A/35/PV.36 General Assembly

22.  The situatioD iD KampucJlea: report of the Secretary-GeDeral 3. The IJRESIDENT: In connexion with the draft resolution on the situation in Kampuchea, contained in document A/35;L.2/Rev.l, I wish to inform the General Assembly that the following countries have become sponsors: Niger, Upper Volta and Zaire. 4. I now call on the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Philippines, who wishes to introduce the draft resolution. * Resumed from the 20th meeting. NEW.. YORK S. Mr. ROMULO (Philippines): For the second successive year the Assembly will discuss the item on the situation in Kampuchea. The fact that we continue to be seized ,Qf'.the item is a strong indication that we have madeIittle progress in the search for the peaceful settl~~ent of a problem which is of supreme importance to peace in South-East Asia and to world stability. 6. If we have failed to make progress, it is not for lack of trying. The Secretary-General's report [A1351 50/] makes it amply clear that, in the past year, earnest efforts have been exerted by the Secretary- General and the international community to create a climate favourable to negotiations, which could lead to a political solution of the festering situation in Kam- puchea. 7. The report affirms the increasing seriousness ofthe problem. In response to General Assembly resolution 34/22, the Secretary-General in November 1979 sent his Special Representative, Mr. Javier Perez de Cuellar, to Bangkok for a first-hand view of the condi- tions in the troubled area. In that regard the Secretary- General observed: "[Mr. Perez de Cuellar'sl report to me confirmed the gravity o~ the problems in the area, particularly along the Thai-Kampuchean border, and the serious- ness of the political and military factors that had compounded the appalling human suffering being endured by the Kampuchean people." [Ibid., para. 5.] 8. I should remind the Assembly that the resolution was adopted in November 1979. Today, in October 1980, the conditions have worsened and have magnified the threat to world peace. The statements thus far made in the Assembly are not an exercise in hyperbole; they reflect the grim reality in Kampuchea. 9. There are two aspects to the problem of Kampu- chea. The first is humanitarian, the second military and political. The generosity of donors has in great measure alleviated the recurring nightmares of hunger, disease and death which confront the unfortunate people of Kampuchea. We take nothing away from the exemplary work of the relief organizations, interna- tional and private. But they are, I believe, the first to realize that their humanitarian efforts are often blocked by considerations of an essentially political character and, worse, by the deliberate use of military forces as a political weapon. That suggests the ineradicable linkage between the two aspects of the Kampuchean problem. Solve the second and the first will find its own solution. 10. Against that background, my delegation is firmly convinced that the great roadblock to peace in South- East Asia is the persistent pursuit of mini-hegemony in the region by Viet Nam through various means, 2.5. This clear and reasonable appeal issued by the international community was met by the Vietnamese regional expansionists with arrogance and cynicism. They did not hesitate to describe resolution 34/22 as an "absurd and illegal resolution" and to describe the Member States which supported it as an "erroneous majority". Thus, instead 'of complying with resolu- t.on 34/22, they regarded it as a mer", scrap of paper and did everything in their power to intensify their war oi aggression and genocide in' Kampuchea, to per- petuate their aggression and to endeavour to make the international community accept, willingly or unwill- ingly, the fait accompli in Kampuchea. 26. One year has elapsed since the adoption by our Assembly of resolution 34/22. Where do things stand as far as its implementation is concerned? 27. First, from the humanitarian point of view, the generous donor countries, the specialized agencies of the United Nation's and other international human- itarian organizations have made tireless efforts to assist our people and to alleviate its immeasurable suffering caused by the Vietnamese invasion, an invasion which shocked the conscience of the interna- tional community. The Pledging Conference for Emergency Humanitarian Relief to the People of Kampuchea, held in New York on.5 November 1979, the Meeting on Humanitarian Assistance and Relief to the Kampuchean People, held on 26 and 27 May 1980 at Geneva and the periodic meetings of the donor countries are eloquent testimony to the sustained efforts made by the international community to orga- nize assistance and humanitarian aid to the people of Kampuchea, the victims of Vietnamese aggression. We should like to express again the great gratitude of the Kampuchean people, the Patriotic and Democratic Front of Great National Union of Kampuchea and the Government of Democratic Kampuchea, 28. Everyone agrees that the humanitarian assistance that was sent to the refugee camps in Thailand and across, the Kampuchea-Thai frontier reached the population directly without any discrimination and, indeed, alleviated the suffering of many hundreds of thousands of Kampuchean refugees in Thailand and more than 1..5 million inhabitants in those areas that were under the control of the Patriotic and Demo- for their solicitude, the humanitarian policies they practise concerning all the people of Kampuchea and willing manner in which they have shouldered the heavy burden of giving shelter on Thai soil to the hundreds of thousands of Kampuchean refugees who succeeded in escaping the massacres perpetrated by the Vietnamese troops. 