Ethiopia, 1982

At the outset, Mr. President, my delegation

would like to congratulate you on your unanimous

election to guide the work of the thirty seventh

session of the General Assembly. Your election is

a recognition of your rich experience, personal

qualities and statesmanship. It is also a fitting

tribute to your country, the People’s Republic of

Hungary, a country with which Ethiopia enjoys

strong ties of friendship and cooperation, and a

recognition of the outstanding contributions it

has made towards peace and international

understanding. I also pay a tribute to your

predecessor, Mr. Kittani, for the skill with

which he guided the work of the thirty sixth

session. I should also like to take this

opportunity to express the appreciation of my

delegation to the Secretary General for the able

manner in which he is serving the cause of peace

and progress. Thirty seven years after its

establishment, the United Nations is still far

from meeting the challenge of ensuring

international peace and security. As a result of

the exacerbation of existing conflicts, the

creation of new hotbeds of tension, the acute

global economic crisis and the ever increasing

danger of a nuclear holocaust, mankind today

lives under the shadow of total annihilation. The

ray of hope that flickered with the birth of the

United Nations, which was conceived to avert

conflicts and promote international peace and

cooperation is, regrettably, being dimmed.

Contrary to the obligations entered into by

Member States under the Charter, and despite the

lip service so readily paid to its lofty ideals,

the violation of its cardinal principles is

increasingly becoming a habit rather than an

occasional lapse. Today, wars of aggression are

openly condoned, dying tension revived, and new

conflicts fomented. International law continues

to be flouted with impunity by those in the well

known imperialist circles, whose interest in

exploitation and dreams of expansion have been

undermined by the mighty tide of national

liberation and social emancipation. The

frustrating outcome of the second special session

on disarmament is a reflection of the

precariousness of the prevailing international

situation. The unwillingness of some Members to

be parties to the United Nations Convention on

the Law of the Sea, which has been finalized

after more than eight years of painstaking

negotiations, could adversely affect one of the

major undertakings of the United Nations. The

lack of political will on the part of the

developed world to make possible the launching of

global negotiations on the new international

economic order and the overall heightening of

tension on a global scale are disturbing trends.

Twenty two years ago the General Assembly adopted

its historic Declaration on the Granting of

Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples.

By invoking this Declaration, a number of

countries gained their independence and joined

the family of free nations. Yet colonialism and

racism in their most vile forms continue to be

practiced in southern Africa. The racist regime

in Pretoria, with the political, economic and

military support of its imperialist allies,

continues not only to subjugate the black

majority in South Africa but also to consolidate

its colonial occupation of the international

Territory of Namibia. Harassment, imprisonment,

torture and racial indignity are the daily lot of

the masses of South Africa and Namibia, who have

been cruelly deprived of even the most basic

human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Furthermore, the regime, acting as the

