Myanmar, 1969

25. It is my privilege to extend to you, Madam President,

the cordial and sincere congratulations of the delegation

of Burma, and my own personally, on your election as President

of the General Assembly of the United Nations at its twenty-four

session. The delegation of Burma is confident that your

wide experience in the affairs of the international community,

and the special perspective which you will doubtless

bring to bear on the problems that lie ahead of the

General Assembly, will be instrumental in guiding it along

constructive channels so that the deliberations at this year's

session will prove to be a positive step forward in the true

interests of international harmony and international co-operation.

26. I should also like to take this opportunity to express

our sense of bereavement on the passing-away of Dr. Emilio

Arenales of Guatemala, who gave his distinguished services

to the General Assembly as President of the twenty-third

session.

27. We are assembled here at a time when the patterns of

relationship between individuals as well as groups of

nations, and within the groups themselves, are undergoing

significant changes, and the General Assembly mirrors

today the many moods of the world community. The

tendency of the major Powers, in recent years, to avoid

direct confrontation with each other and to have recourse

to negotiation instead is a welcome development. However,

even when the policies of the major Powers complement

rather than confront each other, it would be Well to

remember that there are, nevertheless, other confrontations

between peoples struggling for their political, economic and

social independence against the forces of neo-colonialism

and of various forms of foreign domination. Neo-colonialism

frequently resorts to power politics, subversive activities

and interference in the internal affairs of other nations,

thereby violating the principles and purposes of the Charter

of the United Nations and endangering the political and

economic independence, as well as the territorial integrity,

of many independent nations. In the opinion of my

delegation, small but independent-minded states exposed to

these dangers would find a refuge and a remedy in the

realization of the need to reform and sometimes even to

revolutionize the social systems and structures inherited

from their colonial past which provided opportunities for

advancement only for the restricted few while neglecting

the rights of the vast majority.

28. Political, economic and social structural changes which

would ensure the rights and safeguard the interests of the

vast majority of their peoples are necessary in order to

establish a sound national basis for unity, stability, peace

and progress. Our own experience in Burma, where we have

made far-reaching changes, is that they have facilitated the

establishment of a political and social system best suited to

our own deep-rooted culture and long-standing traditions,

customs and mores. There are still many parts of the world

where national difficulties invite external transgression.

Indeed, my delegation has been led into thinking aloud on

this matter because, like other delegations assembled from

Asia, we are well aware of the agony attendant, in some of

the countries in our part of the world, on situations

occasionally beset with unseen protagonists and almost

always with unresolved national issues.

29. I wish to refer briefly to the developments regarding

Viet-Nam. We welcome the current peace talks, and are

hopeful that they will pave the way to a future of their own

choosing for the Viet-Namese people, free from all external

interference. However, after a year of these talks hardly any

progress seems to have been achieved. Meanwhile untold

suffering and unbearable trials and tribulations have be-

come almost a normal state of affairs for our fellow Asians

in Viet-Nam, both in the north and in the south. The

delegation of Burma considers it immoral to persist. in

taking adamant stands and holding to stubborn attitudes

while innocent citizens, including children, women and the

aged, are being subjected to indiscriminate bombing and

brutal shelling, We honestly believe that a good part of the

responsibility lies with the great Powers involved in the

affairs of these countries.

30. In the Kingdom of Laos, our neighbouring State, there

have been disquieting reports of more outside interventions

and bigger military operations. This has to be stopped

before the situation becomes worse. I should like to quote

our Head of State, General Ne Win, who, in welcoming His

Majesty the King of Laos to Rangoon in 1963, stated:

“Unfortunately, ours is a world in which opposing

power-blocs still exist, and newly independent underdeveloped

countries are often affected by conflicts between

such power-blocs, much to their detriment. The Union of

Burma has all along tried her best to steer clear of such

conflicts and to maintain and develop friendly relations

with all countries.”

31. On behalf of my Government I hereby reiterate what

our Head of State said some six years ago: we shall steer

clear of conflicts between power blocs and shall maintain

and develop friendly relations with all countries.

32. If I may recapitulate post-war power politics: in the

immediate aftermath of World War II, the world lay

prostrate at the feet of victorious Powers. In their erroneous

concept of security through building military blocs

they sought client States and the world was virtually

divided into two big camps. The bipolarization process

went on at an accelerated pace and small States found

themselves at the mercy of the super-Powers.

33. Only the independent-minded and the self-reliant

refused to yield and in spite of all difficulties struggled to

maintain their independent status. The policy of non-alignment,

once held in some quarters to be synonymous with

immorality, now has proved to be correct. By strictly

following the non-alignment policy, Burma has contributed

towards upholding the principles of the United Nations.

