerted positions of the Group of 77 and every session of UNCTAD, in the Committee of the Whole Established under General Assembly Resolution 32/174 and then in the Preparatory Committee for the New International Development Strategy. Every thing is happening as if the art of the negotiator should be confined to drawing up documents without practical scope but likely to satisfy the sporadic objections of the developed market-economy countries.
156.	The latter countries have shown no essential initiative and have made no critical analysis of the economic system; nor have they made any proposals, except those designed to bring about a rebalancing of the forces in the capitalist camp or to meet the threats they perceive to their supplies of raw materials and energy products. To illustrate what we have just advanced, all we have to do is to refer to the multilateral trade negotiations and to the problem of energy.
157.	The Tokyo round of multilateral trade negotiations within the framework of GATT has given the group B countries one more opportunity to settle certain questions which have arisen from changes in their competitive positions, and the agreements which were initialled in Geneva simply formalize the measure of agreement reached among them. It was not thought important that the subjects regarded as essential by the developing countries should not have been dealt with or should have been dealt with inadequately. The same is true of the maintenance of certain quota systems and the introduction into the safeguards code of a selective clause making it possible for certain countries to be treated in a discriminatory way.
158.	On the energy problem, responsibility for which it is sought to lay at the door of a certain group of countries, it is not up to us to leap to the defence of these countries since they are exercising in a sovereign way their right to pursue a policy of sale, control and management in conformity with their interests. But we will continue to maintain that, despite the urgency which the developed countries attach to it, the subject of petroleum is inseparable from the over-all problem of commodities and raw materials. To attempt to establish any kind of hierarchy in this connexion which would favour the interests of the industrialized countries would be, to say the least, unfair.
159.	Furthermore, the problems of supply and the need to stabilize petrol consumption are felt in different ways by countries according to their levels of development and the resources available to them. Their common concerns can therefore be focused only on the price of this product, and it is not certain that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is solely responsible for this. Let us rather say that the increase in petroleum prices is being maintained and encouraged by those who allow the dollar to devalue so as to boost their own synthetic petroleum industry, thereby strengthening their supremacy in the fields of energy, industry and technology.
160.	Furthermore, this is not a question of ascertaining whether the developing countries are the only principal losers. In any case, they are the losers and grow poorer still whenever they have to export more and more local products in order to obtain the same equipment and products from abroad. And they grow poorer more especially since they cannot bring about an increase in their productivity that is equal to or higher than the rate of exported inflation and hence able to compensate for its effects.
161.	It is therefore not surprising that we question the powers held by those who, deliberately or inadvertently, are adapting themselves to the present chaos, are opposed to price indexing for primary commodities and are hindering the realization of the objectives set for the industrialization of the countries of the third world by multiplying protectionist measures and by strengthening their control, if not their monopoly, over technology.
162.	Who is it in fact that is preaching to us gradualism and patience because the Western economies are going through one of the gravest crises in their history? Who is it that is deciding that public aid to development, which has already been cut by inflation, must be reduced or at best maintained at its present inadequate level and at the same time insisting that the national defence budgets of a group of countries be increased, not by 3 per cent, but by 5 per cent in real terms? Who is it that is praising the virtues of free enterprise but at the same time masking the reprehensible dealings of the transnational corporations, completely absorbed as they are in pocketing the super-profits being repatriated by the latter?
163.	They are the same circles which, despite their skill in forecasting and their sophisticated instruments of analysis, have not hitherto demonstrated that they are capable of understanding the nature, scope and urgency of our needs or the development requirements of the countries of the third world, which require radical reforms not always subjected to the laws of the market alone.
164.	The fifth session of UNCTAD, which was the first international conference that specifically studied the problem of structural changes by dealing with trade and monetary, financial and technological questions as a whole and in a correlated way, resulted in failure, for which we are far from being responsible. Consistent with the policy which we have adopted since the sixth special session of the General Assembly, we merely wanted to study thoroughly and further spell out the concept of interdependence and promote the positive evolution of the rules and principles governing international economic relations.
