Republic of the Congo, 1969

231. Mr. President, I first wish to address myself

through you to Madam President. After so many distinguished

speakers, I am pleased and proud to greet her and

offer her my warmest and most fraternal congratulations on

her election to the presidency of this session of the General

Assembly. Her election to this high office is a great honour

not only to her country, but also to Africa and to the

United Nations, which is the common hope of us all. It is a

well-deserved tribute to her great and noble personal

qualities which she has for so many years generously

devoted to the service of the Organization.

232. I would not wish to embark on the substance of my

speech without also paying a sincere tribute to her

illustrious predecessor, our late lamented colleague,

Mr. Arenales, who guided the work of the last session with

such skill and energy.

233. It is with profound foreboding that we find the

opening of the Assembly once again marked with pessimism

and bitter disillusionment, amid distress and turmoil,

beneath threatening skies, torn by cries of suffering and

weeping from many troubled regions on our unhappy

planet, grappling with the forces of systematic destruction

and injustice. And to impart an even darker hue to this

sombre picture of stark, harsh reality, let us add that,

confronted with this painful situation which impedes the

forward march of mankind, the United Nations, the

cynosure of so many hopes, is still at the stage of groping

for solutions.

234. This melancholy situation, which is the characteristic

feature of the international community, is the more

overwhelming now that baleful and basely selfish interests,

often steeped in the most ignoble hypocrisy and betrayal,

the most abject criminality and cynicism, seem to be the

determining factors in the complex problems of our era.

235. The forces of evil, the vampires of reaction, imperialism,

colonialism and neo-colonialism are bent on maintaining

their yoke and their cowardly opposition to the

forces of revolution, stalwarts of liberty and justice. It is no

longer a secret for anyone that the conflicts which arise,

grow and spread over our globe, have their roots in the

existence of a mighty hidden force whose primary aim is to

undermine, sabotage and wreck the just causes, the efforts

and the strivings for freedom of the masses of the people of

all countries.

236. Since the revolution of 13, 14 and 15 August 1963,

modified by the movement of 31 July 1968 under the

authentic and exclusive revolutionary leadership of the

National Council of the Revolution, its directorate and its

great leader, Comrade Major Marien Ngouabi, President of

the National Council of the Revolution and Head of State,

my country, Congo (Brazzaville) has set out freely, resolutely

and inexorably on the road to socialism, along with

the rest of the revolutionary world, convinced that the

wheel of human history is turning ever more swiftly

towards the liberation of all enslaved peoples, in spite of

obstacles, in spite of the redoubled efforts of the forces of

opposition, and against world reaction, against the tottering

monster of imperialism, against moribund colonialism, and

against neo-colonialism now thrown into confusion by the

rising wave of the forces of the vanguard of world

revolution.

237. Congo (Brazzaville) has done its utmost in the past,

and will do its utmost in the future, to give substantial help

to the defence of oppressed peoples. It will do everything in

its power to hamper the efforts of the forces of domination

and enslavement, and to serve the interests of proletarian

internationalism and universal peace. In pursuance of this

policy, Congo (Brazzaville) has always whole-heartedly

condemned all attempts to despoil or persecute any of the

world’s peoples.

238. Thus, in the tragic Middle Eastern conflict between

the State of Israel and the Arab States, our position has

never been in doubt. My country demands the withdrawal

of Israeli forces from occupied Arab territories, in accordance

with Security Council resolution 22 (1967) of 22

November 1967. This resolution, which alas was not

respected by Israel, was followed by other resolutions

which have also remained dead letters, namely, resolution

248 (1968) of 24 March 1968, resolution 256 (1968) of 16

August 1968, and resolution 265 (1969) of 1 April 1969.

239. Such conspicuous failure justifies us in asking

whether the United Nations has not become a mere factory

for the production of resolutions. That was not the goal

that we set ourselves on joining this Organization, and

Congo (Brazzaville) feels compelled to draw the attention

of world opinion to the danger to which we are exposing

the whole of mankind by our passivity.

240. The position of Congo (Brazzaville) is clear beyond

all doubt. We hope that peace may speedily be restored in

that part of the world, but we condemn Israel’s annexationist

ambitions, believing that this unjust conflict is a

grave threat to world peace. The United Nations is in duty

bound to apply the obvious solution, which is, and it

cannot be repeated too often, the withdrawal of Israeli

forces from occupied Arab territories.

241. No solution can be deemed adequate and lasting if it

disregards the legitimate aspirations and rights of the people

of Palestine; one cannot cure a disease unless one attacks it

at the root. In order to be able to do this, the search for a

solution to this conflict, whose bloody episodes have

caused consternation the world over, must be undertaken in

a climate free from intrigue. Certain Powers, which have

already sufficiently distinguished themselves by their interference

in the affairs of other countries, must cease their

encouragement and support of the expansionist views of

one of the parties to the conflict. My country is accordingly

following with interest the discussions between the four

great Powers for the purpose of finding a solution to the

conflict in the Middle East.

