Belarus, 1969

66. Madam President, the

delegation of the Byelorussian SSR would like to congratulate

you on your election as President of the twenty-fourth

session of the United Nations General Assembly, and to

wish you success in guiding the work of the session in the

interests of peace and the observance of the United Nations Charter.

67. We should like to express our sincere condolences in

connexion with the death of the President of the twenty-third

session of the United Nations General Assembly, Mr. Emilio Arenales.

68. The general debate at the annual sessions of the

United Nations General Assembly reflects the approach of

States Members of the Organization to the most important

international problems, draws attention to them and

mobilizes the efforts of the peoples to solve them.

69. All those who speak in the general debate refer to

questions such as the need to end the war against the

Viet-Namese people, to eliminate the consequences of

Israeli aggression in the Middle East and to bring about a

peaceful settlement of all the problems of that region.

Attention is still focused on the questions of the consolidation

of peace and the relaxation of international tension, on

questions of disarmament, the abolition of colonialism and

its consequences and the elimination of nazism and racial

discrimination, and on problems of economic, scientific and

technical co-operation and social progress and many others.

70. The participants in the debate have raised these

questions in different ways and have given different

explanations of them, but no one denies the overriding

need for settling the burning problems of the day. Everyone

acknowledges that the United Nations still has a great deal

to do to strengthen international security.

71. One cannot help wondering, however, why the general

debate as a whole gives so little opportunity for reaching

practical conclusions, for adopting and implementing

agreed decisions. Why do we have to revert again to

problems which should long ago have been settled? In

answer to this question I would like to quote a statement

by the founder of the Soviet State, V.I. Lenin, which is

fully applicable to the present international situation and to

the activities of certain States both in and outside the

Organization. He said:

“It is essential to bear in mind that pacifist phrases, talk

and assurances and sometimes even solemn vows against

war and for peace are extraordinarily common in all parts

of the world, but that in the majority of States — particularly

modern civilized States — a genuine readiness

to take practical steps for peace — even the most simple

ones — is extraordinarily rare.” And Lenin went on to say:

“But what we should like to see in this and in similar

questions is as few general declarations, solemn promises

and high-sounding formulations as possible and as many

very simple and clear decisions and measures as

possible — measures and decisions which would really lead to peace,

not to speak of the total elimination of the danger of war.“

72. The Byelorussian SSR, like the other socialist countries,

considers that the purpose of its policy is to ensure

peace for its own people and for the peoples of other

countries. Our efforts to increase the effectiveness of the

Organization are in line with the objectives of the

peace-loving Leninist foreign policy. On the initiative of the

socialist countries important questions in keeping with the

interests of the peoples — such as the strengthening of

international security, general and complete disarmament,

the conclusion of a convention on the prohibition of the

development, production and stockpiling of chemical and

bacteriological (biological) weapons and on the destruction

of such weapons, the demilitarization of the sea-bed, the

withdrawal of United States and all other foreign forces

occupying South Korea under the flag of the United

Nations, and the dissolution of the so-called United Nations

Commission for the Unification and Rehabilitation of

Korea — have been included in the agenda of the United Nations.

73. All anti-colonial problems are discussed and settled in

the United Nations in the light of the Declaration on the

Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and

Peoples, which was adopted on the initiative of the Soviet

Union, and in the light of other proposals by the socialist countries.

74. In the sphere of the economic and social activities of

the United Nations, as a result of the implementation of

proposals put forward by the socialist countries, organs

such as the United Nations Conference on Trade and

Development and the United Nations Industrial Development

Organization have been created and are now operating;

problems of the struggle against nazism, apartheid and

racial discrimination are being solved; a declaration on

social progress and development is being prepared; and

principles aimed at protecting the economic interests of the

developing countries are being elaborated.

75. Among problems of international law, a place of

paramount importance is also occupied by proposals of the

socialist countries—such as the proposals for the definition

of aggression and the elaboration of principles of international

law concerning friendly relations and co-operation among

States in accordance with the United Nations Charter.