165.	We hope that, in view of their importance, these problems will be at the centre of the global negotiations proposed by the Group of 77 which are to take place during the special session in 1980. We wish to recall in this connexion that the resolution adopted by the non- aligned countries in Havana, which was introduced by our group in the Committee of the Whole, emphasizes that
" . . .the establishment of the New International Economic Order. . , demands new concrete and global solutions and cannot be brought about by piecemeal reforms and improvisations intended to resolve the present economic difficulties"
166.	It is in the light of that that we subscribe to the following three series of measures: first, a readjustment of world production, consumption and exchange structures, which implies a rethinking of the imperialist division of labour, the dismantling of industrial monopolies and the jettisoning of the concept of an integrated programme of commodities; secondly, the reform of the institutional framework as well as the rules and principles governing trade and technological, monetary and financial flows with a view to their democratization and an equitable sharing of rights and obligations; and, thirdly, the organizing of the third world, on the basis of this reform and this readjustment, so as to ensure its collective autonomy, which should not be a simple closed-circuit growth formula, promote co-operation among the countries of the third world, enhance their potential and increase their power of action and negotiation.
167.	The establishment of the new international economic order will undoubtedly encounter resistance, entrenched arguments and negative reflexes. We all profess our attachment to international co-operation. We have all pledged ourselves to have recourse to international institutions in order to promote economic and social progress for all peoples. This tenuous and theoretic link, which nevertheless is based on good faith, can be further strengthened. It will not hold up for long if some come here not so much to negotiate as to listen to complaints, not so much to consider reforms that are required as to defend the status quo.
168.	The rigorous analysis which we have made of certain negative aspects of international relations, at a time when we are called upon to negotiate conditions for our interdependence in all fields, should not be interpreted as a refusal on our part to shoulder our responsibilities in this Organization. The fact that we have chosen confrontation in the realm of ideas in no way means that we have given up the idea of having recourse to a universal and equitable dialogue and seeking solutions in keeping with the interests of our peoples.
169.	Indeed, whichever way we turn, however we take up and deal with these problems and no matter how severe are our judgements, we cannot deny what is obvious: the need to bring our differences before this Organization in order the better to understand them and determine to what extent they can help us to adapt ourselves to the profound changes in the world. One approach is as good as another, and it would be pointless at this level to try in any way to circumscribe the scope of our debates in the name of realism and pragmatism or to ignore existing relationships of force.
170.	Our concerns are not necessarily the same, our methods are manifestly different and our priorities are far from coinciding. Nevertheless, it remains true that the present political and economic crisis has evoked in all of us the same feelings of uncertainty, frustration and disquiet, to such a point that we are condemned to find together, and above all within the framework of the United Nations, the ways and means to get out of the deadlock which has been brought about by years of lack of understanding, claims and selfish practices.
171.	In our opinion, any solution should originate at the United Nations, from our principles and purposes, if we wish to overcome the ambiguities which have been engendered by partial approaches and give our thinking and our actions a generally acceptable content. At the same time, it is up to us to see to it that the commitments undertaken at this level are not designed to conceal from international public opinion a deliberate desire to repeat the errors of the past. We call for a new order, which in its turn requires that all States adhere to a new morality, and it is in this way that we can really take up the challenge of the 1980s.


Permit me first, Sir, to extend to you the warmest congratulations of the Albanian delegation on your election to the important post of President of the thirty- fourth session of the General Assembly.
2.	I should like to take this opportunity also to welcome Saint Lucia as a new Member of our Organization.
3.	This session of the General Assembly is meeting at a time when the world situation is very complex and fraught with great dangers. This is the result of the intensification of the expansionist and hegemonistic policy pursued by the super-Powers and their efforts to exercise their dictates, their arbitrariness and their interference in the internal affairs of all countries. The fact is that this policy and these actions affect, in one way or another and to varying degrees, all the countries of the world.
4.	The rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union for domination and hegemony in the world has been and remains the main source of tension and conflict between different countries, as well as local wars, and is the greatest danger to the peace and security of the peoples.
5.	Today all of us are witnesses to the efforts being made by the super-Powers to extend their military alliances, to strengthen further their aggressive character and to intensify their activities and interference in increasingly broad areas of the world. A feverish race is going on between the aggressive blocs of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization [NATO] and the Warsaw Treaty .Organization, not only to increase their military arsenals but also to include other countries in those blocs and to exercise increasing pressure on countries which want to preserve their national freedom, independence and sovereignty. New military bases are being added to the ones they already have in foreign countries; their fleets, equipped with nuclear weapons, are patrolling the most distant seas; and the skies are filled with satellites that spy on all the countries of the world. The imperialist general staffs are working out plans concerning which countries should be attacked first and which subsequently; in what region they should intervene today and in what region tomorrow.
