Laos, 1982

On behalf of the delegation of the Lao People's

Democratic Republic, I should like at the outset

to congratulate you, Comrade President, on your

unanimous election to your high office for this

session of the General Assembly. In choosing you,

the General Assembly pays a tribute both to your

country, the sister People's Republic of Hungary,

whose tireless efforts in the cause of peace and

socialism are well known and with which my

country enjoys excellent relations of friendship

and militant solidarity and to you and to your

outstanding qualities as a diplomat for whom the

workings of the United Nations hold no secrets. I

am therefore convinced that on the basis of your

vast experience and thorough knowledge of

international affairs you will lead the work of

this session towards fruitful results.

141. I would also like to pay a tribute to your

pre¬decessor, Mr. Ismat Kittani, who guided the

thirty- sixth session of the Assembly, as well as

the special sessions, with authority and skill.

142. I also wish to salute the

Secretary-General, Mr. Perez de Cuellar, on his

election to his high office, involving great

responsibility, and for his courage and untiring

efforts in the cause of maintaining international

peace and security.

143. Since the beginning of the thirty-sixth

session of the Assembly, the international

situation has con¬tinued to deteriorate and the

international community has found itself faced

with a number of crises. For the most aggressive

imperialist factions, per¬sisting with their

policy of adventurism, aggression and economic

blocs, have created or rekindled hot¬beds of

tension in various regions of the world.

Inter¬national peace and security have never been

so threatened.

144. In the Middle East, the situation remains

explosive because of the policy of aggression and

extermination being carried out by those who hold

power ip Israel and those who support and arm

them against the Palestinian and Lebanese Arab

peoples. The bloody crimes committed by Israel

against the Arab Palestinian and Lebanese

peoples, the occupa¬tion of Lebanon and other

Arab territories and the monstrous genocide

committed in the Palestinian refugee camps have

been condemned by the world. We express our

unreserved solidarity with the Pales¬tinian Arab

people and with the PLO, their sole legitimate

representative, with the Lebanese people and with

all the victims of Israeli aggression and

barbarity.

145. For the Lao People's Democratic Republic,

the just and lasting solution to the question of

Palestine and of the Middle East as a whole,

which should be worked out through negotiations

with the partici¬pation of all the parties

concerned, including the PLO, presupposes the

withdrawal by Israel from all the Arab

territories occupied since 1967 and recog¬nition

of the right of the Palestinian people to

estab¬lish an independent State the six-point

proposal of President Brezhnev, as well as the

proposals of the Fez Arab Summit Conference fully support this position.

146. The conflict between Iran and Iraq has

already been the cause of many losses, both

material and human, on both sides and has

benefited neither of the parties to it. Quite the

contrary, the longer it goes on, the more

conditions favorable to the intervention and

interference of imperialism in the region it will

create. The Lao People's Democratic Republic

hopes that the two parties, both members of the

non-aligned movement, with succeed in reaching a

peaceful solution to their differences.

147. The undeclared war being waged by

imperialism and other reactionary forces against

the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan poses a

serious threat to its independence and

sovereignty and its revolutionary achievements.

The Lao People's Democratic Republic firmly

condemns such acts and supports the efforts of

the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan to settle

with its neighbors by political means problems

pertaining to the maintenance of peace and

stability in the region.

148. In the Korean peninsula, the situation

remains tense. The ever-growing presence of

American troops in the southern part of Korea

constitutes a major obstacle to the process of

the peaceful and democratic reunification of

Korea.

149. In the area of the Indian Ocean, the

military presence of the United States has

jeopardized the convening of the United Nations

conference designed to establish the Indian Ocean

as a zone of peace. The Lao People's Democratic

Republic associates itself with the coastal

countries in the region in calling for the

dismantling of the Diego Garcia base and other

so-called logistical military facilities. In

reiterating our support for Madagascar's proposal

and our commitment to the Declaration of the

Indian Ocean as a Zone of, the Lao People's

Democratic Republic hopes that the envisaged

international conference will be able to take

place as soon as possible.

