Bulgaria, 1982

Comrade President, I should like most cordially

to congratulate you on your election to the

important post of President of the thirty-seventh

session of the General Assembly and wish you

every success in your important work. It is a

particular pleasure for me to welcome in your

person a representative of the Hungarian

People's Republic with which the People's

Republic of Bulgaria maintains relations of

fraternal friendship and co-operation in the

interests of both peoples and of peace and

socialism. The Bulgarian delegation also wishes

to express its warmest greetings to the

Secretary-General. We should like to assure him

of our readiness to afford him every co-operation

in the discharge of his most responsible task.

40. The focus of attention of the

thirty-seventh session of the General Assembly

is once again the cardinal issue of eliminating

the threat of a destructive nuclear war, the

cessation of the arms race and the elimination of

sources of international tension, and this is

only natural. In accordance with its goals and

purposes the Organization has always given pride

of place to the most important problems of the

day. At this time the prevailing view isóand this

has been corroborated by the whole course of the

work at this sessionóthat there is now in fact no

more urgent or immediate humanitarian problem

than concern for the preservation and

consolidation of peace throughout the world,

which is in keeping with the interests of all

peoples. It is being called for by all the

peoples of our planet:

41. However, we must note with considerable

concern that over the past year the situation in

the world has continued to deteriorate and is

becoming ever more explosive. A nuclear

catastrophe has become a serious and real threat.

The arms race is being stepped up. In practice,

talks on a number of issues have been

paralyzedóissues which are so vitally important

for peace and security. Other issues have been

marking time for years.

42. The policy of sanctions and diktat is

undermining international economic co-operation

and having the most adverse effect on political

relations among States.

43. There still survive existing sources of

tension. What is more, they are being exacerbated

and becoming ever more dangerous to universal

peace and new ones are constantly being added.

44. In the Middle East, the wounds inflicted

on Lebanon by a barbarous act of aggression are

still fresh. The world was shocked by the crimes

of the ruling Tel Aviv circles. Such crimes would

of course have been impossible without support

from their powerful strategic ally. Flouting the

Charter and United Nations resolutions, Israel

has destroyed thousands of innocent Lebanese and

Palestinians. The height of shameless behavior by

these contemporary vandals was reached in the

mass slaughter of defenseless women, children and

the elderly in Palestinian camps.

45. I should like from this lofty rostrum to

state that the Government of the People's

Republic of Bulgaria and the entire Bulgarian

people most vigorously condemn what was nothing

less than an act of genocide.

46. The racist regime in South Africa has

been stepping up its aggressive actionß against

neighbouring sovereign States. It is continuing

illegally to occupy Namibia, the people of which,

under the leadership of the South West Africa

People's Organization [SW/4PO], has for years now

been valiantly fighting to exercise its right to

se -determination and independence. Yet Pretoria

and its protectors continue their efforts to

circumvent the decisions of the General Assembly

and the Security Council and to link the question

of Namibia's independence with pre-conditions

which constitute flagrant interference in the

internal affairs of the sovereign State of Angola.

47. Tension s are growing in Latin America

and in the Caribbean. Political and economic

pressure is being exerted upon Cuba, Nicaragua

and other States, whilst threats to use military

force are being openly voiced.

48. An objective analysis of the facts

confirms unequivocally that this critical

situation in international relations has been

brought about by the actions of the most

reactionary imperialist forcesóprimarily certain

circles in the United States. Having rejected the

policy of detente, they have embarked on a course

of sharp acceleration of military preparations

and over- armament, the aim of which is clear: to

upset the approximate military and strategic

balance between the Soviet Union and the United

States and between the Warsaw Pact and the North

Atlantic Treaty Organization [M47Y3], and to

achieve military superiority and hegemony on a

global scale. In pursuit of their ambitions they

are heading for an all-out confrontation with the

countries of the socialist community.

49. The use of force has always been an

attribute of the policy of imperialism.

Characteristic features of its present

militaristic course arc its markedly provocative

nature, its growing aggressiveness and its

increasing reliance on nuclear weapons as an

instrument of policy. As a result of this,

certain concepts and doctrines are being

officially proclaimed which allow for the

possibility of launching a "first nuclear

strike", waging a "limited nuclear war" or a

"protracted nuclear war". These concepts and

doctrines are reflected in the large-scale

programmes for the general strengthening of the

military might of the United States and NATO, for

a drastic build-up of strategic offensive weapons

and of nuclear and conventional armaments.

Everyone is aware of the plans to deploy United

States medium-range missiles in Europe. If those

plans were to materialize, the threat of

outbreak of a nuclear conflict would increase

many times over. Moreover, NATO's program for

nuclear rearmament, which envisages increasing

its arsenals by thousands of weapons, plus

ammunition, is also under way. New types of

nuclear and other means of mass destruction, such

as neutron and binary chemical weapons, are being

manufactured and space military systems are being

developed. Efforts are being made to drag States

from various parts of the world into

imperialism's orbit of military preparations.

