A/36/PV.37 General Assembly

22.  The situation in Kampuchea: report of the S~cretary-General I. Mr. HA VAN LAU (Viet Nam) (intelpretat;on from French): This is th~ third time that the General Assembly has discussed the so-called situation in Kampuchea. in the absence and notwithstanding the opposition of the legal and authentic representative of the Kampuchean people and participation of the usurpers of the place of that coun- try in the United N3:tions. That i~ why I should like from the outset to bring to the attention of the Assembly the clear and firm position of the Council of State of the Peo- ple's Republic of Kampuchea. I quote from the telegram from Mr. Hun Sen, the Vice-President of the Council of Ministers and Minister for Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of Kampuchea, addressed to the President of the General Assembly and the Secretary-General on 13 Oc- tober 1981: "Ministry of Foreign Affairs of People's Republic of Kampuchea protests strongly at forthcoming discus- sions on ASEAN draft resolution concerning so-called situation in Kampuchea. This is again gross and inad- missible interference in internal affairs of Kampuchea and flagrant violation of United Nations Charter ... .. ... the Government of People's Republic of Kampuchea categorically rejects any resolution con- cerning Kampuchea which wm be adopted by present session of United Nations General Assembly based on falsification of the situation in Kampuchea and attempts to impose a so-called global politi~al sol~tion on the [revitalized] Kampuchean people. dlsregardmg the pro- tests from Government of People's Republic of Kampu- chea." [See A/36/596.1 2. My delegation firnlly supports that just position of the People's Republic of Kampuchea and reaffinns its ob- jection to the discussion of item 22 by the General As- sembly, any resolution or conclusion ad~pted as a'result of which will be considered null and VOId. 3. My delegation would like to emphasize that in spe~k­ ing in this debate it wishes to present the facts concernmg the situation in Kampuchea and in South-East Asia in re- cent years with the aim of pro~iding food for ~ho~ght for delegations that are really anxIous to defend Justice and law, as they are about to state their views on a question which involves their responsibility as regards the Kam- NEW·YOR. puchean people and as regards peace and stability in the region. 4. What are the facts regarding the present situation in Kampuchea'? As was pointed out in the telegram from the Minister for Foreign Affairs' of the People's Republic of Kampuchea, at the present time life has returned to nor- mal in that country. The Kampuchean people are re- emerging from the hell of the genocidal ~ol Pot regi~e. In less than three years remarkable achievements have been recorded in all fields. Free and democrdtic general elections have been organized to re-establish State i~s!itu­ tions. The National Assembly has been elected, the Con- stitution adopted. the Council of State and the ~ouncil of Ministers have been instituted. Order and security are en- sured throughout the country. The public authorities con- cern themselves effectively with the well-beil'lg of the' people. Agricultural production continues to increase and' 1.8 million hectares are expected to be' cultivated in ,1981. Hundreds of industrial and handicraft enterprise's have re- sumed operdtions. This year schools have been ope~d to 1.5 million pupils; higher education 'has be~n resumed:' The literacy campaign is developing everywhere. The na- tional culture has been restored and publk health is im- proving daily. . 5. Testimony by foreigners who have seen the situation on the spot confirms those facts. As early as Deceplber 1980 a joint communique of UNICEF and the Interna- tional Committee of the Red Cross, which' are interna- tional organizations responsible for hu~anitariari .as- sistance operations, mentioned factors which have sho\yn the spectacular improvements in that country: the'specll'e of famine has disappeared, the rice crop has 'mote than doubled, more than 1,000 rural health centres ~d 5,500 primary schools have been opened; and the majority of the refugees have returned home. 6. The great events in the country's political life have taken place in complete tranquillity, without, a single inci- dent, in spite of the sabotage plans of China and PoI Pot to undennine the people's power from the outside. As re- gards the so-called hostilities, the People's, Republic of Kampuchea knows le§s of them tha~ certain members of the Association of South-East Asian Nations' [ASEAN] which have had to carry out ,military .and police opera- tions inside their own territories toassl,lre order and se- curity. The war communique~ regularly dispatched from Beijing and the maps circulated in the corridors of the United Nations showing alleged contIOlled areas and areas of guerrilla warfare are nothing but tissues of lies de- signed to deceive people who are not well infonned. 7. It should be emphasized that since Januar~ 1979.the' peopl~ of Kampuchea have be~ome once agam' t~e, real masters of their country. In particular. the democratic gen- eral elections held last May are the most eloquent ex- pression of the people's confidence in and affection for the people's power. which effectively and totally controls the national territorv and efticientlv manages all the coun- try's intern'll and external affairs. The success of the gen- 0\yn destiny" [see A/361300]. . ~-. 