6.	A new aggressive alliance is in the process of being created in the Far East. In the shadow of and in collaboration with the United States, social-imperialist China is seeking to create spheres of domination, to become the principal military Power in that zone, and to establish its domination in Asia and throughout the Pacific.
7.	In the economic field, the super-Powers and the other neo-colonialist States are intensifying daily their efforts to plunder the national assets of the peoples of the world and to exploit, directly or indirectly, all the countries which depend on them. The super-profits the big imperialist Powers obtain from the plundering of oil and other raw materials from the Arab countries, Africa, Asia and Latin America, and from the inequality of prices in trade and the fabulous incomes they earn from the colonialist system of loans, credits, aid and so on have already become incalculable. The indebtedness of many countries of the world to the imperialist and neo- colonialist Powers is increasing relentlessly, which only serves to make the situation of the peoples of the world even worse.
8.	World imperialism is striving to preserve at all costs this intolerable situation and these relations, through demagogy and deception, through interference and diktat, and by fire and the sword. It is trying to preserve and extend the omnipotence of multinational corporations in foreign countries, to preserve inhuman, bloodthirsty neo-colonialism, and to prop up reactionary regimes which defend imperialist domination wherever it exists.
9.	A flagrant example of the arrogance, cynicism and aggressiveness of imperialism is the decision of the United States to create a military strike force ready to intervene by force in the Middle East oil zone whenever it considers that its own interests are in jeopardy. In that way the United States imperialists are seeking to suppress with fire and the sword the right of peoples to determine in complete freedom and sovereignty how they will dispose of their wealth and the fruits of their toil and to whom they are going to sell and from whom they are going to buy.
10.	The super-Powers are striving to extend their policy of pressure, diktat and arbitrariness to all their international relations. They want to monopolize all world affairs, to become arbiters and to impose on others solutions which suit their own narrow interests. Through false slogans, intimidation and blackmail and under the pretext that they are defending them from this or that enemy or that they are assisting them to find solutions for some particular difficult situation, they are striving to place other countries under their tutelage and turn them into appendages of their imperialist policies, to make them cannon fodder for the aggressive wars they are preparing.
11.	The crisis in the economic, political, military, cultural and other fields, which has the imperialist Powers and the big capitalist countries in its grip today, is becoming even more acute. This is a consequence of their system of exploitation and their internal contra-dictions, the armaments race and their unrestrained non-productive expenditure, their rivalry on an international scale for markets and zones of influence, and the resistance which their hegemonistic and aggressive policies are encountering.
12.	However the big imperialist Powers are striving to saddle not only their own working people but also other peoples with the burden of the crisis, which has been going on for a very long time with no end in sight. The fact is that these Powers, while stubbornly maintaining colonialist and neo-colonialist systems in their international economic relations, are turning more and more to the exportation of inflation, are increasing the prices of the commodities they export, and are intensifying their plunder. They are to blame for the great disorders which we can see in the international monetary systems, the anomalies which are apparent in the raw material markets and in the widening of the gap in terms of per capita incomes between the developed and the under-developed countries.
13.	If the standard of living has fallen, if unemployment has increased and the economy is marking time in many countries, this comes about because world imperialism and capitalism are seeking to preserve intact their capitalist super-profits, because they want to preserve and even further intensify social and national oppression, and because they want to emerge from their crisis at the expense of others.
14.	Certainly, the present-day international situation is not characterized only by the policy and activities of super-Powers and the forces of reaction. One of its main, most important and very encouraging features is the increased determination of peoples to oppose the policy of aggression and war, of plunder and exploitation, practised by the imperialist Powers. In many countries the movement of the broad masses of the people against foreign domination, economic exploitation, social and national oppression and cultural and spiritual impoverishment is increasing in scope and depth.
15.	The latest events prove that the imperialist Powers and world reaction cannot feel at ease and secure even where they thought that their domination was indisputable. The facts show that the earth is being scorched under the feet of imperialism, colonialism and neo-colonialism, that the volcano of anger and hatred on which they are sitting has erupted and will continue to erupt ever more powerfully.