50. In contradiction to agreements reached,

to the Helsinki Final Act and the legal and moral

norms of inter state relations, there has been an

intensification of crude attempts to interfere in

the domestic affairs of socialist countries and

to create obstacles to their development. Those

responsible intend to use economic sanctions and

restrictions on trade with them.

51. The "crusade" against the countries of

the socialist community, as its initiators call

it, includes psychological warfare, as well as

political and material support for

counter-revolutionary and subversive acts; it has

as its objective the destruction of socialism as

a socio-political system and ideology. History

since 1917 provides examples of a series of such

plans. Their ill-fated end is well-known.

52. The hegemonistic actions of imperialism

against the developing countries are being

stepped up, especially against those countries

which are fighting for their national and social

liberation and are unwilling to succumb to

foreign diktat, defending their right to

political and economic independence against those

which are rich in natural resources or are

strategically situated.

53. It is hard to find a region which the

United States has not claimed as a sphere of its

"vital interests", arrogating to itself the right

to "defend" those "interests" by all possible

means, including the use of force. We all know

who is maintaining tension in many parts of the

world by dispatching military armadas and rapid

deployment forces, by setting up military bases

in close proximity to the borders of socialist

and other democratic countries, We all know who

is interfering in the internal aRairs of

sovereign States and is supporting reactionary

and dictatorial regimes in a number of countries.

54. This policy of seeking a position of

strength breeds an atmosphere of particular

tension, impedes political, economic, cultural

and other ties, strains relations among States

and, in effect, poses a strong threat to world

peace and security.

55. The outcome of the battle, however, can

by no means be decided in favor of militarism and

hegemonism. The threat of war is. real; yet war

is not inevitable. Peace is threatened but is not

doomed. It can and must be preserved. There are

forces in the world which are doing a great deal

to stand up to the policy of aggression and are

honorably carrying out their peaceful mission in

the name of life and progress. The countries of

the socialist community are in the vanguard of

those forces. A significant role is being played

by the majority of non-aligned countries and

those Western States which cherish peace and

value the fruits of detente. This powerful front

of peace relies on the will of all peoples to

live in peace, as evidenced by the

unprecedentedly large-scale anti-war movement.

56. True to their principled and consistent

foreign policy, the People's Republic of Bulgaria

and the other countries of the socialist

community are guided by their firm conviction

that there is no more vital task than that of

guaranteeing the peaceful development of mankind.

Proceeding from this position they consider it

their supreme duty to continue, through concerted

and vigorous actions, doing everything possible

in order to avert a nuclear war and to eliminate

even the very threat of it. This means putting an

end to the arms race and proceeding to real

disarmament in the field of nuclear and other

weapons of mass destruction, as well as in the

field of conventional weapons; it means

restoring, continuing and deepening the process

of detente; it means strengthening confidence

among countries; it means consistent and patient

concerted efforts, through negotiations, to

achieve a solution to the problems which

undermine international security and to create a

propitious climate for a direct dialogue between

the East and the West, to solve the problems of

developing countries and promote international

relations on the basis of the principles of

peaceful coexistence among States of different

social systems.

57. Evidence of the readiness of the

socialist countries to work for the cause of

peace and security is their initiatives and

proposals.

58. This goal was served by the peace program

of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. It

was served by the decision of the Soviet Union

not to be the first to use nuclear weapons. Were

the other nuclear Powers to assume the same

obligation, that would in practice be tantamount

to the banning of nuclear weapons and reducing to

a minimum the possibility of nuclear conflict.

That cause is further served by the proposal to

conclude a world treaty on the non-use of force

in international relations. It is also served by

the proposal that the governing bodies of NATO

and the Warsaw Treaty make declarations to the

effect that the spheres of operation of those

alliances would not be extended to include Asia,

Africa and Latin America. It is served by the

proposals put forward from this rostrum two days

ago to accelerate the elaboration and signing of

a treaty for the complete and general prohibition

of nuclear-weapon tests, to declare a moratorium

on all nuclear explosions, including those for

peaceful purposes and to declare the destruction

of peaceful nuclear facilities, even by

conventional weapons, as tantamount to an attack

with nuclear weapons. We support the inclusion of

these items in the agenda of this session of the

General Assembly.

59. The People's Republic of Bulgaria greatly

appreciates the contribution made by the

countries of the non-aligned movement to the

solution of the acute problems facing the world

today. We will continue to expand our

co-operation with the non-aligned countries in

the struggle against imperialism, for the

strengthening of peace and security, for

disarmament and detente, for restructuring

international economic relations on a just and

democratic basis, for consolidating the

independence and sovereignty of the newly

independent States and for eradicating the last

vestiges of colonialism, as well as those of

neo-colonialism and apartheid.

60. We respect the positions of those Western

statesmen and heads of Government who are well

aware that a nuclear war, no matter how well its

strategists might plan it or by what name they

might call it, will recognize neither frontiers

nor neutrality and that such a war would be sheer

madness and would mean the end of human

civilization. One concrete expression of

political realism and common sense is the

Declaration on the Prevention of Nuclear

Catastrophe adopted at the thirty-sixth session

of the General Assembly, which emphasizes that

States and statesmen that would be the first to

use nuclear weapons would commit the gravest of

crimes against humanity.