76. On all these and many other questions, the socialist

countries have been making concrete proposals on the basis

of which constructive decisions have repeatedly beer taken.

Any objective observer taking stock of the work of the

United Nations over the last quarter of a century will

undoubtedly come to the conclusion that the countries of

the socialist commonwealth have made a great contribution

to the activities of the United Nations during that period.

77. While noting the positive results achieved by the

United Nations, we must at the same time frankly state that

we are not satisfied by every aspect of its activities, and

that it can and must become a more effective instrument of

peace and international co-operation. The achievements of

the Organization should merely be regarded rather as an

indication of its possibilities for fulfilling the purposes for

which it was created. And we shall do everything in our

power to ensure that the activities of the United Nations

are, to the maximum possible extent, directed towards the

strengthening of peace and co-operation on a basis of

equality, and towards compliance by all Member States

with the United Nations Charter.

78. The experience of many years shows that the diplomacy

of Western countries resorts to all manner of verbal

manoeuvres to force through its bankrupt policy, to invest

it with a superficial glitter, to divert the attention of the

world public from the criminal acts of imperialism and to

bury the essential problems under a hear of questions and

proposals of secondary importance. We have been observing

this at the present session too. Let us take, for example, the

problems of Viet-Nam and the Middle East.

79. The United States of America and its partners in the

war against the Viet-Namese people — which even The

Times, organ of the British monopolists, recently described

as “dirty” — are seeking to paralyse the joint efforts of the

anti-imperialist forces in their struggle for the total cessation

of the aggression against the Viet-Namese people. We

hear them say that they are “ready to withdraw all their

armed forces”, that they are defending the right of the

people of South Viet-Nam “to determine its future independently

and without foreign interference” — and similar

high-sounding phrases. And at the same time war is being

waged in Viet-Nam by a United States army of more than

half a million men and about 70,000 troops from their

partners in aggression. But when it comes to the question of

the withdrawal of forces, reference is made only to 60,000

men, and the ambiguous English word “replacement” — which

can mean either withdrawal, or substitution or the

transfer of troops — is used instead of a plain, clear word

meaning unconditional withdrawal of troops. And on the

basis of all this, the argument is put forward that everything

now depends on the other side. Everybody knows that this

war has nothing to do with the interests of the United

States soldiers who are dying there and that it has not been

engendered by the interests of the security of the United

States and its partners in aggression. Unilateral declarations

of so-called obligations do not create any basis in international

law for intervention in the affairs of other peoples,

and cannot deprive the people of Viet-Nam of the right to

fight against the aggressors and decide its own destiny as it sees fit.

80. Last year, thanks to the efforts of many countries in

the United Nations and elsewhere, it was possible to bring

about the cessation of United States air raids on the

territory of the Democratic Republic of Viet-Nam and to

begin negotiations in Paris. The time has now come for even

greater efforts to achieve the total cessation of the

aggression against the Viet-Namese people, and to demand

the unconditional withdrawal of United States forces from

Viet-Nam so as genuinely to create conditions in which that

long-suffering people can determine its future without

outside interference and can engage in peaceful creative

work. In view of this, we consider that speakers from this

rostrum who have not taken a clear stand on this question,

and have merely talked about the desirability of a peaceful

settlement and have expatiated on what they describe as

the equal responsibility of both sides, are in actual fact

playing into the hands of the aggressor. Such statements

give the aggressor an excuse to ignore public opinion, and

do not contribute to a settlement of the Viet-Nam problem

because they do not contain a condemnation of aggression

and do not make a distinction between the aggressor and

the victim of aggression.

81. The Byelorussian SSR supports the people of Viet-Nam

and is providing assistance to them; it hopes for the

triumph of their just struggle and advocates a settlement of

the Viet-Nam problem on the basis of the position of the

Democratic Republic of Viet-Nam and the Provisional

Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South

Viet-Nam — a position which is fully in line with the Geneva

Agreements of 1954 and offers a genuine basis for a

political settlement.