34. We are now in the age of polycentrism. Super-Powers,

in spite of their immense strength and power, find

themselves helpless in providing solutions to problems in

which they are directly or indirectly involved. They find it

extremely difficult, if not impossible, to extricate themselves

from the morass they are in. They have, for example,

found it very difficult to get out of Viet-Nam. If there is

one supreme lesson to be learnt from a generation of

post-war politics it is that interference in the affairs of

other nations is detrimental to peace-keeping, and also to

peace-building, if you will, in this troubled world. There is

ample evidence that it is easier to get in than out of a

politico-military involvement.

35. I have dwelt at some length on the relationship

between major Powers and the rest of the world — and for

good reason. Even when we are faced with the most

challenging problems, problems that have so far defied all

solution, there are at present some discordant voices,

impervious to current international realities, calling for

more interference and intervention on the part of certain

big Powers in the affairs of small countries.

36. Regarding the Middle East situation, which has disturbed

us profoundly by its persistent violence and bitter

strife, we sincerely hope that the United Nations and

Powers primarily concerned will continue in their efforts to

avert the eruption of another devastating conflict. The

delegation of Burma, like a great many other delegations,

considers that the basis for a peaceful settlement has been

established in resolution 242 (1967) of 22 November 1967,

adopted unanimously by the Security Council. Even if the

implementation of the provisions of the resolution has so

far proved difficult, the delegation of Burma would like to

think that the parties to the conflict are not unaware of the

need for reaching an early settlement in the interest of each

and every nation in the area, or of the fact that the

bitterness of the continuing conflict ensures that any

advantage accruing from military action will only be of a

temporary nature.

37. I should like to refer here to the subject of disarmament

with which the issues of war and peace in the world

today are closely linked. We consider that the Treaty on the

Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons [resolution

2373 (XXII)] is only one side of the coin of nuclear

disarmament, and to preserve the peace of the world it is

not sufficient merely to ensure that those nations at present

without a nuclear capability should never acquire that

capability. It would be infinitely more meaningful if

today’s nuclear-weapon Powers, as a positive action towards

dismantling their own nuclear arsenals. took at least the

essential first step of limiting their nuclear weaponry. The

world has been looking forward expectantly to the day

when the United States and the Soviet Union will commence

their bilateral discussion on the limitation and

reduction of strategic nuclear weapons. It is hoped that

agreement will also be reached on the banning of underground

nuclear tests, and that a comprehensive test ban will

put an end to the trend towards sophistication in nuclear

weapons.

38. The delegation of Burma is hopeful, therefore, like

other delegations assembled here, that the two major

nuclear-weapon Powers will renew their initial impetus

towards bilateral discussions and assert sufficient political

will to ensure that those discussions will be fruitful. With

your permission, Madam President, I should like to quote

here from the address made by the Head of State of the

Union of Burma in Moscow in 1965:

“... No nation can feel at peace with itself nor with the

world unless general and complete disarmament becomes

a reality. To those nations who have nuclear potential as

to those who have nuclear capability, it must be. obvious,

as it is to us here in this historic city of Moscow which

has witnessed the signature of the partial nuclear test ban

Treaty, that nuclear capability, if it decreases the areas of

international understanding and heightens international

anxiety, is in the end futile and self-defeating.”

39. On the question of the preservation of the sea-bed and

ocean floor beyond the limits of national jurisdiction for

peaceful purposes exclusively, the delegation of Burma

reiterates its view that it is essential that the armaments

race should not be further extended to any new sphere or

element. Given the pace of modern technological development

it is extremely urgent that agreement be reached

which will preclude activities of a military nature from the

sea-bed and ocean floor. A parallel need, and an almost

equally urgent one if the advances of science and technology

in the field are not to be utilized for the benefit of a

small group of countries but for all nations, is the successful

formulation of principles which will regulate the exploitation

of the resources of the sea-bed and the ocean floor in

the interest of all mankind. All nations, including the

developing countries which do not yet have the technical

competence to undertake exploitative activity, should share

in the benefits derived from the exploitation of the

resources of the sea-bed and the ocean floor beyond the

limits of national jurisdiction.

40. I should like to take this opportunity to compliment

the Secretary-General on his report entitled Chemical and

Bacteriological (Biological) Weapons and the Effects of

their Possible Use. The prospect of chemical and biological

warfare has not claimed the same attention, nor produced

the same degree of fear and horror, as has the prospect of

nuclear warfare, but its more insidious nature, its easier

production and utilization, and the possibility of its

longer-lasting effects, all make it a prime subject for a

co-ordinated effort at international control. It is essential,

as the Secretary-General has urged, “to make a clear

affirmation that the prohibition contained in the Geneva

Protocol” of 1925 “applies to the use in war of all

chemical, bacteriological and biological agents (including

tear-gas and other harassing agents), which now exist or

which may be developed in the future”.