16.	A vivid and significant example of this is the overthrow of the bloodthirsty regime of the Shah of Iran. The uprising of the Iranian people was a powerful explosion of their hatred for the despotic tyranny of the feudal-bourgeois class with the Shah at its head, and against foreign domination. It constituted a powerful blow to all imperialist Powers and world capitalism, first and foremost to American imperialism which, until then, had plundered Iranian oil and mercilessly exploited the working masses of Iran. This is also confirmed by the great disarray caused in the capitalist- imperialist world by the events in Iran and the measures taken in that country for the establishment of national sovereignty over its oil and other sectors of the economy.
17.	Imperialism and the international bourgeoisie are terrified that the Iranian example might spread, especially in the Middle East, leading to an outburst, a revolt of the people against foreign domination and plunder, and the establishment of national control over oil and its use to the advantage of their liberation and progress.
18.	Various imperialists have invested considerable sums of money m the oil-producing countries of the Middle East in order to exploit the natural resources of those countries, from which foreign monopolies draw colossal profits. In no way do they want these riches to be placed in the hands of those to whom they belong— the peoples of those countries. The capitalist monopolies and the imperialist Powers which stand behind them are striving at all costs to preserve the existing situation, to preserve their intensive exploitation and merciless plundering of Arab oil. To that end, the imperialist Powers are using all possible means to defend those political forces and social structures which collaborate with the monopolies and assist them in oppressing and exploiting the masses. They are dispatching large quantities of weapons and advisers, forming alliances and manoeuvring in various ways to suppress the legitimate demands of the peoples of the region and to prevent them from winning their full freedom and independence and exercising their genuine national sovereignty in every sector and on all questions.
19.	It is not for nothing that imperialism has set up Israel and keeps it alive; it is not in vain that it has armed it to the teeth. Israel is the most bloodthirsty tool of American imperialism, its gendarme for defending the monopolies which plunder Arab oil, the dagger ready in its hand ready to strike the Arab peoples who are fighting for their rights. Therefore, the struggle against Israel, the liberation of the occupied Arab territories, the liberation of oil from foreign monopolies, the restoration of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, are a major problem common to all the Arab peoples. Naturally, they also have other specific problems and preoccupations, but it is this great problem which binds them together in a common cause and which makes their unity imperative. The solution of this problem through their joint struggle also contributes and leads to the solution of their specific problems.
20.	It is precisely against this common cause of the Arab peoples that the blows of United States imperialism, world capitalism and Soviet social- imperialism, which is also striving to profit from the situation in order to capture dominating positions in the Middle East, are aimed.
21.	It is the intensification of imperialist interference and the aggressive activities of American imperialism, the manoeuvres of Soviet social-imperialism, the intrigues of Chinese social-imperialism and the growing arrogance of Israeli Zionists which have made the situation in the Middle East even more grave and tense.
22.	The American-Egyptian-Israeli talks at Camp David brought about further complications and have made the solution of the problems still more difficult. The Arab peoples and progressive opinion have considered the situation created in this region after the signing of the separate Egyptian-Israeli Treaty as a heavy blow to the just cause of the Palestinian people and the vital interests of the other Arab peoples, and as assistance to United States imperialism and its Zionist tool to interfere and dominate in the Middle East.
23.	The People's Socialist Republic of Albania has supported and will always support the just cause of the Arab peoples. We hold the view that there can be no peace and stability in the Middle East without a just and lasting solution to the problems of that region, and first and foremost the Palestinian problem. If these problems are to be solved, Israel must be forced to withdraw from all the Arab territories it has occupied through violence and aggression. It must be forced to put an end to its aggressive, annexationist policy against the Arab peoples and countries, and the way must be barred to the interference and plots of the United States of America and the Soviet Union in that region. In order that peace and stability may be established in the Middle East, it is essential that all the national rights of the Palestinian people be restored.
24.	We are convinced that the fraternal Arab peoples, who are progressive peoples with an ancient culture and long traditions of struggle for freedom and independence, will be able to cope with the new difficulties created by the intrigues and plots of their imperialist Zionist enemies and will, by establishing militant unity among themselves, succeed in realizing their lofty national aspirations.