82. The same thing must be said about the question of the

liquidation of Israeli aggression against the Arab States.

Here in the United Nations, the sponsors of Israeli

aggression advocate in their statements a political settlement

and speak of the inadmissibility of sending military

supplies to countries of the Middle East; but at the same

time, displaying extraordinary liberality, they bow before

the aggressor and supply arms to Israel which is continuing

its aggressive policy and openly sabotaging the decisions of

the United Nations. The only way of contributing to a

peaceful political settlement in the Middle East is to adopt

a position decisively condemning Israel’s aggression, to take

concrete measures aimed at the withdrawal of the occupying

forces from the Arab territories which have been seized,

and to give effect to the other provisions of the Security

Council resolution of 22 November 1967 [242 (1967)].

83. The United Nations cannot ignore Israel’s direct

defiance of Security Council resolutions which it is required

to comply with in virtue of its obligations under the United

Nations Charter. Since the cessation of the war in the

Middle East, the Security Council and other United Nations

organs have adopted more than a score of resolutions on

different aspects of the settlement of the situation in the

Middle East. These resolutions have played a positive role,

because they have condemned Israel’s aggressive acts and

have in many cases constituted a barrier to further

extremist steps by Israeli ruling circles; they have laid the

foundations for a political settlement in the Middle East

and have emphasized the concern of the United Nations at

the situation of the Arab population in the occupied territories.

84. But the most important thing has not yet been

achieved: the aggressor has not yet been rejected from the

territories he has seized; he is continuing to disregard the

principles of the United Nations Charter, and he is to blame

for the fact that the tension in the Middle East persists.

85. We note with satisfaction the constructive position of

the Arab States and the ever-increasing support for their

just demands by the overwhelming majority of the States

Members of the United Nations.

86. We note, as a positive aspect of the work of this

session of the United Nations General Assembly, the fact

that no one has endorsed any of the arguments put forward

by Israeli diplomats in favour of continuing the occupation

and revising the frontiers. Even the sponsors of Israel’s

aggression in the Middle East hesitate to defend Israel’s

position openly. Such ridiculous proposals as that of the

Israeli Foreign Minister to proclaim United Nations Day as

a “cease-fire day” are regarded by the majority as a

mockery of the purposes of the United Nations since

nobody can even entertain the idea that Israel, or any other

aggressor, will be permitted to commit aggressive acts for

364 days in exchange for a promise to refrain from opening

fire on one day in the year.

87. The United Nations car, and must do everything in its

power to put the aggressor in his place and settle the

conflict in the Middle East in accordance with the Security

Council’s resolution, and not allow it to develop into a new

armed clash which would have extremely serious consequences

for the cause of universal peace.

88. The Byelorussian SSR is one of the co-sponsors of the

items on the agenda concerning the withdrawal of United

States and all other foreign forces occupying South Korea

under the flag of the United Nations and the dissolution of

the so-called United Nations Commission for the Unification

and Rehabilitation of Korea. These proposals are

designed to eliminate one of the hotbeds of tension in the

Far East and to protect the inalienable right of the Korean

people to live without foreign occupation and without

imperialist intervention in its domestic affairs.

89. Implementation of these proposals will open the way

to peaceful unification of the country on a democratic basis

and will enable the people of South Korea to decide its

destiny for itself, instead of being the instrument of other

people’s policies. We appeal to all States to approach these

proposals with a full sense of responsibility, and to scrap

the discriminatory practice whereby, for the benefit of the

foreign occupiers of South Korea, the General Assembly is

deprived of the right even of hearing the representatives of

the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and is unable

to formulate concrete measures in keeping with the

interests of the Korean people and the cause of preserving

peace in that troubled part of our planet.