8. The rapid renaissance of the Kampuchean people and the consolidation of the People's Republic of Kampuchea and its legal and democratic State power are undeniable facts which do justice to all the dec~itful allegations of ., the hostile, propaganda against that country. ,9. On its advent, the people's power immediately put an end to the conflicts provoked by the Pol Pot regime with all neighbouring countries, including Thailand, and stated its readiness to establish good-neighbour relations with the latter. Thus, with its domestic policy of national re- construction and its foreign policy of peace, friendship and non-alignment, the People's Republic of Kampuchea has become a factor for peace and stability in the region, a factor which is being consolidated with every day that passes. 10. S~m~.delegations have again raised in the Assembly the. question of the Indo-Chinese refuge~s, including Kampucheans, in an attempt to create confusion on this , essentially humanitarian question. In fact, this exodus of , Indo-Chinese people began with the wars of aggression <.w~ge4,Q¥.the colonialists, imperialists and hegemonists, . an<r'especially' ht the case of Kampuchea with the genoci- dal regime whh. tt was remotely controlled by the hegemo- · nists. To. these wars have been added the manoeuvres of Washington and Beijing aimed at inciting illegal depar- tures and hampering legal and organized departures. Ac- cording to an internal report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees revealed by the newspaper Le Montle. in its issue of 8 July 1981, the United States is enco"u~aging the exodus of Indo-Chi~ese people. This is to hinder'the stabilization of the Communist regimes, and to show'the world that the Indo-Chinese continue to vote ·with their feet. The' peoples of the three countries of Indo-China are' therefore the flISt victims. Furthermore, they sympathize with certain ASEAN countries for which this exodus has caused economic, social and other diffi- culties. .11 . What must be emphasized is that so far more than 300,000 Ka01pucheans who had fled the genocidal regime nave returned to Kampuchea and have been integrated into the normal life of the country, thanks to the great efforts of the Government of the People's Republic of Kampuchea. In particular, the Kampuchean Government states that it is in favour of the eventual return of the refugees in Thailand, but that an agreement of the two si<;les, is necessary to ensure security and proper condi- tion's"forthe 'resettlement of the refugees. At the same tin1e: the Government of the, People's Republic of Kampu- chea cannot tolerate the manoeuvres labelled "voluntary repatriation" designed to infiltrate the Pol Pot remnants , and other Khmer reactionaries in order to commit acts o~ subversion and sabotage against the peaceful life and ·work of its people. No Government which really cares about defending its sovereignty and security could act otherwise.. 12. As for the presence of Vietnamese troops in Kam- puchea, they are there only to help that country defend its independence and sovereignty against the threat from China, in collusion with the imperialists and other reac- tionaries. Their presence is directed neither against Thai- 13. Therefore, neither the so-called situation in Kam- puchea nor the presence of Vietnamese troops in that country-. constitutes the origin of tension and instability in South-East Asia. On the contrary, the birth of the Peo- ple's Republic of Kampuchea and the militant solidarity of the three Indo-Chinese countries have become solid factors for peace, stability, friendship and co-operation in the region. 14. Where, then, are the hotbeds of tension in South- East Asia and what is their origin? 15. In Kampuchea tension persists not in the interior but on that country's border with Thailand. This situation re- sults solely from the fact that Thailand allows China and the United States to use its territory as a base for the recruiting, training, equipping and supplying of the -armed gangs of Pol Pot and other Khmer reactionaries. It is from these sanctuaries that activities of subversion and sabotage have been launched against Kampuchean territory. What is more seri01,ls, according to the SPK information agency of the Pe091e's Republic of Kampuchea, Thai armed forces themselves have daily been violating the territory, airspace and territorial waters of the People's Republic of Kampuchea. In particular, Thai artillery often lobssheIls over the border to cover Pol Pot infiltrations. 16. While China's schemings against Kampuchea are weIl known to the entire world, those of the United States, though less well known, are in fact as intense and well organized, as has been revealed in the British journal War Monthly of September 1981. According to that maga- zine, an organization by the name of the Kampuchean Emergency Group, set up by a Colonel Michael AIIen in Aranyaprathet and placed under the direction of the United States Ambassador in Bangkok and composed of former high-ranking American officers in Indo-China, has, as part of its mission, to command, in co-ordination with the Thai Task force 80, the criminal activities of the Pol Pot gangs and other Khmer reactionaries along the Kampuchea-Thailand border. 