150. The Lao People's Democratic Republic

gives its whole-hearted support to the just

struggle of the South African patriots against

the repugnant apartheid regime and for the

recovery of their fundamental national rights and

supports the valiant struggle of the Namibian

people, under the leadership of SWAPO, for the

independence and territorial integrity of

Nami¬bia. We condemn the repeated acts of

aggression committed by South Africa against

Angola, Mozam¬bique and other neighbouring

African countries, and we reaffirm our militant

solidarity with that peoples of those countries

in the struggle for the defense of their

independence and sovereignty.

151. The Lao People's Democratic Republic

reaf¬firms its militant solidarity with the

Sahraaui people under the leadership of the

POLISARIO Front in their just struggle for

self-determination and inde¬pendence.

152. The Lao People s Democratic Republic,

which recognizes the sovereignty of Argentina

over the Malvinas, believes that a final

settlement of this matter should be negotiated

within the framework of the United Nations,

bearing in mind its relevant reso¬lutions.

153. The policy and actions of American

imperialism with regard to Cuba, Nicaragua and

Grenada should be vigorously condemned. The Lao

People's Democratic Republic reaffirms its

unswerving support for the just struggle of the

peoples of those countries to defend their

national independence and their revolutionary

achievements and demands the resto¬ration of

Guantanamo to the Republic of Cuba.

154. The Lao People's Democratic Republic also

supports the struggle of the Puerto Rican people

for its right to self-determination and

independence, and that of the people of El

Salvador for its freedom and democratic rights.

155. In their efforts to destroy the

approximate military and strategic balance in

Europe and in the world as a whole, the Unite

States and other countries of NATO have been

exerting undisguised pressure on Poland and have

been interfering in its internal affairs with a

view to perpetuating the crisis in that country.

The Lao People's Democratic Republic vigorously

condemns these acts and reaffirms its unswerving

solidarity with the Polish United Workers' Party

and the Polish State in their efforts to maintain

public order and to promote the normalization of

the situation in that country.

156. Foreign interference in the internal

affairs of Cyprus has been preventing the

intercommunal talks from making progress. In the

interest of the Cypriot people as a whole, a halt

must be called to this inter¬ference and the

territorial integrity of the country must be

scrupulously respected.

157. Peace and stability in South-East Asia

are in constant danger from the expansionist and

hegemonist policy pursued by the reactionaries in

the Chinese ruling circles who are striving to

maintain a state of tension on the Sino-Lao and

Sino-Viet-namese borders by massing troops there

which engage in armed incursions for die purpose

of provocation and sabotage, and also on the

Thai-Kampuchea border by helping the remnants of

the Pol Pot forces and a handful of Khmer

reactionaries to undermine the rebirth of the

Kampuchean people.

158. But in spite of these hostile acts, Lao

People's Democratic Republic, Viet Nam and

Kampuchea, constantly motivated by the wish to

live in peace, friendship and co-operation with

their neighbors, and in particular with China,

have over the last few years made a number of

proposals, including the proposal to sign a

bilateral or multilateral treaty of peaceful

coexistence between them and China with a view to

normalizing their relations.

159. The problems which now exist in

South-East Asia have been essentially brought

about by foreign interventions and interference.

It is therefore of fundamental importance to

proceed immediately to a comprehensive settlement

of those problems. Any delay in doing this would

serve only to inflame the situation which now

prevails.

160. In accordance with that analysis and

desiring to make an active contribution to the

consolidation of peace and stability in

South-East Asia, and also to promote the

continuation of dialogue between the States in

the region, the Foreign Minister of the Lao

People's Democratic Republic, on behalf of the

three countries of Indo-China, sent a letter

dated 15 Sep-tember i982, to their counterparts

in the countries of ASEAN. Its essential Content

is as follows: ''

"The Thai side regards the presence of units of

the Vietnamese army near the Kampuchea-Thailand

border as a threat to Thailand's security.

Mean¬while, Kampuchea, Viet Nam and Laos consider

the use of Thai territory by China and the Pol

Pot clique together with other reactionary Khmer

forces against the revival of the Kampuchean

people a constant threat to the security of

Kampuchea and other Indo-Chinese countries.