90. Actively continuing its struggle for the elimination of

hotbeds of tension and settlement of conflicts, the Soviet

Union together with the other socialist countries is taking

clear-cut and concrete measures to strengthen universal

peace. This is indicated by the item proposed by the Soviet

Union on the strengthening of international security, and

by the text of the appeal to all the States of the world on

this question [A/7654]. This document, which we fully

support, contains such important measures as:

the withdrawal of troops from territories occupied as a

result cf action by the armed forces of some States against

other States and peoples defending the independence they

have won as a result of the collapse of the colonial system,

and their territorial integrity;

the cessation of all measures for the suppression of the

liberation movements of the peoples still under colonial

rule and the granting of independence to all such peoples;

observance by States of the decisions of the Security

Council on the withdrawal of occupation troops from

foreign territories; and

the study of the question of effective regional security

systems in the various parts of the world with a view to

adopting measures for their establishment.

91. In the appeal it is proposed that all States of the world

in their international relations should strictly abide by the

principles of peaceful coexistence of States irrespective of

their social systems — the principles of sovereignty, equality

and territorial inviolability to each State, non-interference

in internal affairs and respect for the rights of all peoples

freely to choose their social system. The appeal envisages a

number of other important measures which open the way

to the adoption of agreed decisions which will contribute to

the strengthening of international security.

92. In supporting these proposals, we know that the

appeal addressed to all States of the world — both Members

of the United Nations and States which are not Members or

which, for one reason or another, do not take part in its

work — is bound to meet with understanding and support.

93. At the present time, the interests of the cause of peace

and the existing situation call for unity of action by all the

anti-imperialist forces, whose positions in the United

Nations are continually being strengthened. We appeal to all

States which support peace, and are striving to enhance the

role of the United Nations in questions of international

security, actively to join with the socialist countries in

working for the adoption of the appeal addressed to all

States of the world on the strengthening of international

security. Such an appeal, on the eve of the twenty-fifth

anniversary of the United Nations, would enhance the

authority of the United Nations in the eyes of the peoples

of the world, and provide a good basis for its further

activities in accordance with the fundamental purposes and

principles of the Charter.

94. A positive solution to this problem would certainly

represent an advance from the period of confrontation to a

period of negotiation; it would also contribute to a more

fruitful consideration of many other questions, including

the whole complex of disarmament problems.

95. Questions of disarmament must be given their due

place at the present session of the General Assembly. The

time has come to move onward from mere verbal support

of the idea of disarmament to practical action. Politicians

and military figures who refuse to understand the complete

senselessness of the continuing arms race which is already

swallowing up more than $200,000 million a year, those

who are against the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of

Nuclear Weapons [resolution 2373 (XXII)], who are

against general and complete disarmament, against the

prohibition of the use and production of chemical and

bacteriological weapons, are assuming a very heavy responsibility

towards mankind.

96. We are all expecting results from the work of the

Committee on Disarmament whose membership has been

enlarged this year. The Soviet Union in that committee has

introduced a number of modified proposals and now we

have a right to expect that, this time, the Western countries

will not go back on their word but will open the way for

the elaboration and submission of agreed decisions on the

cessation of the arms race and on disarmament.

97. The delegation of the Byelorussian SSR welcomes the

evidence of agreement in the Disarmament Committee

concerning a treaty on the prohibition of the emplacement

of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction

on the sea-bed and the ocean floor and in the subsoil

thereof.

98. We regard that treaty as an important step towards

ensuring that the sea-bed and the ocean floor — which

occupy five sevenths of the surface of the planet — are

excluded from the arms race, and as a step towards a treaty

on general and complete disarmament, and also as the

implementation of one of the proposals put forward by the

socialist countries in recent years.

99. Tirelessly continuing its efforts in the struggle for

disarmament, the group of socialist countries - including the

Byelorussian SSR — has submitted for consideration by the

present session of the General Assembly an item entitled

“Conclusion of a convention on the prohibition of the

development, production and stockpiling of chemical and

bacteriological (biological) weapons and on the destruction

of such weapons”. We note with satisfaction that this new

initiative, aimed at excluding these barbaric weapons of

mass destruction from the military arsenals of States, finds

support among many States Members of the United Nations.