17. But it is on the borders between China and Viet Nam and China and the Lao People's Democratic Re- public that there is the gravest tension which IUns the serious risk of det~n~_ ..lng into a large-scale war of unforesee- able consequences. While China ceaselessly threatens Viet Nam with a second war of aggression, it continues to occupy the Vietnamese archipelago of Hoang Sa--Para- cel-and to mass in the immediate proximity of the border 400,000 troops who systematicaIly engage in acts 18. It is this all-out war of attrition against the three countries of Indo-China, of which these criminal activities constitute an integral part, that is responsitle for the ex- treme tension in the region and that poses a serious threat to peace and security there. 19. Tense situations exist also in the other South-East Asian countries, essentially because of the subversion ac- tivities-and even the civil war-staged by the pseudo- revolutionary armed groups backed by the Beijing au- thorities-organizations which, without aid, would not have been as powerful as they are and would long ago have vanished. 20. A look back at what has happened in South-East Asia since the Second World War confirms this view: the fact tbat that region has never known peace and stability has nothing to do with the so-called situation in Kam- puchea but is due to the policies and manoeuvres of out- side powers hostile to the fundamental national rights of the peoples and countries of the region. There have been colonial wars against the Indonesiap, and Indo-Chinese peoples, and an American war of aggression against the peoples of Viet Nam, the Lao People's Democratic Re- public and Kampuchea. And today it is the Chinese hegemonists' war of aggression, followed by the present all-out war of attrition against the three countries of Indo- China. Last, but not least, are the drawn-out civil wars, potential or overt, fomented from outside over these past decades against the legal Governments of the countries of the region. 21. In spite of all this deceitful imperialist and reaction- ary propaganda, slowly but surely the facts are becoming known: even in the countries of ASEAN, realistic politi- cians are beginning to speak about them publicly. The origin of the present tension in the countries of South- East Asia-in Indo-China, the ASEAN countries and oth- ers, as well-lies in the Beijing authorities' policy of hegemonism and expansionism against the sovereignty and security of independent States, a policy all the more dangerous because of its ever-closer collusion with the United States imperialists. 22. On the basis of a deliberately distorted analysis of the situation in Kampuchea and its consequences for South-East Asia, a false issue has been raised, and, after being endorsed by an international conference, a so-called comprehensive political solution has been elaborated. An attempt is now being made to have the General Assembly adopt it. 23. In this connection, my delegction would like to re- call the following position of the Government of the Peo- pie's Republic C'f Kampuchea as set forth in the statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 18 July this year: H HThe People's Republic of Kampuchea wishes to re- iterate that there is no 'Kampuchean problem' and, consequently, no solution to be found to it. No country, no organization and, a fortiori. no group of criminals who betrayed their country has the right to speak on behalf of the Kampuchean people or to put forward 'settlements' for Kampuchea which in reality are merely manoeuvres designed to pave the way for the return of the barbarous Pol Pot archcriminals. The sit- uation in Kampuchea is irreversible, and all the ma- noeuvres and activities aimed at undermining the inde- pendence and sovereignty of the People's Republic of Kampuchea are doomed to certain and dismal failure." [See A/36/402.] ",' 24. While extending full support to that just position of the Government of the People's Republic of Kampuchea, my delegation would like to draw the attention of the General Assembly to the following. 25. A solution to a given problem can be just only if it is based on the objective reality of the situation. More- over, as we have just pointed out, the cause of the present tension in Kampuchea, as in South-East Asia in general, is the Chinese threat. Therefore the fundamental problem that must be solved urgently is how to put an end to the policies of aggression and intervention pursued by China against the peoples of Kampuchea, the Lao People's Democratic Republic and Viet Nam. 26. To demand an immediate withdrawal of Vietnamese troops "from Kampuchea without taking into account the explosive situation along the Thai-Kampuchea border on the one hand and along the borders between China and the Lao People's Democratic Republic and China and Viet Nam on the other would be tantamount to giving a free hand to China, in collusion with the United States and with the complicity of Thailand .and some other ASEAN countries, to re-establish the genocidal Pol Pot ;regime in Kampuchea and to deprive the Kampuchean people of their sacred right of legitimate defence. It would also mean recognizing China's right to commit aggression against and intervene in the three Indo-Chinese countries and denying those peoples their right to establish among themselves and help one another in the common struggie against the expansionist policy of the Beijing authorities. 