41. In the effort to maintain intact the fragile fabric of

international peace, one of the essentials, without which

the international community labours under a severe handicap,

is universality of membership in the United Nations

and the specialized agencies. The effectiveness of the

United Nations as an instrument of international peace

could be enhanced, and the goodwill and co-operation of all

nations could be better assured, if there were universality of

membership. However, till today the People’s Republic of

China, the world’s most populous nation, continues to be

excluded from its rightful seat among the membership of

the United Nations. The delegation of Burma wishes to

reiterate its view that discussions of world problems would

be more realistic if the People’s Republic of China were to

be a party to them as a Member of the United Nations.

42. The delegation of Burma regrets that much time must

necessarily be spent at each session of the General

Assembly considering ways to combat the twin evils of

colonialism and racial discrimination. However anachronistic

those practices may appear to be, they nevertheless still

persist and even flourish in certain parts of the world. The

part played by the Republic of South Africa in nurturing

colonialism and racialism in southern Africa is a sorry one,

and concerning Namibia, particularly, South Africa’s actions

are especially disturbing, since it continues to challenge

and flout openly the authority of the United Nations

itself. The people of Namibia continue to be deprived of

their right to self-determination and independence, and,

instead, find themselves incorporated more and more into

the system of apartheid. It is essential, therefore, that the

Republic of South Africa be effectively deterred from the

course it is now taking over Namibia.

43. That there should be not merely a prevalence but an

expansion of the policy of racial discrimination in southern

Africa is a matter of increasing concern to the great

majority of the nations of the world, which believe in the

essential worth and dignity of the human person. It is a

disquieting thought that the expansion of racialist policies

in the area can only result in the most violent racial

conflict, and that the conflict will only be resolved in

brutality and tragedy. In such a situation the delegation of

Burma considers that, if further tragedy is to be avoided,

developments in southern Africa call for timely action on

the part of the permanent members of the Security

Council.

44. I should like, at this point, to refer to the problems of

economic development, for the solution of which both

national and international effort and resources have been

applied increasingly within recent times. The First United

Nations Development Decade launched by the General

Assembly in 1961 is rapidly coming to a close. Yet the pace

of economic and social progress in the developing countries

has been greatly disappointing, and it is apparent that

neither of the two goals set by the General Assembly is

likely to be as fully achieved as had been envisaged. The

disappointment concerning the First Development Decade

has been ascribed mainly to the lack of an international

strategy, and an attempt has been made to remedy this lack

for the Second Development Decade.

45. The delegation of Burma is, however, of the view that,

the availability or lack of such a development strategy

notwithstanding, the development goals of the international

community cannot be achieved without the requisite

political will on the part of both developed and developing

countries. The delegation of Burma holds firmly to the view

that the most important part of the strategy that may be

formulated should be the creation of a two-way political

will as between developing and developed countries. I

should like to present the thought that the most effective

way of helping to create the requisite political will among

the developed countries would be to demonstrate beyond

any doubt the sincerity and intensity of the desire of the

developing countries to place primary reliance on their own

strength and resources. The developed nations, for their

part, should expect no political or material returns from the

developing countries for the assistance and co-operation

which they may be prepared to extend to help achieve the

objectives of the Second Development Decade.

46. Some representatives have commented, both at the

previous session and at this session of the Assembly, on the

prevalence of discriminatory practices in international

trade. We believe such practices to be very detrimental to

world trade in general, and to the developing countries in

particular, and that it is essential to do away with such

discrimination and restrictions in order to close the gap

between the developed and the developing countries. Some

developing countries are still dependent upon a single-crop

economy, and since it takes a considerable time to diversify

their economy, the developed countries could help close

that gap by doing away with all trade discrimination during

this process of diversification. Although aid could be of

some help, we believe that trade without discrimination

could be of immense value in the process of development.

47. The United Nations will complete the twenty-fifth

year of its existence next year. If any special sanctity

should be attached to the twenty-fifth anniversary of the

Organization, it should perhaps be because it serves to

signal the hour when Member nations may wish to pause, in

the words of the Secretary-General, for a

”...reflection and stock-taking in the middle of our

long pilgrimage for consolidation of the progress already

made by our Organization and, finally, for renewed

dedication of the ideals we set out to attain twenty-five

years ago at San Francisco”.

48. With increasing age some of the lustre may have been

lost from the ideals that were set at San Francisco, but it is

the view of the delegation of Burma that we should neither

despair at this loss nor yet cynically accept, in the name of

realism, some of the failures attendant on the activities of

the Organization. A renewed determination by all nations

to practise more consistently the principles enshrined in the

Charter would surely be the most effective rededication by

the membership to the ideals set out at San Francisco.