25.	The overthrow of the Somoza regime in Nicaragua is another example that proves once again that when peoples develop a self-awareness and are determined to fight to the end for their rights, the struggle of the masses of the people becomes a powerful wave that topples even the most ferocious regimes supported by imperialism.
26.	The events in Nicaragua have shown that the situation in the majority of the countries of Latin America is revolutionary and that the revolution for the overthrow of the bourgeois-landowner class and the elimination of the dependence on imperialism has become ever more emphatically the order of the day. The peoples of that continent are becoming ever more conscious of the need to intensify the popular struggle against internal and external oppression and exploitation, for freedom, democracy and social progress. They can no longer reconcile themselves to Latin America's remaining a preserve of the United States of America, from which the big United States monopolies draw colossal super profits.
27.	United States imperialism, which dominates and exerts strict control over the most vital sectors of the economies of the majority of Latin American countries, employs all its means—military, political, economic, propagandists, and so on—to preserve and strengthen at all costs its domination on that continent and to prop up the dictatorial regimes that are in its service.
28.	Recent years have seen an intensification of efforts by the Soviet social imperialists to penetrate Latin America in various forms and to seize dominating positions in that continent. By means of deceitful demagogy and diabolical activities, they are playing a disruptive and subversive role in the liberation movement in Latin America.
29.	The poverty of the masses of the people, the weak and one-sided development of the economy, inflation and unemployment and colossal indebtedness to United States capital are direct consequences of the twofold oppression and colonialist and neo-colonialist blunder of the Latin American countries by United States imperialism. These serious conditions and these situations have led to the implanting of the idea of revolution as the reliable path to national and social liberation in the consciousness of workers, peasants, progressive intellectuals and the masses of the youth of those countries. The great revolt of the people in Nicaragua was a clear demonstration of this.
30.	The greed of the imperialist super-Powers and the former colonial Powers is increasingly being directed towards Africa. As a consequence, numerous external and internal factors which create political insecurity, which hinder and weaken the struggle against imperialism, colonialism and neo-colonialism, and which sometimes lead to conflicts, setting one African State against another, are operating on that continent today. The stirring up of local wars by the super-Powers and other imperialist Powers, in which they intervene with armaments supplies or advisers or even by bringing in mercenaries from abroad, is becoming a widespread phenomenon in Africa. The facts have proved that wherever the United States of America, the Soviet Union and the other imperialist Powers have offered their "good offices" or have offered to play the roles of protectors and peace-makers between States, conflicts have become even more acute, hotbeds of tension have increased and the imperialist Powers have seized the opportunity to strengthen their presence in this or that country.
31.	But there is no force that can halt and extinguish the awakening of the peoples of Africa, their struggle for freedom and independence and their efforts to establish their complete sovereignty over their resources or to preserve their own cultures and traditions. United States imperialism, Soviet social imperialism, Chinese social imperialism and the other big capitalist Powers can make every effort and use every trick, can spread various empty theories about so- called "non-alignment", "three worlds", and so on; they can provide handouts and credits, but they cannot halt the march towards realization of the aspiration of the African peoples to advance free and independent on the path of development and progress.
32.	The freedom and the emancipation of the African peoples is one of the major imperatives of the time, an irresistible historical process. The peoples of the African continent, the proletariat and the new revolutionary intelligentsia, which are becoming ever more conscious of the oppression by foreigners and by internal enemies, can no longer believe in the false preachings of the old colonialists and the neo-colonialists as to their "benevolence" and their alleged "concern" for the development and progress of Africa, and they can no longer believe in the alliance and the diabolic aid which the Soviet or Chinese social imperialists and others offer them. The correct road to the achievement of liberation, development and progress for Africa is resistance and determined struggle against the diktat of and political, economic and military interference by international imperialism, against the reactionary theories and the deceitful propaganda of foreign Powers, against the plots and intrigues they employ to maintain their domination and plunder, and against racial discrimination and oppression.
33.	The Albanian people have always been and will remain sincere friends of the African peoples and resolute supporters of their liberation and anti-imperialist struggles. They strongly support the just struggles of the peoples of Azania, Namibia and Zimbabwe to put an end to the savage policy of racial discrimination and apartheid and to win their freedom and independence. The farce of "internal settlement" through "elections" of the problem of Zimbabwe or Namibia is but a smokescreen for the racist regimes and the imperialist Powers standing behind them to preserve and perpetuate their colonial domination.
