A/38/PV.88 General Assembly

For years now, reason and per- spective have become precious commodities in the United Nations. Less than a week ago, the General Assembly deliberated-in its usual distorted fashion-the "Ques- tion of Palestine". One would expect that in addressing "The situation in the Middle East", this forum indeed intended to discuss the situation in the Middle East, a vast area of 5.5 million square miles plagued by numerous conflicts and tensions. However, unless the Assembly is capable of departing from its past proclivities-and that, admittedly, is most unlikely-we shall in all probability be in fm a repeat performance of last week's debate, which dealt with the Arab-Israeli conflict in the customary biased manner. By pretending that the Arab-Israeli con- flict lies at the root of the region's many other prob- lems or is somehow intimately connected with them, the Organization will have proved once again that, while being very adept at burying its head in the sand, it has become irrelevant in the search for a much-needed realis- tic and honest approach to the problems besetting our region and the world as a whole. 2. Israel would be the last to deny the importance of resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict in a constructive and equitable manner. The Arab-Israeli wars have claimed the lives of thousands and have brought much grief and hardship to our peoples. However, the conflict is but one of many flash-points in the region, and many of the other flash-roints pose a more immediate dang()~ to regional and world security. Moreover, the Arab-Israeli conflict is not at the core of those other menacing problems, but is itself just one symptom of a broader malaise, that is, long-standing inter-Arab rivalry and disunity. Such vio- lent discord has manifested itself not only in the relations between the Arab States, but within the Arab countries themselves, as their regimes have often employed ruthless means to crush all potential criticism and opposition. Hundreds of thousands-many Palestinian Arabs included -have fallen victim to the Arab States' domestic and regional policies, as I noted in my statement last week [80th meeting). Nevertheless, although more than 9 out of every 10 war deaths in the Middle East are attributable to hostilities which have no connection whatsoever with the Arab-Israeli conflict, the General Assembly has invar- hbly and in inverse proportion chosen, on matters dealing with the Middle East, to devote much more than nine tenths of its time to Arab-Israeli tensions. 3. In addressing "The situation in the Middle East", the Assembly should for once approach the issue in its proper perspective. Let us all remember that we are dealing with a vast unbroken land mass which extends from the Persian Gulf in the east to the Sahara Desert in Thursday, 8 December 1983, at 11.10 a.m. NEW YORK the west. More than a score of States, Arab as well as non-Arab, numerous ethnic and religious minorities, dif- ferent social and economic structures and diverse political systems comprise our region. Since the dawn of history, the Middle East has been plagued by instability and con- flict. Yet, rather than look that far back, let us briefly examine the last 30 years. 4. Since the early 1950s, virtually every Arab State has been at war or on the verge of war with at least one of its neighbours. In the heart of the Middle East, Syria has threatened Jordan on more than one occasion, jostled with Iraq and made a shambles of Lebanon during seven years of ruthless occupation. Further to the east, Iraq and Iran clashed for years and, after a brief interlude prior to 1980, renewed their cont1ict with even greater intensity and ferocity. But for Iraq's preoccupation with Iran, Kuwait and some of the other Gulf States would still be worried about Iraqi territorial claims and encroachmeniS, which had threatened them just a few years ago. Else- where, on the Arabian peninsula, Nasser invaded Yemen with Egyptian forces during the early 1960s, and, even after the Egyptians left, the two Yemens have been war- ring intermittently. To the west, Libya has promoted sub- version and terrorism by backing efforts to topple neighbouring Arab regimes. In the past, Libya has miii- tarily clashed with Egypt and Tunisia, threatened the Sudan and, in recent years, has broadened its horizons to include Chad and other African countries. Further west, Algeria has been waging surrogate warfare against Morocco in the Sahara. 5. Of course, the idyllic scene just described is but a reflection of the tendency for violence which characterizes Arab political life. The contradictions of extreme wealth alongside abject poverty are accompanied by the tensions between social progress and political extremism. Discon- tent and social frktions are capitalized upon by self- seeking Governments at the expense of their peoples' interests. Although the Middle East is rich in mineral resources, not the least of them oil, such new-found riches have not brought harmony or social accord to the peoples of the region. On the contrary, each Arab regime has repeatedly depended upon force for its own survival. 6. In Syria, the ruling Alawite minority depends upon a loyal officer corps and the secret police brutally to crush dissent, sometimes resorting even to mass murder, as was the case at Hama last year. Iraq has achieved notoriety for its ruthless suppression of human rights and its harsh discriminatory policies against the Kurds and other minor- ities. Libya is ruled by a fanatical colonel and a small clique of officers! Even the so-called moderate Arab States, such as those on the Arabian peninsula, have established authoritarian systems which obstruct any pos- sibility of democratization. For years, Jordan has aban- doned any pretence of being a constitutional monarchy and, with its parliament dissolved, is being governed by martial edict. 7. In its previous deliberations on this agenda item, the General Assembly apparently felt that it had no time to deal with such "trivia". My delegation will not be a party to such parody. Therefore, I intend to avail myself of Ea~t must surely include these appalling examples of tyranny in our region, as it must address also the other manifestations of authoritarianism pervasive among most other Middle Eastern States. Not surprisingly, the internal violence and oppressive nature of most States in our region are reflected also in regional conflict and tension. Little wonder that the countries most notorious for their oppressive domestic systems-Syria, Libya and Iraq- are also the major troublemakers of the Middle East and stand at the vertices of regional instability. 17. Without a doubt, Syria has become the paramount instigator of crisis in the eastern half of our region. Syria's aggressive activities are derivatives not just of its fanatical hostility towards my own country, but also of two other around New York. Who are the owners of the broth...ls and the pornographic cinemas? Is it not the Jews who are exploiting the American people and trying to debase them? If we succeed in eliminating that entity, we shall by the same token save the American and European peoples. 67. We hope that the day will soon come when we can eradicate this affront, this aberration of history which we committed when we admitted to the Organization NOTES