agent of imperialism, is busy sowing the seeds of

terrorism and destabilization in the entire sub

region of southern Africa. The frontline States

have become prime targets for unprovoked acts of

aggression by racist Pretoria. To us Africans,

and indeed to all peoples the world over that

cherish peace and freedom, the delay in Namibia’s

accession to independence and the attempt to

perpetuate the policy of apartheid in South

Africa are outrageous in the extreme. The

international community is fully aware that the

terrorist regime in Pretoria, in collusion with

its imperialist allies, is leaving no stone

unturned in its bid to keep Namibia in its

Fascist clutches. The independence process of

Namibia has stalled because of Pretoria’s

intransigence and the acquiescence of the Western

contact group in its dilatory tactics. Without

the accession of Namibia to genuine independence

and the complete dismantling of the racist

edifice of apartheid objectives to which all of

us appear to be committed durable peace in

Africa, and indeed in the world at large, will

remain elusive. We therefore cannot and must not

allow the obstructionist and dilatory tactics of

Pretoria to delay or compromise the inevitable

independence of Namibia. In this connection

Ethiopia once again calls for the speedy

implementation of Security Council resolution

433. We reject each and every stratagem designed

to introduce questions that are of no relevance

to the issue and fall strictly within the purview

of the sovereign jurisdiction of independent

States. Indeed, we strongly condemn the contrived

issue of the so called Cuban presence in Angola

as a blatant and impudent infringement of the

sovereign rights of the People’s Republic of

Angola. While supporting all viable initiatives

within the framework of the United Nations plan

for Namibia, Ethiopia believes that, in the

absence of the political will to impose

comprehensive and mandatory sanctions, resolution

433 will remain a dead letter. In the present

circumstances, Ethiopia feels duty bound to

continue to render political support and material

assistance, within its modest means, for the

intensification of the legitimate armed struggle

being so resolutely waged by SWAPO, the sole and

authentic representative of the people of

Namibia. Furthermore, Ethiopia pledges its

unswerving support for the oppressed people of

South Africa in their struggle to build a

democratic society based on racial equality and

majority rule. Similarly, Ethiopia reaffirms its

support for and solidarity with the peoples and

Governments of the frontline States of southern

Africa, which must remain vigilant in defense of

independence and human dignity against an

undeclared war by the Fascist Pretoria regime.