30. .But the. generous actions of the international community and of Thailand on behalf of the people of Kampnchea have been systematically sabotaged by the Hanoi authorities. Not only was practically all the aid sent through the Vietnamese administration in Phnom Penh diverted by the Vietnamese to feed their occupa- tion army in Kampuchea, but, further, the Vietnamese occupying forces in Kampuchea did not hesitate to carry out armed incursions into the territory of Thailand, as occurred on 23 and 24 June of this year, to destroy refugee camps and to halt humanitarian aid operations by UNICEF and the voluntary repatria- tion exercise under the auspices of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on the Thailand- Kampuchea frontier. 31. These facts are hardly surprising because the international humanitarian organizations and the specialized agencies of the United Nations are not dealing with a national Government that is concerned for the well-being and survival of its people but rather with foreign invaders whose annexationist designs and genocidal policies are well known to our people. Can we reasonably hope that the authorities mHanoi are concerned about the well-being of the people of Kampuchea when they oppress even the Viet- namese people, more than 1million ofwhom, including men, women and children, are prepared to face the perils of the sea and live as refugees in foreign lands rather than continue to live a life without hope in their own country? And it is undoubtedly not to give any assistance tc the people of Kampuchea that more than 300,000Vietnamese settlers havealready followed in the wake of the occupying army and seized the most fertile lands in Kampuchea, in particular the vast fertile plains in the east, the rich maritime regions of the south-west and the great fishery lake of Tonle Sap. 32. Furthermore, for the edification of those who would like to know more about the hypocrisy and perfidy of the Vietnamese regional expansionists. it should be recaned that between 1970 and 1975 they seized practicauy all the Chinese aid destined for Kampuchea. In order to conceal the diversion of this aid, the Hanoi authorities did not hesitate to deceive the Government of the People's Republic of China by presenting it regularly, with lists, facts and figures about all the goods which they purported to have sent to Kampuchea. Past experience makes it possible for them to juggle lists, figures and statistics in order to mislead the international community about the humanitarian assistance that is reaching the people of Kampuchea. 33. Irrefutable figures over and above the facts to which I have just referred make it possible to reveal 35. We should like to reiterate here our appeal to 'an the donor countries, all the specialized agencies of the United Nations and the international humanitarian organizations concerned to redouble their vigilance in order to ensure that there are direct and non- discriminatolY distributions of aid to all the popula- tion of Kampuchea. It is for them to prevent the Viet- nameseoccupiers from continuing heartlessly to divert this humanitarian assistance to meet the needs of their war of aggression and genocide inKampuchea, thus transforming the generous gifts of millions of donors into a weapon which helps them in their criminal enterprise of extermination of the people and nationof Kampuchea. 36. No effective solution can befound to the human- itarian problems without ajust and lasting settlement of the conflict, which is the result of Vietnamese aggres- sion against Kampuchea, and the basic factor in that is the total and unconditional withdrawal of Vietnamese troops from Kampuchea. 37. In the political area, since the adoption of resolu- tion 34/22, not only have the Hanoi authorities refused to withdraw their forces from Kampuchea but they continue to send considerable reinforcements in man- power, weapons and ammunition in order to push ahead with their war of aggression and genocide in Kampuchea. From 120,000 men at the outset, the number of Vietnamese personnel in Kampuchea has now increased to more than 250,000, Combining conventional weapons, chemical weapons and partic- ularly the weapon of famine, they have to date massacred almost 3 million Kampucheans, a figure which the Hanoi authorities cited in their slander campaign against Democratic Kampuchea designed to camouflage their invasion-for in order to break the ,resistance of the people and nation of Kampuchea they must stem this resistance at its source by mas- sacring an entire people. 38. Neverthelesc, all these criminal efforts have failed one by one. In particular, the defeat of the Viet- namese offensive during the last dry season, in 1979- 1980, was a strategic turning point in the national resistance struggle of the people of Kampuchea and its national army, under the leadership of the Patriotic and Democratic Front of Great National Union of Kampuchea and the Government of Democratic Kampuchea. 