34.	Imperialism and social imperialism, the overt and covert enemies of the freedom and independence of the peoples, cannot halt the advance of history. The deep- rooted revolutionary transformations within individual countries, and particularly on the international level in general, are an objective demand of our time and are a question that needs to be taken up for solution, not some distant prospect. Millions of people have joined the struggle for such transformations today, and this struggle will certainly advance irrespective of the obstacles and difficulties in its path.
35.	Imperialism, social imperialism and world capitalism are striving by every possible means to maintain and expand their domination and exploitation of the peoples. The peoples of the world are fighting to throw off the foreign yoke, to win their freedom and to live in independence. History proves that, no matter how difficult and protracted the struggle, the final victory belongs to the peoples.
36.	In his book Imperialism and Revolution the leader of the Albanian people, Enver Hoxha, wrote:
' 'The imperialist and social-imperialist Powers are striving in the same way to prevent the African, Asian or Latin American people from developing stage by stage their revolutionary struggle against the oppression and savage exploitation carried out by their leaders and the imperialists, who rule in agreement with them and who suck their blood. The duty of revolutionaries, progressives and patriots in countries with a low level of socio-economic development and dependent on the imperialist and social-imperialist Powers, is to make the peoples aware of this oppression and exploitation, to educate, mobilize and organize them and to hurl them into the liberation struggle, always bearing in mind that it is the broad masses, the peoples, that make revolution."
37.	National liberation struggles are just. Therefore, they enjoy the support of all revolutionary, democratic and progressive forces in the world. They are also indispensable, because it is only through them that freedom and national independence can be won, that genuine democratic rights can be established and that social justice can be achieved.
38.	Socialist Albania, the Albanian people, are on the side of the oppressed, on the side of those who rise up against foreign domination and internal reaction. They support the revolutionary straggles of the peoples, which serve to bring about progressive and qualitative changes in their lives and in the lives of the whole of mankind. Similarly, the Albanian people have maintained and always will maintain solidarity with and support for those who fight against racial discrimination and fascism and for democracy and progress.
39.	Another problem which has concerned world public opinion is the grave situation created in South-East Asia. The heroic Vietnamese people had to shed their blood once again to defend their homeland against the barbarous aggression of the Chinese social-imperialists, who have acted towards them just as the old colonialists and United States imperialists acted in the past.
40.	The Chinese aggression against the Vietnamese people and all the recent events in Indo-China took place against the background of the fierce rivalry of the imperialist super-Powers—the United States, the Soviet Union and China—which, in order to attain their hegemonic and expansionist aims in that area, employed both the methods of direct intervention and the well-known imperialist practice of inciting Indo- Chinese against Indo-Chinese. The sufferings of the peoples of Indo-China today are the continuation of the sufferings of which they had been the victims for years, nay decades on end, because of the aggression and interference of United States imperialism, which spread death and destruction throughout Viet Nam, Laos and Cambodia. Again, it was the United States imperialists who gave their blessings to and encouraged the aggression of the Chinese social-imperialists against the Vietnamese people. The crocodile tears shed by United States imperialists, when they express regret over the plight of the peoples of Indo-China or when they seek to pose as the champions of principles, can-not conceal these facts. Similarly, the hypocrisy of the S<3viet social-imperialists when they speak of their friendship for the peoples of Indo-China fails to conceal their hegemonic aims in South-East Asia and their efforts to lure the countries of this region into their sphere of influence.
41.	Recent events have once again confirmed the fact that imperialism and social imperialism are the enemies of the peoples of Indo-China. Reliance on the "friendship" of one super-Power, in the hope of being defended against the threats and hostility of the other, always has dangerous consequences.
42.	Just as they gave powerful support to the struggle of the Indo-Chinese peoples against the United States imperialist aggressors and their lackeys, the Albanian people also support the just struggle of the heroic Vietnamese people against the barbarous aggression of the Chinese social-imperialists and condemn this aggression. We have supported, and will continue to support, the right of the Vietnamese people, the Cambodian people and the Lao people to live free and independent and to preserve the independence, national sovereignty and territorial integrity of their own countries. We support the right of each of these peoples, and indeed of every other people in the world, to resolve their internal problems themselves free from any foreign interference.