100. The General Assembly has acted wisely in adopting a

decision to include the question of chemical and bacteriological

weapons as a separate item on the agenda, thus

rejecting the attempts of certain Western countries in the

General Committee to belittle the importance of this

initiative by the socialist countries, which is aimed at the

strengthening of peace and the maintenance of the security of peoples.

101. Since its foundation, the Byelorussian SSR has

always been and still is on the side of the peoples fighting

for their national liberation. This position is determined by

the principles of Leninist national policy, and is based on

an understanding of the importance of the contribution

made by the national liberation movement to the world

revolutionary process.

102. Lenin’s prophecy that “... the period of the awakening

of the East to the revolutionary movement of our time

will be followed by the period when all the peoples of the

East take part in deciding the fate of the whole world and

cease to be merely a means for the enrichment of others“

is now coming true.

103. The most important result characterizing the success

of the anti-imperialist national liberation struggle is the

emergence of more than 70 young national States in Asia,

Africa and Latin America, on the ruins of tottering colonial

empires.

104. Colonialism, however, has not yet been entirely

eliminated and the colonizers still hold some of their

Overseas possessions. The South African and Southern

Rhodesian racists and the Portuguese colonialists are still

keeping the indigenous population of the Republic of

South Africa, Namibia, Southern Rhodesia, Angola,

Mozambique and Guinea (Bissau) in the chains of colonial

Slavery. It is perfectly clear that they could not possibly

maintain their colonial domination over other peoples were

it not for the assistance and support of the United States,

the United Kingdom, the Federal Republic of Germany and

other Western countries.

105. A consistent stand by all freedom-loving States will

contribute to the elimination of the last remnants of

colonialism as quickly as possible. For this, however,

determined efforts are required, and not pious wishes or

hopes that a change of government in the colonial country

will change the nature of its colonial policy. What we need

are concrete decisions and measures, which are addressed to

those who are directly responsible for the maintenance of

colonial slavery — the Governments and monopolies of the

Western countries — and not general appeals addressed to no

one in particular.

106. The General Assembly must demand, from each

colonial Power, immediate and unconditional implementation

of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to

Colonial Countries and Peoples, and also implementation of

United Nations decisions calling for the cessation of the

harmful activities of international monopolies in colonial

territories and for the elimination of military bases in those

territories. Only the unconditional implementation of the

Declaration and other anti-colonial decisions of the United

Nations will make it possible to celebrate in a worthy

manner the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the

Declaration, which falls in December of next year.

107. In view of the failure of the colonialists to fulfil their

obligations under the United Nations Charter concerning

the economic and social advancement of Trust and

Non-Self-Governing Territories, and as a result of the

neo-colonialist policy of plundering and exploitation, the young

developing countries are faced with difficult economic

problems. For us, it is fully understandable that these

problems are being raised in the United Nations. But they

must be closely linked with the basic task of the United

Nations — the strengthening of peace and international security.

It is no good counting on the possibility of solving

problems of economic development without at the same

time working for the strengthening of peace and international

security and for general and complete disarmament.

It is also a mistake to suppose that the United

Nations can elaborate effective measures for the elimination

of the economic backwardness of the developing countries

without taking into account the interests and the position

of the socialist countries — the sincere friends of the peoples

of the young independent States.

108. Last year, unfortunately, some representatives of the

developing countries did not appreciate that fact, with the

result that an unpromising committee was set up to prepare

a programme for the Second Development Decade — it

was set up with a composition which made it impossible for

the socialist countries, including the Byelorussian SSR, to

take part within the framework of that committee in the

elaboration of a realistic programme for protecting the

economic interests of the young independent States, for

establishing and practising equitable and mutually advantageous

relations in international trade and co-operation,

and for providing assistance in the implementation of

genuine national development plans in the interests of the

people and not for the enrichment of exploiters abroad and at home.