61. It is our profound conviction that the

safeguarding of peace can and must be the

concern of all. Only through a steadfast struggle

with the united efforts and the concerted

decisive actions of all progressive forces which

possess enormous potential, can peace be

guaranteed on a lasting and reliable basis. As

Todor Zhivkov, General Secretary of the Central

Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party and

President of the State Council of the People's

Republic of Bulgaria, recently stated:

"Nothing must prevent all parties, organizations,

movements and individuals conscious of how grave

a peril to mankind a nuclear war can be from

finding their place and playing a fitting role in

the struggle for peace and against the nuclear

threat."

62. We reaffirm our position that there is no

other road to solving any international problem

than the road of negotiations. The 1970s have

proved that, given the presence of goodwill and

realism and with strict respect for the principle

of equality and the equal security of countries,

it is possible, although not without difficulty,

to reach important international agreements on

even such extremely complex questions as the

limitation of strategic arms. Of course what I

have in mind are not talks that would serve to

screen the arms race, but rather a businesslike

and frank dialogue that could lead to concrete

and positive results. The People's Republic of

Bulgaria has always been in favor of such an

approach, and it will continue to support it.

63. Such fundamental present-day issues as

peace and security must always be approached with

a sense of high responsibility. My country is of

the opinion that negotiations currently under way

should be intensified so that they may achieve

concrete results, and it is our hope that the

Madrid meeting will successfully complete its

work and adopt a decision to convene a conference

on confidence-building measures and disarmament

in Europe. For this purpose a constructive

approach on the part of all participating States

is needed. The same holds true for the talks on

the reduction of armed forces and armaments in

Central Europe, and particularly for the Soviet-

American negotiations on limiting nuclear weapons

in Europe and on limiting and reducing strategic

arms.

64. In our view, every possible effort should

be made to eliminate sources of tension. It is

imperative to reach a comprehensive, just and

lasting solution to the Middle East problem as

soon as humanly possible. It is our view that the

plan put forward by Leonid Ilych Brezhnev, with

which the basic provisions of the plan that

emerged from the Twelfth Arab Summit Conference

in Fez coincide, provides all necessary measures

for eliminating that dangerous hotbed of tension.

The People's Republic of Bulgaria supports the

idea of convening an international conference on

a comprehensive settlement of the Middle East

problem, with the participation, on an equal

footing, of all the parties concerned, including

the PLO, the sole legitimate representative of

the Arab people of Palestine.

65. We have repeatedly called for an end to

the war between Iraq and the Islamic Republic of

Iran and for solving the disputes between the two

countries through peaceful means.

66. My country reiterates its position of

principle on the settlement of the Cyprus

question in the interests of both the Greek

Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots while

preserving the independence, territorial integrity

and the policy of non-alignment of the Republic

of Cyprus.

67. We are in favor of granting full

independence to Namibia in compliance with the

decisions of the United Nations.

68. The vital interests of the peoples of

South-East Asia require that we recognize

existing political realities, that an end be put

to the interference by the imperialist and

hegemonist forces in the internal affairs of

those peoples and that the attempts being made to

pit them against one another be brought to a

halt. What the peoples of the region need is

peace, stability and co-operation. The

constructive proposals of the three countries of

Indo-Chinaóthe socialist Republic of Vie' Nam,

the Lao People's Democratic Republic and the

People's Republic of Kampucheaóare designed to

achieve that very goal, and it is for that reason

that we fully support them.

69. Efforts should be continued to turn the

Indian Ocean into a zone of peace in accordance

with United Nations decisions.

70. We support the proposal of the Democratic

People's Republic of Korea for the peaceful and

democratic reunification of Korea.

71. With regard to the problem that has

arisen in the South Atlantic and which, its

essence, is one of decolonization, in our view a

just solution should be sought through

negotiations in accordance with the resolutions

of the General Assembly.

72. In stressing the important role of the

United Nations in the maintenance of peace and

the strengthening of security throughout the

world, we support the proposal of the

Secretary-General f*n the convening of a meeting

of the Security Council at the highest level to

consider ways and means of enhancing its

effectiveness in the interests of attaining the

objectives of the Organization.

73. The People's Republic of Bulgaria has

always pursued and will continue to pursue a

policy of peace, mutual understanding and

co-operation among all nations. By way of

example, I would mention the program of the

Twelfth Congress of the Bulgarian Communist Party

for enhancing detente and promoting

good-neighborly relations in the Balkans, and

also the proposal of President Todor Zhivkov with

regard to turning the Balkan peninsula into a

nuclear-weapon- free zone, which is consonant

with the purposes of the United Nations.

74. The international situation urgently

demands active efforts and concrete actions from

all of us to eliminate the nuclear threat halt

the arms race, extinguish hotbeds of tension, to

guarantee international security and a tranquil

future for the peoples, and to ensure peace

throughout the world. I wish to assure the

Assembly that the People's Republic of Bulgaria

will continue to make its contribution to the

efforts of the United Nations to ensure the

achievement of these objectives.