43.	With its aggression against the Vietnamese people and its hegemonic activity in South-East Asia, China came out openly with the policy of an imperialist superpower. At a time when the new Chinese imperialist doctrine of "teaching a lesson" is being added to the notorious enslaving doctrines of United States imperialism and the ill-famed doctrine of "limited sovereignty" of Soviet social-imperialism, the dangers threatening the freedom-loving peoples and countries of the world are becoming ever greater and more serious.
44.	During the past year nothing has occurred in Europe to prove that the dangers threatening the peoples and States of that region have been eliminated. The United States of America and the Soviet Union have a great deal to say about the need to preserve the status quo in Europe. But this kind of status quo in no way implies tranquillity or security for the European countries. The two super-Powers need this status quo to maintain their spheres of influence, to dictate their will and to maintain the permanent threat and fear in Europe, in face of the Soviet-United States military potential and the possibility of a confrontation between the two super-Powers and the aggressive military blocs of NATO and the Warsaw Treaty Organization.
45.	The arms race and the war preparations in Europe are assuming ever greater proportions and being intensified at an ever increasing rhythm. The United States and the Soviet Union exert constant pressure on the States members of the aggressive alliances which they control to force them to increase their military budgets, to integrate themselves to the utmost within American and Soviet war strategies and to involve them in aggressive activities on all continents. The United States imperialists have again pulled out from their archives the plan for the creation of a special military force, within the framework of NATO, which is to be used by them as a mobile international gendarmerie in any corner of the world, wherever their interests may be affected.
46.	The military manoeuvres of an aggressive character conducted by the United States and the Soviet Union, and the NATO and Warsaw Treaty countries, the provocative movements of the United States and the Soviet fleets in the Mediterranean and other seas around Europe, are by no means evidence of any detente or the strengthening of understanding and trust in Europe, as those countries claim. They are evidence of the constant contradictions and the clash of interests between the super-Powers and imperialist Powers and the feverish preparations for war.
47.	But, naturally, these contradictions are not on such a scale as to justify the claims of the Chinese social-imperialists that war in Europe is imminent and that a world war will inevitably begin on that continent. It is understandable that the Chinese social-imperialists greatly desire a war in Europe and are striving to kindle one in the hope that the two other imperialist superpowers will destroy each other and, then, the Chinese social-imperialists will remain the sole masters in the world. Hence, the intrigues and conspiratorial activities of the three imperialist super-Powers are interconnected in Europe today. Under these conditions, the resolute rebuff to this dangerous activity by the peoples of Europe takes on special importance.
48.	The American imperialists and the Soviet social imperialists have long been engaging in various types of action to trouble the waters in the Balkans. To these intrigues, the Chinese social-imperialists have in recent years added their own. The Balkan peoples have cause to remember the misfortunes caused them by the intervention of the imperialist Powers in the past, and they have sufficient experience to judge what actions they must take to prevent others from turning the Balkans into a powder keg.
49.	The People's Socialist Republic of Albania has always been and will remain a factor for peace and stability in the Balkans. It has worked and will continue to work to maintain and develop good-neighbourly relations with adjacent States and will oppose efforts by the imperialist Power's to create tension and foment disturbances in the Balkans.
50.	The Government of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania has always considered that the question of Cyprus must be solved by the people of Cyprus themselves. We welcome any positive step that will contribute to the establishment of harmony and understanding between the two communities, and in this connexion we hope that conditions for a just solution will gradually be worked out in keeping with the interests of the people of Cyprus as a whole and of the peace and stability of the surrounding area.
51.	Similarly, we reaffirm our support of the right of the Korean people themselves to resolve the question of the reunification of their homeland independently and without outside interference.