27. The presence of the Vietnamese troops in Kampu- chea results from an agreement concluded between the People's Republic of Kampuchea and the Socialist Re- public of Viet Nam, two independent and sovereign States. Nobody has the right to interfere or prevent the Indo-Chinese countries from exercising their right of self- defence. The Vietnamese troops will withdr8~v from 28. Some representatives speaking at this rostrum have suggested that the Vietnamese troops maintained in Kam- puchea are there contrary to the will of the pepple of that country. One question arises: What is meant by "the peo- ple of Kampuchea"? Are they the millions who have sur- vived the genocidal regime and are now rebuilding their homes and.their country and are taking in hand their own destiny? Or are they the Pol Pot clique of murderers and other Kampuchean traitors nurtured on a neighbouring ter- ritory by the enemies of the Kampuchean people, who have tried in vain to bring them back to power in Kam- puchea? The reply is clear and precise for all men of con- science. 29. As reported in an ankle in the Far Eastern Eco- nomic Review of 13 February 1981, Kampucheans ;;" ter- viewed by correspondence unanimously affirm that "While outsiders want to get the Vietnamese out of Kampuchea, the Khmers themselves feel that they have been liberated from the horrors of Khmer Rouge rule and want the Vietnamese to stay as long as the threat of a return of that bloody regime remains real." 30. On the other hand, those same representatives des- perately demand "free general eiections and attempt to im- pose on the Kampuchean people a so-called coalition Government composed of three rival factions which they try to gather together no matter at what cost in various capital cities: from Beijing to Washington, from Sin- gapore to Bangkok. They act as if KaIlJpuchea were a country deprived of a ruler and placed under the trustee- ship of China, the United States and the ASEAN coun- tries. What right have these countries to interfere deliber- ately in. the internal affairs of an independent and sovereign State? General elections in Kampuchea are within the national competence of the Kampuchean peo- ple alone. Free and democratic general elections have been held in the presence of hundreds of foreign observ- ers, and 97 per cent of the population of Kampuchea par- ticipated in them. To fail to recognize these living real- ities in Kampuchea and to attempt to restore a regime that has been spurned and rejected by its own people would not only mean acting against law and morality but also constitute an act of injustice against this martyred people. Like it or not, the Kampuchean people, who are now masters of their own destiny, have properly exercised their right to self-determination and have freely chosen their leaders as well as the way to the social and political de- velopment of their country. No reactionary force in the world can reverse the trend. 31. In this context, the so-called International Con- ference on Kampuchea was a basically wrong undertaking because it deliberately distorted the reality of the situation in Kampuchea and in South-East Asia. It was a one-sided conference because it constituted gross interference in the internal affairs of Kampuchea and aimed at preparing for the return of Pol Pot and other reactionaries to power. 32. As far as the proceedings of that conference are concerned, they had certain features almost unprecedented. in the history of the United Nations, such as the hesita- 33. The holding of such a conference and its adoption of decisions can in no y,'ay constitute the progress claimed by its sponsors; it is rather a diktat to the Kampuchean people and constitutes an additional impediment to the restoration of peace and stability in the region. It is unfor- tunate that the United Nations should have become in- volved in this manoeuvre, which is contrary to the inter- ests of the Kampuchean people and the peoples of the South-East Asian region and to the principles of its own Charter and makes a mockery of reality as well as of justice and law. To think that so much effort and money have been ex:pended in a cause that was lost in advance. 34. The ASEAN countries are in favour of a dialogue but demand that it be based on the erroneous United Na- tions resolutions on Kampuchea which have already been rejected by the three countries of Indo-China. That is not an invitation to dialogue, but a new attempt to use the United Nations mechanism to impose their will and to exert pressure on Viet Nam and the other Indo-Chinese countries, as was stated by a representative of a member of ASEAN in this very forum. It is pure illusion, because the Kampuc.hean people have made great sacrifices to be- come masters of their destiny, not to exchange one diktat for another. The policy of a position of strength as regards the Indo-Chinese countries has never been successful. Kampuchea, the Lao People's Democratic Republic and Viet Nam will have to overcome more difficulties but they will never cease to march forward and develop in all fields. 35. If the ASEAN countries persist in following a pol- icy of connivance with hegemonism and imperialism, op- position to the Indo-Chinese peoples, rejection of dia- logue and determination to impose ·their will on others, they will only maintain and prolong tension and in- stability, the consequences of which they too will have to suffer. This could only lead to a deadlock and would not benefit any South-East Asian country or peace and Sia- bility, friendship and co-op~ration in the region. On the contrary, it would benefit only Beijing. 