109. Thirty years have elapsed since the beginning of the

Second World War, but the years cannot efface the memory

of 1 September 1939 — that black day in the history of

mankind — from the minds of the peoples. Dozens of States

and hundreds of millions of people were drawn into the

abyss of the Second World War unleashed by German

fascism, which had been reared by the forces of imperialism.

Many people, and above all those who have directly

experienced the dire consequences of Hitlerite invasion, ask

themselves how it could happen that fascist Germany

should have been able to plunge mankind into a destructive

war in which more than 50 million people perished; were

there not forces and possibilities for checking the aggressor

in time and preventing the conflagration of a world war?

110. There were indeed such forces and possibilities.

During the pre-war years the Soviet Union repeatedly made

proposals for the establishment of a collective security

system in Europe which would have constituted a serious

obstacle to those bent on military adventures. Unfortunately

the Governments of the Western countries preferred

at that time to take another course — the course of connivance

with and “appeasement” of the aggressor, of flirting

with him and concluding secret deals and agreements

behind the backs of the peoples in order to direct Hitler’s

aggression towards the East. Everyone knows the results of

that shortsighted policy.

111. Next year, the peoples of Europe and of the whole

world will celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the

defeat of the fascist aggressors, which made it possible to

create the United Nations, with the basic purpose of

maintaining peace and strengthening international security.

112. In July of this year, the Byelorussian people

solemnly celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary of the

liberation of the Byelorussian SSR from German fascist

tyranny. A quarter of a century ago, the last salvos of one

of the most gigantic battles of the war sounded and died

away. Liberation came to our towns and villages — the

liberation in which we believed, for which we had fought

and which was won at the price of tremendous sacrifices,

by unprecedented feats of arms and labour.

113. In July we once again paid due tribute to the heroic

feats of the whole Soviet people which rid mankind of that

black plague. We took stock of the results of peaceful

construction and we found that, as a result of the labour of

our people working in fraternal co-operation with all the

peoples of the USSR, an unprecedented growth in all

sectors of the economy — and rise in the standard of living of

the people — have been achieved. It is sufficient to say that

the industrial output of the Republic has increased by more

than 10 times compared with the pre-war period and by

more than 100 times compared with what we had to start

with after the liberation of the Byelorussian land, which

had been devastated by the fascists during the occupation years.

114. The Byelorussian people cherishes the memory of

those who fell in the struggle against fascism. For us, this

was every fourth one of the Republic’s inhabitants. We have

set up a memorial on the site of the former village of Katyn

which, like Lidice in Czechoslovakia and Oradour in

France, was annihilated by the Hitlerites with all its

inhabitants. In our Republic, hundreds of villages shared

the fate of Katyn. Their blood-drenched soil is preserved in

urns at the Katyn memorial. This is a memorial to the

hundreds of villages burnt to the ground together with their

inhabitants, and to thousands of other towns and villages

which were laid waste and destroyed—a memorial to all the

victims of fascist terror on Byelorussian territory.

115. We cannot forget — we do not have the right to forget

the tragedy of Katyn. We remember and will never forget

the words carved on the granite of the common grave at

Katyn: “Remember, good people: we loved life and our

Fatherland and you, our dear friends. We were burned alive

in the fire. Our appeal to all of you is: Let grief and sorrow

be transformed into courage and strength so that you can

perpetuate peace and tranquillity on earth, so that life will

never again, anywhere, be destroyed in the whirlwind of

fire“. This testament is addressed to the peoples of the

whole world. As far as the people of Byelorussia is

concerned, it will do everything in its power to carry out

this behest.