"The realities of the past three years have shown

that the presence of Vietnamese troops in

Kam¬puchea does not threaten in any way

Thailand's security. Many a time the Thai side

has stated that there is no need to sign

non-aggression treaties between Thailand and the

three Indo- Chinese countries since there is no

danger of aggres¬sion by Viet Nam against

Thailand. On the contrary, the activities of the

Pol Pot clique and other Khmer reactionaries

based in Thailand have seriously threatened

Kampuchea's security, causing a continually

explosive situation on the Thailand- Kampuchea

border. The recent founding of a so-called

tripartite coalition Government is aimed at

helping the Pol Pot clique and other Khmer

reactionaries step up activities against the

People's Republic of Kampuchea, undermining the

revival of the Kampuchean people and aggravating

the tension on the Kampuchea-Thailand border. To

maintain and to give it their support, the ASEAN

countries cannot avoid running Airther counter to

their objective of 'founding a political

solution' as they have declared. This will create

a dangerous precedent for foreign intervention

against inde¬pendent and sovereign nations and

violate the principles of the Charter of the

United Nations and the non-aligned movement.

"We deem it necessary to heed the security

interests of Thailand, and at the same time to

heed the security interests of Kampuchea. To this

end, there should be effective measures to check

the use of the territory of one country against

the other. Proceeding from this basic stand, the

People's Republic of Kampuchea proposed in July

1980 to establish a demilitarized zone along the

Kampuchea- Thailand border, but the Thai side did

not agree, saying that it cannot withdraw its

troops from a part of its own territory.

"At the recent Conference of the Lao, Kampu¬chean

and Vietnamese Foreign Ministers, the three

Indo-Chinese countries took notice of Thailand's

stand on a demilitarized zone and put forward a

new proposal to set up a safety zone along the

Kampuchea-Thailand border. This proposal meets

Thailand's concern that troops of the Thai

King¬dom should not withdraw from a part of its

territory. The new proposal only asks for the

withdrawal of forces which do not belong to

Thailand or the People's Republic of Kampuchea

from the safety zone. The three Indo-Chinese

countries voice their readiness to discuss and

reach agreement with the Thai side on such

concrete matters as the width of the safety zone,

the scope of Vietnamese troops withdrawal from

the Kampuchea-Thailand border as well as the

agreement of the transfer, of the Pol-Potist and

other Khmer reactionaries and refugee camps far,

from this border, the three Indo-Chinese

countries deem it necessary to agree on a form of

international supervision of the safety.

"To show their good will, the People's Republic

of Kampuchea and the Socialist Republic of Viet

Nam have of late made a first step by

unilaterally withdrawing some units of Vietnamese

troops from Kampuchea. If the Thai side gives a

positive response to this good will act, the

People's Republic of Kampuchea and the Socialist

Republic of Viet Nam will withdraw more units of

Viet¬namese troops from Kampuchea.

"In case Thailand refuses to establish the safety

zone, the three Indo-Chinese countries are ready

to discuss and reach agreement with the Thai side

on any measure strictly to respect the Kampuchea-

Thailand border as well as any measure including

a form of international supervision to ensure

peace and stability there.

"Many a time the People's Republic of Kam¬puchea

has stated that the agreement on this question is

not related to the de jure recognition of each

other. The People's Republic of Kampuchea will

not let the question of mutual recognition hinder

the discussion and agreement on the safety zone.

The realities of the past 30 years have shown

that the United States and Thailand signed with

Viet Nam and China the 1961-1962 Geneva Agreement

on Laos, and the United States and Viet Nam

signed the Paris Agree¬ment on Viet Nam in 1973

without subsequent mutual recognition.

"The ASEAN countries have stood for the

con¬vening of an international conference within

the framework of the United Nations to settle the

Kam¬puchea problem. They have unilaterally

convened this conference in disregard of the

three Indo- Chinese countries' protest. This is

an imposition from one side. The three

Indo-Chinese countries have put forward a

proposal to convene a regional conference between

the two groups of ASEAN and Indo-Chinese

countries. This has not been agreed to by the

ASEAN countries and such regional con¬ference has

not been convened.