36. My delegation believes that a just and reasonable solution to the problems relating to the peace and stability of the countries of South-East Asia must be based on the true over-all situation in the region, on respect for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of all these States and on the principles of the Charter. It was in that spirit that the confe-rences of Foreign Ministers of the three Indo-Chinese countries, held in Vientiane in July 1980" in Ho Chi Minh City in January 1981 and Phnom Penh in June 1981, put forward constructive proposals [see A/36/86 arid A/36/328] and that Mr. Phoune Si- praseuth, Vice-President of the Council of Ministers and Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Lao People's Demo- cratic Republic submitted to the Assembly at this session the principles governing relations of peaceful coexistence between the countries of Indo-China and the ASEAN countries, for peace, stability, friendship and co-operation in South-East Asia [see A/36/5611. 37. The delegation of Viet Nam sincerely hopes that the delegations of Member States that are concerned about the defence of law and justice will take a positive attitude in 42. The IQ members appreciate that in the search for a settlement ASEAN is moved by the desire to create con- ditions conducive to the establishment of a zone of peace, freedom and neutrality in South-East Asia free from inter- ference by outside Powers. The complete withdrawal of Vietnamese forces is an essential step in returning Kam- puchea to normality. Effective measures must also be taken to ensure that no armed group can either seize power by force or use the threat of force to intimidate the Kampuchean people and so deprive them of their right to self-determination. In this connection, let there be no mis- 40. It is now nearly three years since the Vietnamese understanding about our attitude to the Pol Pot regime. invasion of Kampuchea. The regime which they installed We abhor that odious regime, whose violations of human in Phnom Penh remains totally reliant on Viet Nam for its rights were more flagrant than those of any other regime existence. Having suffered the atrocities of the barbarous in recent history. It is for the people of Kampuchea to Pol Pot regime, the unfortunate people of Kampuchea decide who should emerge from free elections as their have still not regained their independence and right to new Government. But we have no doubt that, given the self-determination. Meanwhile a vast army of occupation chance, they will reject the Pol Pot regime decisively. Our remains bogged down in the countryside and no political attitude on this is consistent. It stands in marked contrast solution is in prospect. So the risk continues that the con- with that of the Soviet and other pro-Vietnamese represen- flict could at any time spill over the borders of Kam- tatives, who, as late as the autumn of 1978, strenuously puchea. Yet there has bel,:n some progress in the last year. opposed, in the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Dis- As to the humanitarian ,spects c.; the problem, at least crimination and Protection of Minorities, Western efforts the spectre of starvation no longer hangs over Kam- to persuade the international community to investigate the puchea. Thanks to the efforts of the Secretary-General, atrocities of the Pol Pot regime. Sir Robert Jackson, the specialized agencies, with UNICEF in the lead role, the International Committee of 43. Be that as it may, the history and record of that Pol the Red Cross, other non-governmental agencies and the Pot regime is no justification, in our view, for invasion general response of the international community, it seems and occupation. It is in the interests of all to insist on the that the physical survival of the people of Kampuchea is inadmissibility of foreign interference and intervention in assured, although there may be shortages again next year. the internal affairs of a sovereign State, and especially to Should this happen, the European Community and its insist that small and vulnerable countries should not be member States, which have together contributed some 40 subject to invasion by their larger neighbours, on what- per cent of the international relief effort, may be prepared ever pretext. As one representative wisely said in the de- to consider contributing further. In this connection, I bate on Kampuchea in the General Assembly last year, sLould like to pay a tribute to the Royal Thai Government there are no "justified" interventions, there are no for the compassion and generosity with which Thailand "good" occupations, regardless of the validity of the mo- has absorbed and continues to absorb Kampuchean refu- tives invoked. There can be no recognition of any right to gees, in such large numbers, despite the considerable dif- impose governments or regimes on independent'countries. ficuIties which this has entailed for the Government and for the Thai people. 44. Thus, the community will once again support the draft resolution submitted by the ASEAN countries and 41. On the political front, the tireless efforts of the others, as they supported the texts submitted at the thirty- members of ASEAN to promote a solution have con- fourth and thirty-fifth sessions of the General Assembly. tinued, and their efforts, in our opinion, rightly enjoy the As ASEAN recognizes, there can be no political solution support of the great majority of the international commu- without the participation and·the co-operation of all those nity. The Community took part in the International Con- concerned in the conflict. We hope therefore that the ference on Kampuchea here in July. We express our satis- Vietnamese Government and others concerned will recon- faction at the outcome of the Conference. The members sider their decision not to take part in the International