242. Not far from that danger point, another tragedy of

human and material losses is the incredibly bitter struggle

between Nigeria and secessionist Biafra. This gangrene in

the heart of Africa, which is causing untold suffering to

innocent peoples, could have been quickly healed without

harm to Nigeria’s interests, had it not been for foreign

interference. But, sad to say, the fire which is devastating

that rich and beautiful country was lit and is being fanned

by foreign hands, groping for “black gold“, for it is quite

certain that if Nigeria’s subsoil did not conceal oil deposits,

the conflict ravaging that country today would never have

reached its present proportions. The great Powers must

therefore cease their interference in this part of the African

continent, whose peoples have suffered severely in the civil

war and wish for nothing but a return to normal life.

243. The problem of Nigeria is an African problem to

which an African solution must be found, a solution within

the framework of the Organization of African Unity and in

accordance with the resolution adopted by that body at the

recent “summit” conference in Addis Ababa. Congo (Brazzaville)

is against balkanization and the continuation of the war in Nigeria.

244. The list of scourges ravaging the African continent, a

large part of which emerged exhausted from the era of

colonialism, is unfortunately not yet ended.

245. Many African peoples remain cowed beneath the

colonialist yoke of Portugal, a small, under-developed,

half-primitive country, with one of the highest illiteracy

rates in the world, a country which, without the barbarous

imperialist forces of NATO, would not have lasted a single

day against the upsurge of the revolutionary masses of

Angola, Mozambique, Guinea (Bissau) and the Cape Verde

Islands.

246. Thus, by the unconditional support which they lend

to Portugal’s outdated policies and colonial military expeditions,

which they strengthen and equip in defiance of every

moral law and of the sacred right of peoples to decide their

own destiny, the forces of NATO are guilty of abominable

crimes which will remain for ever graven in the memory of

mankind.

247. The African populations under the Portuguese colonial

yoke have been basely oppressed and dishonoured. The

policy and conduct of the Portuguese administration in the

occupied African territories is the most reprehensible and

revolting imaginable. It is the brutal application of a policy

of systematic suppression of all rights. In these African

territories, under the oppressive rule of Portuguese colonialists,

the best land belongs to the Portuguese masters.

Trade and all other activities enabling man to take part in

the life of the community in which he lives are beyond the

reach of the indigenous population. The petty officials in

the interior are veritable executioners, both for the Lisbon

Government and on their own account; they assassinate

African citizens and every day set out to spread terror and

anguish with the assistance of a political police force

modelled on the Gestapo.

248. That, in a few words, is what the so-called humanitarian

countries of NATO are supporting and maintaining

through their partner, Portugal. That is why my country, in

face of Portugal’s colonial policy, which is a disgrace to

mankind, feels it its duty to assist unconditionally all

liberation movements of the peoples under its domination.

249. The implacable struggle of the peoples of Guinea

(Bissau), the Cape Verde Islands, Mozambique and Angola,

leads us naturally to another unjust situation which arouses

the anger and reproach of the world—that of the Zimbabwe

people and the peoples of South Africa and Namibia, in the

southern part of the African continent.

250. The segregationist policy of the South African

Government and its extremely insolent attitude towards the

United Nations are inadmissible, and have already grievously

undermined the prestige of the Organization. Congo

(Brazzaville) whole-heartedly denounces and condemns this

policy, based on racial discrimination, and demands that

the United Nations take strong measures to discourage once

and for all the racists of South Africa.

251. With regard to Namibia, the position of my country

is the same as that of the majority of the great United

Nations family. South Africa has no right whatsoever to

Namibia, since the United Nations has formally terminated

South Africa’s Mandate for South West Africa. Namibia

both juridically and lawfully belongs to its inhabitants, the

Namibians.

252. South Africa’s attitude towards this problem reeks of

pure villainy and its inveterate love of anachronism. At the

same time, were it not for the forces of imperialism, the

international monopolies, and the assistance of some

Members of this very Organization who practise a hideous

two-faced policy with regard to the segregationist forces of

South Africa, the Government of South Africa would

already have yielded to the repeated injunctions of the

United Nations.

253. And as might have been expected, under the influence

of apartheid, another focus of racial segregation has

been established where a small minority refuses to grant to

an overwhelming majority the right to participate in the

administration of its own country, thus trampling underfoot

the most elementary principles of democracy. Only

recently, parody was carried to extremes when the racist

rebel regime of Ian Smith organized a ridiculous referendum,

the results of which have made it the laughing stock

of the world.