Pretoria, having failed in its strategy of

maintaining racist and colonial regimes around

its borders, has now embarked on establishing in

southern Africa a belt of instability as yet

another weapon for the defense of the abhorrent

system. Today it is not only Angola that is the

target of racist and imperialist forces. Lesotho,

Mozambique and Zimbabwe, as well as Seychelles, a

State that has no common boundary with South

Africa, are under the constant threat of acts of

banditry and sabotage emanating from South

Africa. Indeed, armed bandits and mercenaries

organized and trained by the Fascist regime of

South Africa with the connivance of international

imperialism are at this very moment carrying out

acts of terrorism, murder and pillage in the

People’s Republic of Mozambique. In the face of

these developments, the international community

must therefore render both diplomatic and

material assistance to Mozambique in accordance

with the relevant resolutions of the United

Nations, to enable that country to strengthen its

defense capabilities to ensure respect for its

sovereignty and territorial integrity. In this

regard, it is with great pleasure that I hail the

victory once again scored by the people and

Government of Seychelles over the forces of

racism and imperialism. Encircled by a chain of

military bases and interventionist forces, my own

country is under constant danger. The forces of

reaction, subversion, armed banditry and

terrorism, bankrolled and equipped by

international imperialism and its surrogates, are

orchestrated to undermine the unity, sovereignty

and territorial integrity of my country. Rocked

by internal crises and strife, the despotic

regime of Mogadishu has, since early July 1982,

been making allegations of an Ethiopian invasion

of its territory. With regard to those unfounded

and self serving allegations, there are a number

of facts that the international community needs

to bear in mind. First, Ethiopia neither covets

nor has it ever claimed any portion of the

territory of Somalia. On the contrary, it is

Somalia which, in a systematic violation of the

terms of United Nations instruments that brought

about its emergence in 1960 as an independent

country on the map of Africa, continues to be

obsessed by an expansionist dream at the expense

of its neighbors. Contrary to the cardinal

principles of the Charter and to the decisions of

the United Nations and the Organization of

African Unity, Somalia has over the past two

decades repeatedly committed a series of brazen

aggressions against its neighbors, especially my

country, with the purpose of realizing its

territorial ambitions. Secondly, the

international community, including those members

that are today cynically shedding crocodile tears

over the conveniently fabricated invasion of

Somalia by Ethiopia, can surely testify to the

fact that it was Somalia which committed an

unprovoked and massive aggression against my

country in July 1977. Since Ethiopia was in the

midst of a far reaching revolution, the Mogadishu

regime, in collusion with its imperialist and

reactionary allies, had calculated that the time

was opportune to strike at my country with a view

to realizing Somalia’s expansionist ambitions and

destabilizing the Ethiopian revolution. In this

connection, it may be recalled that even when the

invading army had penetrated 700 kilometers into

Ethiopian territory, the Ethiopian defense forces

that routed the invading army early in the

following year did not sweep the enemy to the

shores of the Indian Ocean in hot pursuit, even

though they had the capacity and the moral right

to do so. As everyone will recall, our defense

forces stopped at the international boundary

between the two countries. That is an undeniable

fact. Similarly, the record of Ethiopia’s policy

of good neighbourliness and mutually beneficial

cooperation with its other neighbors, namely, the

Republics of Djibouti, Kenya and the Sudan,

eloquently speaks fbr itself. The national

objective of our revolution has been repeatedly

stated on several occasions. If Ethiopia has

declared any war, it is a war on the enemies of

mankind: hunger, disease and ignorance. Our

revolution is irrevocably committed to advancing

the material and spiritual wellbeing of the

Ethiopian people. The linchpin of our foreign

policy is likewise peace, progress and the

promotion of good neighbourliness. Since the

achievement of those objectives compels us to

devote all our energies and resources to national

reconstruction, Ethiopia has neither the need nor

the intention to launch an invasion against

Somalia. It is obvious that the myth of the

Ethiopian invasion has been fabricated by

Mogadishu and its imperialist and reactionary

patrons as a convenient pretext both to arm

Somalia to pursue its territorial ambitions

against its neighbors and to strengthen the

imperialist military bases and the

interventionist forces in Somalia. The truth is

that under the leadership of the Somalia

Salvation Democratic Front and the Somalia

Liberation Movement, the Mejertin, Issaq,

Dulbahanti, Haberawel and other oppressed

nationalities of Somalia have taken up arms to

rid themselves of the tyranny of the oligarchy

based in the Merehan clan. The popular movements

to which I have just referred have repeatedly and

unequivocally declared to the world that they

take full responsibility for the civil war now

raging in Somalia. Hence, no amount of gross

fabrication and distraction on the part of the

Mogadishu regime and its collaborators can

conceal the realities of the situation.

Furthermore, it is evident that international

imperialism and its surrogates in the area,

particularly the archaic feudal potentates who

could not even unite to combat genocide and help

the Palestinian children falling at their

doorsteps, are shamelessly echoing Somalia’s

allegations. In their policy statements in the

general debate of the current session and in

other forums, those Governments have,

regrettably, expressed concern over an alleged

interState conflict in the Horn of Africa. To be

concerned about the actual state of relations

between two neighboring countries is one thing,

but to lament an internal turmoil within a given

country, a turmoil arising from an oppressive

rule, is a totally different matter. My

Government therefore reiterates its categorical

and unequivocal rejection of the baseless

allegations levelled against Ethiopia and once

again calls upon the Governments that show such

misplaced concern to see the situation for what

it is, namely, an internal struggle between the

regime in Mogadishu and liberation forces opposed

to its oppressive rule. In this context, I must

underscore the fact that some of those

Governments that are currently raising a false

alarm were either arming and financing the

aggressor or maintained a dead silence in 1977,

when Ethiopia was the victim of Somalia’s

aggression. The position they have taken now is

thus as transparent as it is self serving. Let me

reaffirm once again that peace in the Home of

Africa will reign only when Somalia eschews its

territorial claims over its neighbors. The

benefactors of the Mogadishu regime could

therefore make a positive contribution to the

restoration of peace and stability in the area if

they could persuade it to abide by the cardinal

principles and decisions of the United Nations,

the nonaligned movement, and the OAU, including

the decisions of the eighteenth session of the

Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the

OAU, held at Nairobi in August 1981. Providing it

with weapons and funds indulge in an unrealizable

dream and destructive ventures can only

exacerbate tension and conflict in the Horn of

Africa. Africa’s endeavors to forge continental

unity have often been the target of bedevilment

and attacks by its enemies. In spite of the

numerous obstacles that the enemies of unity have

set before it over the last 19 years, African

unity still remains a force to be reckoned with.

The OAU, which was conceived to ensure the

freedom and peace as well as the economic

development of our continent, has in the last 19

years scored remarkable achievements. Only its

detractors would dare deny its outstanding

contributions to the decolonization process.