116. The Byelorussian SSR attaches great importance to

the problem of European security and cannot remain

indifferent to what is now occurring in that part of the

world. There are more than enough causes for anxiety for

our country and for other peace-loving countries. Many

countries of Western Europe are once more entangled in the

meshes of closed military and political alliances, with the

aggressive NATO block playing the most sinister role of

them all. Massive armed forces - including forces from

oversea countries — are being concentrated and built up in

the centre of Europe. Thousands of nuclear warheads are

stocked in atomic arsenals. In the Federal Republic of

Germany there are forces which refuse to recognize the

results of the Second World War and the existing frontiers

in Europe, and which are encroaching upon the sovereignty

and independence of the German Democratic Republic. In

Western Germany, neo-nazism is raising its head and has

already openly stated its claim to participate in the

determination of the internal and foreign policies of that

country. The Federal Republic of Germany has not yet

acceded to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

117. All this obliges us now, before it is too late, to take

measures to prevent any repetition of the past and to

guarantee lasting peace in Europe. The realistic way of

doing this is to create a collective security system in

Europe. The Soviet Union and the other socialist countries

have repeatedly put forward proposals aimed at ensuring a

lasting peace. A concrete programme of action and measures

for creating a collective security system have been

outlined at the meetings of the States members of the

Warsaw Pact held at Bucharest in 1966, and at Budapest in

1969, and also by the Karlovy Vary Conference in 1967.

The appeal of the Warsaw Pact countries to all European

countries, adopted on 17 March 1969 at Budapest, and

calling for the convening of an all-European meeting on

security questions, is in keeping with the vital interests and

cherished aspirations of all the peoples of Europe. The

Byelorussian SSR highly appreciates the important and

useful initiative of Finland on the starting of practical

preparations for an all-European meeting. We welcome the

statement by the Foreign Ministers of the Scandinavian

countries made at the meeting at Reykjavik in September

1969, and also the statements by a number of European

representatives during the general debate in the General

Assembly supporting the proposal of the States members of

the Warsaw Pact for the convening of a conference on

questions of European security.

118. The holding of such a conference would be a valuable

contribution to the strengthening of peace and security in

Europe and to the development of all-European co-operation.

Such a conference would help to transform Europe

into a continent of peace, would have a favourable effect

on the whole international situation and would point the

way to the solution of many complex problems.

119. The Byelorussian SSR has always opposed and will

continue to oppose the policy of militarism and revanchism,

fascism and neo-nazism. All militarists, revanchists and

neo-nazis would long ago have understood that the State

frontiers in Europe, including the Oder-Neisse frontier and

the frontier between the Federal Republic of Germany and

the German Democratic Republic, are unchangeable. They

should long ago have recognized such an immutable fact as

the existence of the socialist German Democratic Republic

which for the past 20 years has been consistently pursuing a

peace-loving policy and which constitutes a stable factor for

peace in Europe.

120. It is essential to recognize and give effect to the right

of the German Democratic Republic to become a member

of the United Nations and other international organizations

on the same footing as the Federal Republic of Germany. It

is essential to abandon the discriminatory practice imposed

by the imperialist Powers back in the cold war years,

whereby the German Democratic Republic is not allowed

to take part in the work of international organizations or to

become a party to international agreements and conventions.

121. In conclusion, we wish to stress again that today, as

never before, what is needed is decisive action aimed at

normalizing the international situation and curbing the

imperialist forces which constitute the principal threat to

peace and security.

122. One of the most important political events in this

sense was the International Conference of Communist and

Workers’ Parties held in Moscow in June 1969. The basic

document of the Conference stresses that the main link

between the common activities of the anti-imperialistic

forces is the struggle against the danger of war — the danger

of a world-wide thermonuclear war which continues to

threaten the peoples of the world with mass destruction — and

the struggle for peace throughout the world.

123. Our country’s peace-loving foreign policy is based on

the principles elaborated by Vladimir Ilyich Lenin — the

centenary of whose birth the whole Soviet people and all

progressive mankind are now preparing to celebrate.

124. This policy has played, is playing and will continue

to play an important role in the common struggle of the

anti-imperialist forces and in the strengthening of the power

and solidarity of the commonwealth of socialist countries;

it will serve as an effective instrument for thwarting the

aggressive plans of imperialism, for maintaining peace and

consolidating the principles of the peaceful coexistence of

States with different social systems, and for supporting the

liberation struggle of the peoples.