254. As we have always said in regard to the situation in

Rhodesia, my country holds the Wilson Government

responsible, for despite the protests of peoples in all parts

of the world, including the British people, against the

policy of Ian Smith, the Wilson Government, whether

intentionally or unintentionally, showed itself strangely

complacent.

255. Thus, as a result of its equivocations, the United

Nations is confronted with a fait accompli and to challenge

such a fait accompli demands even greater energy and

stronger action. We are confronted by a dark conspiracy of

base interests whose members are South Africa, Portugal

and Rhodesia, aided and abetted by another equally shady

bunch of sympathizers and honorary presidents, the members

of NATO. That is another regrettable fact.

256. From one regrettable fact to another, mankind is

moving towards the abyss, and may well be engulfed in it

unless strong hands take up the challenge flung down

before the human race.

257. So long as no serious attack is launched against the

forces of international monopoly and the imperialist

interests which sustain the slow, subtle, implacable and

many-sided war known as the “cold war“, the forces of

liberation will never feel secure, and the peoples of the

world will never be able to achieve free expression, the

management of their own affairs or the guidance of the

destinies of their countries in accordance with their own

wishes and deepest aspirations. Glaring examples of this

abound.

258. We are living through a most deplorable tragedy: the

courageous struggle of the brave Viet-Namese people,

standing up on its own soil to one of the greatest Powers of

our time.

259. In regard to this painful problem, Congo (Brazzaville)

has always adopted an unequivocal position, unequivocal

because it is in defence of a just cause, the cause of

Viet-Namese patriots fighting for freedom and for the unity

of their country. The victories of the Viet-Namese forces

have always been enthusiastically applauded by our people.

My country was one of the first to recognize the Provisional

Revolutionary Government of South Viet-Nam, the establishment

of which marked a decisive turning-point in the

history of the Viet-Namese people in their struggle against

aggression, an aggression characterized by indescribable

atrocities and the most demoralizing barbarity.

260. This aggression must cease, and the South Viet-Namese

people left free to decide its own destiny. The Paris

Conference, from which the peoples of the world are

hoping so much, must stop marking time and move forward

to the stage of frank and realistic negotiations.

261. Unfortunately, the United States has refused to give

a serious reply to the ten-point package proposal put

forward by the National Liberation Front and the Revolutionary

Government of the Republic of South Viet-Nam,

notably to the two fundamental points of that proposal,

namely unconditional withdrawal of all United States and

satellite troops stationed in South Viet-Nam, and formulation

of a coalition government.

262. The withdrawal of 60,000 United States troops out

of a total of 600,000 in South Viet-Nam appears to the rest

of the world as an utterly insignificant gesture and the

Agence France Presse was quite right when it said on 16

September last that: “The White House was indulging in

arithmetical acrobatics which only added to the general

confusion” of the withdrawal. As that great American

newspaper, The New York Times, observed on 15 September,

these 60,000 United States troops, announced with a

great fanfare by the President of the United States from

this rostrum, will not affect the United States war effort in

any way.

263. The people of Congo (Brazzaville), like all peoples

who love peace and justice, once again condemns these

Machiavellian designs whose object is to prolong the United

States military presence in South Viet-Nam, and to gain

time to reinforce the army and bolster up the puppet

administration in Saigon. This object was clearly revealed in

the statement by Mr. Melvin Laird, the United States

secretary of Defense, published in Time magazine, that

even if there were a partial withdrawal, the United States

would still keep 250,000 United States troops in South

Viet-Nam for an indefinite period.

264. It is no accident that the United States, while

publicizing this withdrawal, continues to keep up military

pressure against the South Viet-Namese population. According

to the Agence France Presse of 14 September last,

the United States Tactical Air Force alone carried out 369

raids, and during the nights of 14, 15 and 16 September its

B-52s made twenty-four raids over South Viet-Nam. Since

12 September, the United States Navy and artillery have

attacked the demilitarized zone on numerous occasions,

and on 14 September, the United States artillery even

shelled the northern part of the zone.

265. How, in these conditions and in the face of such acts

of piracy, can anyone dare to talk of a genuine contribution

to peace and of a desire to put an end to the war, while at

the same time opposing the setting up of a coalition

government which alone could achieve national harmony, a

broad union of the various sectors of the population and

political parties, establish democratic freedom, and organize

free general elections in the whole of South Viet-Nam?

266. From this rostrum, the President of the United States

urged us, representatives of the 126 States Members of the

United Nations, to use our “best diplomatic efforts to

persuade Hanoi to move seriously into the negotiations

which could end this war” [1755th meeting, para. 60]. The

people of Congo (Brazzaville) are ready to do this, but they

would urge the Government of the United States, on the

basis of the Monroe Doctrine, to let the Viet-Namese settle

their own affairs without foreign interference. Congo

(Brazzaville) believes that the ending of hostilities now lies

entirely in the hands of the United States. After the failure

of the Democratic Government of President Johnson, we

fear that, with the obstinate determination of the Republican

Government to continue the war, the American

people may take to the streets and demand an end to this

ghastly tragedy, for, as The New York Times wrote on 29

August 1969, there can be no solution to the problem so

long as President Nixon continues to undertake to support

the Thieu regime.