Nevertheless, imperialist forces to whose

interests the success of the Organization has

proved detrimental have left no stone unturned in

their devious machinations to drive a wedge

between the ranks of its membership. Africa’s

strength stems from its unity. Even with the

pressure being exerted against it by its

imperialist racist adversaries, Africa is

resolved not only to determine the course of its

own development but also to contribute to the

peace and security of the rest of the world. We

are therefore convinced that the OAU will remain

strong and viable to enable Africa to speak with

one voice and to guide effectively the common

destiny of the sons and daughters of our great

continent. Despite the best efforts of the United

Nations, peace in the Middle East still remains

elusive. The return of all Arab lands occupied

since 1967 to their rightful owners, the exercise

of the right to self determination by the

Palestinian people, including its right to an

independent homeland in Palestine, and respect

for the sovereignty and security of all the

countries in the area will go a long way towards

ensuring durable peace in that region. Israel’s

recent invasion of Lebanon and the resulting loss

of life and destruction of property have once

again thrown the entire region into turmoil. The

subsequent massacre in west Beirut of innocent

people, after the withdrawal of Palestinian

combatants under a guarantee of the safety of

their families and other civilians, has shocked

and angered the international community. Ethiopia

condemns in the strongest terms possible the

genocide perpetrated against the Palestinian

people and supports the call for an international

investigation of the massacre in west Beirut. In

any event, Israel and its imperialist allies

cannot escape responsibility for that shameless

and inhuman episode. Theimperatives of peace in

the Middle East demand that Israel immediately

withdraw from the entire territory of Lebanon and

unequivocally recognize the right of the

Palestinian people to a national homeland of its

own. Ethiopia reiterates its full support for the

exercise by the people of Western Sahara of its

inalienable right to self determination and

independence in accordance with the relevant

resolutions of the United Nations and the OAU. My

Government strongly deplores the arrogant

imperialist interference in the internal affairs

of sovereign States in Central and Latin America.

We reaffirm Ethiopia’s solidarity with the

Nicaraguan revolution and the gallant fighters in

Central America struggling against imperialism to

reassert their inalienable right to guide their

own destinies. In Asia, Viet Nam, Kampuchea and

Afghanistan are endlessly becoming targets of

imperialist provocation and slanderous campaigns.

My Government is convinced that the thomy

problems of South East Asia and SouthWest Asia

could be resolved by the peoples concerned

without outside interference. My Government also

supports all endeavors aimed at promoting

understanding between and the peaceful

reunification of the two Koreas. With regard to

Cyprus, Ethiopia strongly supports all positive

efforts designed to bring to an end speedily all

factors of disharmony and instability. My

delegation insists that the independence, unity,

territorial integrity and nonaligned status of

Cyprus be fully respected. The reversal of

detente and the accelerating pace of the arms

race, coupled with the acquisition of new

military bases and the provocative behavior of

some States, have often again revived the

dangerous era of the cold war. In the Race of the

deteriorating international situation and the

production, stockpiling and deployment of ever

more deadly weapons of mass destruction, peace

has today become the overriding concern not only

of Governments but also of people everywhere, as

has been demonstrated by the mounting public

protests around the world. In the light of the

growing threat of a nuclear holocaust, we are

convinced that urgent and concrete measures must

be taken to halt and reverse the arms race,

particularly in its nuclear aspect, until the

attainment of our ultimate objective of general

and complete disarmament under effective

international control. The ongoing negotiations

on strategic arms reduction prompt us not to lose

hope despite the many failures we have

encountered in our collective endeavors in this

field. The expectations and hopes of the

international community for a successful

conclusion to the second special session of the

General Assembly devoted to disarmament were

shattered. Obviously the main responsibility for

that failure is borne by the very forces which

have embarked on a policy of massive rearmament

and advocacy of dangerous military doctrines such

as that of a limited nuclear war. We therefore

call upon the Powers in the North Atlantic Treaty

Organization to demonstrate good will and

cooperation in expediting negotiations on the

comprehensive programme of disarmament so that it

can be adopted at an early date. The unilateral

undertaking by the Soviet Union not to be the

first to use nuclear weapons is a significant

step coupled with a reciprocal commitment by the

other nuclear weapon States, would prevent the

outbreak of nuclear war. At its current session

the General Assembly has before it two important

additional items also proposed by the Soviet

Union. While the first deals with the urgent task

of the complete and general prohibition of

nuclear weapon tests, the second proposal

underscores the growing need to redouble the

efforts aimed at the elimination of the threat of

nuclear war and the protection of peaceful

nuclear facilities. As a party to the Treaty on

the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons, Ethiopia

not only welcomes these important proposals but

also urges all Member States to seize the

opportunity they provide to halt the arms race,

to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and the

outbreak of nuclear war andto enhance the

development of peaceful nuclear technology.