52.	The pursuit of the arms race and other preparations for war by the imperialist super-Powers is a matter for serious concern to freedom-loving peoples and countries. The imperialist Powers' propaganda concerning disarmament cannot conceal the threat that the unbridled arms race is bringing to bear on the world. For that matter, it has been proved that disarmament cannot be achieved through discussions, resolutions or agreements between the arms race protagonists. In no way can the Soviet-American agreement concluded following the second round of the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks [SALT] at Vienna be considered as a for-ward step towards disarmament, as is claimed by the American imperialists and the Soviet social-imperialists. That agreement totally fails to deal with the question of how the two super-Powers will implement disarmament or of how to slow down the arms race between them. It merely defines how, in what proportions, with what and when they will increase their arms supply. What kind of disarmament is it when weapons are being increased and improved, when the traffic in weapons is spreading, when the manufacture of arms and research in this field are absorbing colossal amounts of money and when hundreds of thousands of the most capable human minds, have been put to work on weapons and war at a time when hunger, disease, and other afflictions, are so widespread? The peoples of the world are against the arms race and against imperialist wars, but they are unable to agree to relinquish their freedom and sovereign rights to escape these wars, as the American imperialists and Soviet social imperialists demand. Nor can the peoples of the world come to terms with the overtly warmongering preachments of the Chinese social-imperialists, who are trying to divert them from their opposition to preparations for a world war on the pretext that it is inevitable. The struggle against arms and the arms race, against preparations for war and against the danger of the outbreak of war is not a vain and hopeless one.
53.	Comrade Enver Hoxha, the leader of the Albanian people, has said:
- "When the super-Powers are no longer able to achieve their predatory interests through economic, ideological and diplomatic means, when contradictions have become acute in the highest degree, when the agreements and 'reforms' prove incapable of resolving such contradictions, then war will begin between them. Thus the peoples whose blood will be shed in this war must do everything in their power not to be caught unawares, to sabotage the rapacious inter-imperialist war to prevent it from assuming world-wide proportions and, if they fail, to transform it into a war of liberation and emerge from it victorious."
54.	This year the Albanian people are celebrating the thirty-fifth anniversary of the liberation of their homeland and of the triumph of the people's revolution. During these 35 years of free and independent life, they have brought about profound transformations in all areas. Socialist Albania has established a diversified industry; it has created a powerful energy base and today has a collectivized agricultural system that is undergoing continual modernization. Our people is now producing the iron and steel it needs, factories and equipment of all kinds, and is beginning to set up a machine-tool industry. Albania is economically stable and is experiencing continuing growth in this area. It is in a position to provide high rates of economic and cultural expansion and to improve the standard of living of its population without foreign economic aid. Internal resources ensure extended socialist growth. Our economy's vitality was particularly demonstrated last year when we were able successfully to counter the anti-Albanian moves of the Chinese social-imperialists by completing and putting into operation projects they had intentionally left incomplete or had sabotaged.
55.	The People's Socialist Republic of Albania is pursuing a principled and independent foreign policy. Firmly adhering to the policy of good neighbourliness and the recognized democratic principles governing the relations among sovereign countries, Albania stands for the development of normal relations and for the expansion of trade, cultural and other exchanges with countries that respect those principles. It supports sincere international co-operation with freedom- loving, democratic and progressive countries. Our country has repudiated and will continue to repudiate all the chauvinist concepts of the imperialists and social imperialists who are attempting to base all international relations on inequality, arbitrariness and diktat.
56.	Albania is confident of its future. The Albanian people, under the leadership of the Albanian Labour Party led by Comrade Enver Hoxha, are working with enthusiasm and great determination towards the farther development and strengthening of their homeland, relying entirely on their own resources. As always, they will vigilantly safeguard their own victories. They hold out a begging hand to no one. The People's Socialist Republic of Albania will respond appropriately to any attempt by the imperialists, the social imperialists, or anyone else, to divert it from its independent political and ideological course.
57.	The Albanian people value highly the feelings of solidarity and respect that freedom-loving peoples and countries and progressive mankind throughout the world hold for them. We should like to take this opportunity to express our thanks and our profound gratitude to all those who expressed their friendship and solidarity with the Albanian people in the great damage they suffered as a result of the powerful earthquake that struck several regions of Albania on 15 April of this year. The consequences of this earthquake were completely overcome before 1 October 1979, as provided by the decision of the Council of Ministers of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania. In less than six months, therefore, relying entirely on our own resources, we rebuilt or repaired 17,128 houses and economic and socio-cultural buildings, all at State expense and at no cost to the inhabitants.
58.	In conclusion, I should like to reaffirm the readiness of the Albanian delegation to join its efforts with those of other democratic and progressive countries in order that the work of this session of the General Assembly may serve the cause of freedom and independence of peoples and of true peace and security in the world.