267. Not far from Viet-Nam is another region where the

forces of evil have taken root—Korea, a true by-product of

the cold war. Congo (Brazzaville), true to its socialist

philosophy and to the immutable principle that all peoples

have certain inalienable rights, supports and will continue

whole-heartedly to support the Korean people. The need

for the presence of United Nations forces in this part of

Asia should be reviewed; we do not believe that it is likely

to improve the situation in this arbitrarily divided country;

and we fear in fact that it may be no more than a sham.

The Korean dispute must be settled in a climate free from

foreign interference, and our community, whose aim is to

promote and safeguard universal peace, must do its utmost

to ensure that this area lives and prospers in renewed

tranquillity and brotherhood. The problem of the unification

of Korea is a domestic problem for the Korean people

It must be settled by the Koreans themselves in conformity

with the provisions of Article 2, paragraph 7, of the Charter

of the United Nations, which states that the United Nations

is not authorized to intervene in matters which are

essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any State.

268. But to list all the manifestations of the cold war and

trace all the outbreaks of violence in the world would take

too long. The highly respectable United Nations has more

than once fallen into the trap of refusing to admit as a

Member the greatest nation on earth, refusing to allow it to

play its part in guiding our community. This is an absurd

paradox, and this great family of nations, which needs to be

strengthened to be effective, ought to remedy such a

grievous disregard of its own principles. My country

demands that, in the course of this session, the People’s

Republic of China should be reinstated in its rights as the

sole representative of the Chinese people.

269. The presence of a certain so-called nationalist China

in this Organization is inadmissible. The United Nations

must restore People’s China to its lawful rights, and at the

same time invite the representatives of Chiang Kai-shek to

surrender the rights they have usurped. The Congolese

people, like all justice-loving peoples, cannot accept that a

quarter of the world’s population should not be represented

in this Organization.

270. It seems to us inconceivable that, without the

People’s Republic of China, a solution can be found to any

of the major problems confronting the world. For example,

disarmament is held up by an obstacle that can only really

be surmounted when a delegation from Peking begins to

take an effective part in discussions. Whatever one may

think of it, China’s power is an established fact, and to keep

China out of the settlement of major world problems is

both absurd and hypocritical.

271. As for the substance of the problem of disarmament,

Congo (Brazzaville) wishes to state emphatically that the

great Powers which possess immense stocks of weapons

must base their decisions on sincerity and impartiality.

Congo (Brazzaville) does not want disarmament policy to

be a mere manoeuvre of the great Powers for the purpose of

establishing their supremacy. Disarmament must be effective

if it is to serve the real interests of peoples everywhere.

The astronomical rise in the great Powers’ expenditure on

armaments is scandalous and outrageous, in view of the

poverty, the ghettoes and the numerous other problems

confronting two thirds of mankind.

272. The startling imbalance in the world economic

situation testifies most eloquently to the dominant selfishness

to the barrier that divides the rich from the poor.

And everyone knows that this barrier, built on the

indifference and selfishness of the wealthy countries, grows

wider and higher every year.

273. As we enter what some call the Second United

Nations Development Decade we find, alas, that for many

of our countries the necessary conditions for embarking on

the process of rapid economic development are far from

having been attained. Not only is the third world economically

backward, to an alarming degree, in comparison

with the industrialized countries, but statistics all show that

this backwardness is increasing dramatically in relation to

population growth. And the facts, unfortunately, only serve

to confirm our pessimism when we consider what steps

have been taken in an endeavour to reverse the trend. The

New Delhi Conference dramatically revealed to the

whole world the underlying selfishness of the developed

countries.

274. The developing countries want to have done with the

sophisticated world of useless theorizing and condescension,

and to get straight into the stimulating and decisive

world of practical realities and genuine international solidarity.

It is for this reason that Congo (Brazzaville) believes

that economic co-operation and development must be given

new forms. This is another regrettable fact.

275. What conclusion can we draw from this brief survey

of the state of the game on the international chess-board?

Personally I decline to draw any conclusion, because the

facts speak for themselves more forcefully and more

spontaneously than anything that human intelligence could

devise.

276. I must, however, emphasize, for the benefit of the

people who have appointed you, honourable representatives,

that positive forces must act with redoubled energy

and determination if justice and peace are to prevail for us

and for future generations and if we are ever to see a more

worthy and more active international community.