"The realities of the past three years have shown

that an international conference is fruitful only

when there is the agreement and participation of

the directly related parties. The international

conference convened by the United Nations in July

1981 only ended in an impasse. With the good will

to find an issue for this abnormal situation, and

taking into consideration the ASEAN countries'

proposal for an international conference and the

three Indo-Chinese countries' proposal for a

regional con¬ference, the recent conference of

Vietnamese, Lao and Kampuchean Foreign Ministers

put forward a proposal for an international

conference on Southeast Asia with the

participation of nine countries inside and six

others outside the area. (The nine former are the

three Indo-Chinese countries, the five ASEAN

countries and Burma; the six latter are the

Soviet Union, the United States, China, France,

the United Kingdom and India).

."This conference will be convened only when

agreement is reached between the, directly

related countries, i.e. the ASEAN-and the

Indo-Chinese counties,, on the composition; of

Participants, agenda, place and time of the

conference.

"Regarding the composition of participants, there

may be disagreement on the countries taking part

J particularly on the representation of

Kampuchea. I think that this matter can be

discussed and a formula acceptable to all can be

found. It should not hinder the convening of the

conference. The three Indo- Chinese countries,

welcome the United Nations contribution to peace

and stability in South-East Asia. But the United

Nations maintenance of the Pol Pot genocidal

clique has inhibited its positive role.

"Concerning the agenda, there may also be

disagreement. I think that the conference can

discuss all the problems in the region raised by

each side on the principle of complete equality.

For us there are many ways: an agreed agenda, an

open agenda, or an agenda with agreed-upon

problems and open- ended problems.

"About the place, I think that the conference can

meet in a South-East Asian country, a neutral

country in Asia or Europe, perhaps at Rangoon,

New Delhi, Paris, Stockholm or Vienna, as agreed

by the two groups of countries.

"As for the time of the conference, I think that

the problems of peace and stability in Southeast

Asia are most urgent and need to be settled, the

sooner the better. Therefore I think that it

should be convened in the last three months of

this year or early next year."

161. In Kampuchea, Pol Pot and his criminal

clique, before being overthrown in 1979, embarked

on the genocide of their own people and took the

country back to the stone-age, at the instigation

of foreigners. Blood, hunger and exodus were the

price of this process internally, while

externally bloody aggressions against

neighbouring countries left an indelible imprint.

Since that time the horror has ended for the

Kamrpuchean people, and under the leadership of

the Government of the People's Republic of

Kampuchea that people has witnessed a miraculous

revival in unity and national harmony and its

political, economic, cultural and social

situation has undergone a striking return to

normal. The conditions of life of the people are

unquestionably improving; National institutions

have been established at all levels throughout

the territory of the country after, the general

elections J in particular the Constitution and

the Parliament. This legitimate Government,

supported by all Kampucheans, is unremittingly

pursuing a foreign policy of peace, friendship,

co-operation and good-neighborliness.

162. The international community is now in a

posi¬tion, knowing the facts, to draw impartially

and objec¬tively a comparison between the four

years of the reign of terror and genocide of the

Pol Pot regime and the three years of the

Government of the People's Republic of Kampuchea

and conclude which has done more for Kampuchea

and its valiant people and which of the two

deserves the honor and the right to speak on

behalf of Kampuchea.

163. For its part, the Lao People's Democratic

Republic believes that the United Nations must

restore to the Government of the People's

Republic of Kampuchea, the sole authentic and

legal representative of the Kampuehean people,

its proper place in the Organization and to expel

from it the representatives of the former

butchers of the Kampuchean people regardless of

what new guise they may appear in.

164. In so doing, the Organization would

enhance its prestige and be doing simple justice

to the Kam¬puchean people and, above all, to the

memory of 3 million of them who were murdered.