Despite the adoption by the General Assembly of

the Declaration of the Indian Ocean as a Zone of

Peace, the expansion or modernization of existing

military bases and the acquisition of new ones in

the area, as well as the deployment of rapid

intervention forces and weapons of mass

destruction, are being highly intensified. Those

actions, contrary to the decisions of the United

Nations, continue to endanger international peace

and security. In the light of those alarming

developments, the holding of a conference on the

Indian Ocean is surely long overdue. We are

therefore compelled to reiterate our demand for

the convening of the Conference on the Indian

Ocean, in Colombo, in the first half of 1983, as

called for by the relevant resolutions of the

General Assembly. Similarly, Ethiopia attaches

considerable importance to the signing, speedy

ratification and implementation of the United

Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. An

examination of the international economic

situation, regrettably, shows an increasing

resistance on the part of certain industrialized

countries to instituting structural changes in

the existing system of international economic

relations. The continuing deterioration in the

situation of developing countries is assuming

alarming proportions, while the economies of the

least developed countries are on the verge of

collapse. The burden of indebtedness, the low

level of foreign exchange earnings, balance of

payments difficulties, instability of commodity

prices, rising import bills, low level of

agricultural productivity and food shortages

remain the general characteristics of the

economies of the developing countries. In the

midst of the grim world economic situation, the

condition of most African countries should be a

matter of the utmost concern to the international

community. It is rather sad to witness today that

in Africa food shortages caused by the shortfalls

in agricultural output, low productivity,

changing ecological and unfavorable weather

conditions pre in the process of creating the

simplest form of dependence of the continent for

its food on the developed North. Food aid has

tended in recent years to become a permanent

feature of international assistance to the

African countries. Today there are no fewer than

21 countries seeking special assistance from the

United Nations because of their incapacity to

withstand even mild shocks to their economies.

This deteriorating situation has been a

consequence of the basic structural constraints

and other serious limitations. As a result most

African countries, especially the least developed

ones, have been forced out of the mainstream of

international economic life. Unless the

international community urgently implements on a

priority basis the Substantial New Programme of

Action for the 1980s for the Least Developed

Countries, adopted at the Paris Conference the

grave economic situation of these countries could

soon reach an irreversible state. Indeed, we

cannot envisage a solution to the problem of the

world economic crisis in general and the least

developed countries in particular unless the

developed countries make a major political

decision to accept and institute fundamental

changes in the present international economic

system. The growing anarchy in international

relations and the ever present threat of a

nuclear holocaust indicate that mankind has

reached a very critical point in history. In the

present circumstances, even decisions by

individual States, let alone those taken

collectively, are bound to affect the very

survival of mankind and its civilization. While

peace and progress are the overriding concern of

humanity, war and destruction appear to be the

hallmark of our era. In this regard, the head of

State of my country, Chairman Mengistu Haile

Mariam, in his statement to the Ethiopian people

on the occasion of the eighth anniversary of the

Ethiopian Revolution, said the following: Today,

peace is the most vital issue for which the

people of the entire world raise their voice in

unison. The demand for the preservation and

strengthening of peace, which at present figures

top on the agenda of the entire peoples of the

world, is also the demand of Ethiopia. The

worldwide struggle for peace cannot also be seen

separately from the struggle for national

liberation, for a just international economic

order, for democracy and social process. Unless

mankind, collectively and with the utmost

urgency, addresses itself to the serious

challenges facing it today the consequences will

be very grave indeed. Not only is the noble goal

of the United Nations to save succeeding

generations from the scourge of war likely to

remain a mere ideal, but there may be neither a

generation to succeed nor a war from which to

save it. We must therefore take the present

international crisis as an opportunity for

introspection and a time for decision to map out

a strategy to save humanity from the impending

global catastrophe. In such a strategy

international confrontation must yield to

international cooperation. Scrupulous adherence

to the principles and purposes of the Charter of

the United Nations must be consistently pursued

and upheld. Each and every Government must

exercise political wisdom, eschew political

expediency and act, at all times, in the long

term and broader interest of mankind. The time to

rise to the supreme challenge of our times is

now, for tomorrow may well be too late.