42. Secondly, the Vietnamese forces are able to con- tinue to occupy Kampuchea and massacre the people of Kampuchea only because of the aid amounting to $3 million per day given it by the major expansionist Power which at present is occupying Afghanistan. Without that assistance the 300,000 Vietnamese soldiers and agents would not be able to remain long in Kampuchea, and the Vietnamese regime in Phnom Penh would crumble of itself. 43. Thirdly, the Hanoi authorities have completely failed in their attempts at "Khmerization", that is, the creation of a puppet army and a puppet administra- tion. Those who are fighting in Kampuchea against the national army and people of Democratic Kampu- chea are all in fact Vietnamese soldiers. The few Kampucheans who were forcibly enlisted in Viet- namese self-defence units have risen up against their Vietnamese officers and are rejoining the Patriotic and Democratic Front of Great National Union of Kampu- chea. As far as the administration in Phnom Penh is concerned, that administration is supported entirely by approximately 50,000 Vietnamese civil agents carrying out the orders they receive directly from the Hanoi authorities. The handful of people claiming to be Kampucheans in that administration are agents who have been trained in the spirit of the "Vietnamese Indo-Chinese federation" for decades in North Viet Nam and are now being leased out by the Vietnamese expansionists of Hanoi. This Vietnamese administra- tion is rejected by the people of Kampuchea in its entirety and in fact only controls, with the help of the 250,000 occupation soldiers, towns and sectors on the most important routes. 44. Fourthly, these undeniable facts give the lie to the fallacious propaganda to the effect that calm and security prevail in Kampuchea. The Hanoi authorities were already disseminating such lies during the debate last year. If the situation is really calm and secure, it is justifiable to wonder why the Hanoi authorities S3. All those facts make it abundantly clear that the Vietnamese regionalexpansionists have set upgangster logic and the law of the jungle as their general line ofconduct in international relations. They have shown that even their most solemn commitments are in fact but scraps of paper and mere lip-service and designed only to serve their own regional expansionist am- bitions. 54. Since April of this year-that is, since the end of the last dry season-the Hanoi authorities have been aware that they are no longer able to overcome the national resistance in Kampuchea by the force of arms. They have therefore undertaken diplomatic activities in order to seek acceptance by the interna- tional community of the fait accompli of Vletnamese occupation in Kampuchea, The Vietnamese aggression against Thailand of 23 and 24 June, the so-called "Vientiane proposals", the inclusion of item 119, entitled "Questionofpeace, stability aridco-operation in South-East Asia", on the General Assembly's agenda, the hullabaloo about the so-called "elections" in Kampuchea, and, finally, the various promises and bargains-all were focused on a specific objective: creation of an alleged "conflict" between the coun- tries of the so-called "Indo-Chinese federation" and the ASEAN countries in order to have people forget the fundamental problem of the Vietnamese invasion and occupation of Kampuchea, which is the root cause ofthe destruction ofpeace, security and stabiUty in South-East Asia, and makes impossible any co- operation in that region. SS. Through all their 'military and diplomatic plots, the Vietnamese regional expansionists are also striving for the following achievements. 56. First, to win time in order to consolidate the absorption of Kampuchea and Laos into the "Indo- Chinese federation" and to make it a spring-board for their next thrust towards the countries of South- East Asia. Vietn~m and has no frontier with Kampuchea, the Vietnamese troops are invading Kampuchea, which is to the south, and they are infiltrating the territory of Thailand. It appears that the more they brandish the "Chinese threat"-which relates to the north- the more the Vietnamese expansionists are thrusting towards the south. By indulging in fabrications, in their attempt to deceive the international community, they have really lost the north. 68. No person of good faith could accept this mind- boggling and Machiavellian reasoning on the part of the Hanoi regionalexpansionists. Nothingcouldjustify the invasion and occupation of Kampuchea by the Vietnamese forces. 69. To provide a just and lasting solution to the problem of Kampuchea, the Government of Demo- cratic Kampuchea made public on 5 May 1980 a three- point proposal, which is to be found in United Nations documents A/35/221-S/13934 and Corr.I and A/35/ 295-S/14005. The three points are the following. 70. First, the Hanoi authorities must unconditionally withdraw all their forces from Kampuchea, in con- formity with General Assembly resolution 34/22, allowing the people of Kampuchea to exercise their inalienable right to solve their own problems them- selves, without foreign interference. 71. Secondly, ·after the total withdrawal of Viet- namese forces from Kampuchea-and only then-the Kampuchean people willchoose their nationalGovern- ment, by means of general and free elections, with direct and secret batloting under the supervision of the Secretary-General of the..United Nations or his representatives. Kampuchea will remain independent, united, peaceful, democratic, neutral and non-aligned, without any foreign military bases, and with guar- antees provided by the United Nations and the interna- tional community. 