165. The year 1982 has also been marked by the

unbridled pursuit of the arms race by the

imperialists and military circles of NATO. This

has been brought about by the policy of

confrontation of the current United States

Administration and even more by its ambition to

attain a fallacious military and strategic

"superiority" over the Soviet Union, and certain

strategists of the Pentagon who have gone so far

as to advocate the first nuclear strike and even

the pos¬sibility of a so-called limited nuclear

war. In order to extract revenue from the

taxpayers and to win over public opinion to this

cause, there has been no end to the fables that

have been concocted about the so- called Soviet

threat.

166. Negotiations on arms limitations and

disarm¬ament, in various United Nations bodies

and other forums, in particular the Soviet-United

States bilateral negotiations, have not led to

any results. They either run up against the

opposition of the United States and its allies or

are unilaterally abandoned by them. This is what

happened to consideration of the question on the

prohibition of nuclear-weapon tests in the

Committee on Disarmament, the question of halting

the nuclear-arms race and negotiations on the

prohibition of the development, manufacture and

stockpiling of chemical weapons and their

destruction, for example.

167. Although the twelfth special session, the

second special session of the General Assembly

devoted to disarmament, held in June this year,

yielded no con¬crete results, it was nevertheless

of great significance because it showed the world

which countries are working for the cause of

peace and disarmament and which are striving to

impede attainment of that goal.

168. President Leonid Brezhnev's message

delivered at the 12th meeting of that special

session announcing the unilateral undertaking by

the Soviet Union not to be the first to use

nuclear weapons is an illustration of the

Leninist peace policy pursued by the Soviet Union

and it won the warm and total support of the Lao

People's Democratic Republic as well as that of

all peace-loving peoples in the world.

169. At the second special session on

disarmament, the Soviet Union reaffirmed and

developed its pro¬posals* for the consolidation

of peace, strengthening of detente and curbing of

the arms race—proposals which it had put forward

at the twenty-sixth Con¬gress of the Communist

Party of the Soviet Union. Those proposals are

constructive and realistic, and members of the

Committee on Disarmament should examine them most

seriously.

170. In the face of the ever-growing threat to

inter¬national peace and security represented by

the arms race, in particular the nuclear-arms

race and the race in other weapons of mass

destruction, the Lao People's Democratic Republic

welcomes any proposal aimed at eliminating that

threat. As a country that was the victim of

colonial and neo-colonial aggression and that

lived under the constant threat of imperialism,

expansionism and hegemonism, my country supports

the proposal of the People's Republic of Mongolia

for the conclusion of a convention on

non-aggression and non-use of force in relations

between Asian and Pacific States. The signing of

such a convention would undoubtedly contribute to

peace and co-oper¬ation in that part of the world.

171. The deterioration in the world economic

situa¬tion, that has come about in the last few

years was even more marked in 1982. The developed

capitalist countries, whose responsibility it is

to take appropriate measures to remedy this

situation, were unwilling to depart from their

negative attitude. This international economic

crisis provoked by the devel¬oped capitalist

countries has had an even greater effect on the

developing countries, in particular the

least-advanced among them. This serves only to

stress the interdependence of the two groups of

coun¬tries. The continued decline in the economic

situation in the developing countries could well,

over the long term, entail adverse effects for

the developed countries themselves. It is

therefore in their own interests to demonstrate

greater political will and realism in order to

restructure the present system of international

economic relations which is founded on injustice

and exploitation.

172. The picture I have just outlined would

appear at first sight a little gloomy.

Nevertheless it is encour¬aging to note that

crisis mongers and fomenters of war are becoming

more and more isolated and coming in for

increased international condemnation and that the

forces that are fighting for peace Justice and

social progress, on the other hand, are becoming

stronger with each passing day. This is proof

that the masses are no longer willing to live

with the specter of a nuclear conflagration

hanging over them, in poverty and exploitation.

They are calling for a halt to the unbridled arms

race, for improvement of their living conditions

and for a peaceful world for both their own

generation and that of their children. In a word,

they are calling for change in the existing

international order and its replacement by a

new—just, equitable and democratic—international

order where relations would be based on true

equality and mutually advan¬tageous co-operation.

173. By combining our efforts to respond to

their call and to their needs, we would be

discharging our obligations under the Charter.