72. Thirdly, in the case of the people of Viet Nam and of Viet Nam itself, the Government of Democratic Kampuchea and the people of Kampuchea will harbour no hatred or rancour, nor will they require any compensation, provided that the Vietnamese forces withdraw completely from Kampuchea. They are prepared to live in peace and on good terms with their neighbour to the east, as well as with all their neigh- bours in the region. 73. The implementation of that reasonable proposal would restore peace and national independence to Kampuchea. But as long as the Hanoi authorities continue their war 0: aggression and genocide in Kampuchea, as long as the Vietnamese forces con- tinue to invade and occupy Kampuchea, there can be no peace, security, stability or co-operation in South-East Asia. On the contrary, all that will happen will be that the conflict will get worse and spread throughout the region. 74. It is in this spirit that the delegation of Demo- cratic Kampuchea deeply appreciates draft resolu- tion A/35/L.2/Rev.l, which has just been introduced 79. Although the ASEAN countries, Japan and a number of other countries have been undertaking diplomatic efforts to secure the implementation'of resolution 34/22,Vietnamese troops remainin Kartlpu- chea in total defiance of it. We find it extremely regrettable that Viet Nam is trying to impose a fait accomplion the international community by stationing more than 200,000 troops in Kampuchea. 80. Japan is particularly concerned about the fact that last June the fighting in Kampuchea spilled across the border into Thailand, thus constituting a serious threat to the peace and stability not only of Thailand but of all the countries of South~East Asia and particularly the ASEAN countries. That must never happen again. 81. With a view' to the peacefui settlement of the Kampuchean problem, Japan has proposed and has fre'~ elections. 83. The Secretary-General visited Thailand and Viet Nam last year and again in August of this year in his search for a peaceful solution to the problem. For his tireless efforts towards that end, which are reflected in his report [A/35/501], he has the deep admiration of. my delegation. It is our earnest wish that the Secretary-General will continue his diverse efforts in the search for a solution to this grave problem. 84. Because ofthe continued fighting in Kampuchea, the land is devastated and its people are suffering from shortages of food and medical supplies. More- over, hundreds of thousands of refugees and people, victimized by the war, escaping from the fighting and in want of food, have been wandering back and forth across the border, placing a serious burden on Thailand. 85. Japan is convinced that in order fundamentally to alleviate that situation it i~~l;Jsolutely necessary to restore comprehensive peace in' Kampuchea. While efforts towards that end are being undertaken, how- ever, it is also imperative that the international com- munity extend assistance from a purely humanitarian point of view to those desperately unfortunate people. 86. In this connexion, at the Meeting on Human- itarian Assistance and Relief to the Kampuchean People, which was convened at Geneva last May, Japan pledged assistance for Indo-Chinese refugees totaliing $100 million for the current fiscal year. My delegation took that opportunity to express its deep appreciation to the Secretary-General for his positive efforts in this regard. One month later, the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Conference was convened in Malaysia. At that time, the Foreign Ministers and Secretaries of State of the ASEAN countries, as well as of Japan, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States, made a joint appeal to the Secretary- General, urging him to give immediate attention to the refugee problem along the Thai-Kampuchean border. • _. __ ,_. - ... - _'. • .•••__ . '•• 0- __ 87. In order for the humanitarian assistance effec- tively to'reach the Kampuchean people, it 'isabsolutely necessary that the distribution of relief goods be 90. In this connexion, I should like to quote once again from the statement of Foreign Minister Ito in the general debate: "The international community can never maintain peace by remaining idle in today's world, where there is a tendency openly to challenge the law and order of the international community and where such challenges can result in a (ait accompli which eventually simply pushes aside international jus- tice." [7th meeting, para. 83.] , . 91. What is needed today are concrete actions. Thus, in' seeking peace in Kampuchea, the ASEAN coun- tries once again have taken the initiative and proposed a new draft resolution, A/35/L.2/Rev.l, which further elaborates the elements called for in resolution 34/22. Japan is determined to make a positive contribution to the peaceful solution of the Kampuchean question in co-operation with the A,SEAN countries. Thus, fully supporting the draft resolution, Japan became one of its sponsors. We call upon all the Member State- of the United Nations which respect internation justice and love world peace to lend it their suppor, as well. 92. Finally, I should like, in particular, to make a strong appeal to Viet Nam to respond to the voice of the overhwelming majority of the Member States of the United Nations.