S/PV.1031 Security Council

In accordance with the decision taken at the 1028th meeting, and withthe consent of the members of the Council, 1 propose to invite the representatives of the- Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville) and of the Republic of Gabon to take seats at the Council table. At the invitation of the President. Mr. Emmanuel Dadet (Congo, Brazzaville) and Mr. Aristide Issembe (Gabon) rook places at theSecurity Council table. 3. Mr. CISSE DIA (Senegal)(translatedfromFrench): My delegation regrets most sincerely to have ta take the :t1oor again at this stage of your debate, but you will agree that the last statementoftherepresentative of Portugal obliges us ta restate the facts,. to demonstrate the truth, and to define ollrpositicms once more in precise terms. 4. It will be remembered that in his first statement in the SecurityCouncil [1027th meeting] the representative of Portugal began by questioIiing the wisdom of the Security Council, Which, to quote his oWD words, had decided to hold a· meeting· which was "irregular and premature". He then 'denied' that our coIhp~aint 7. The representative of Portugal rejects the evidence and the proofs presented byus on the grounds that they have been collectedby Senegalese officiaIs and military personnel in conditions of allegectly dubious objectivity, but it is unnecessary ta say that in putting them before the security Council, the delegation of Senegal was addressing itself ta the members of the Council rather than the representativesof Portugal. The delegation of Portugal claims that our witnesses have Portuguese names, sa that they lîlUSt be refugees who are hostile ta the Portuguese authorities and vnsh ta 8. The representative of Portugal has tried to turn one of our own accusations against my delegation. It claims that we are keeping up dangerous tension along the common frontier through the activities of refugees from so-called Portuguese Guinea and anti- Portuguese propaganda broadcast by Radio-Senega!. As we have already stated. the Government andpeople of Senegal are proud, to welcome and succour their African brothers who are persecuted in their own countries. and the representative of Portugal knows very weIl that we are .not arming them to fight against the Portuguese forces. As he himself has stated. he is well aware that thesefreedomfighters have no weapons but clubs and pangas. Ifwehadpossessedsuch sinister objects. we would have provided these Africannationalists with mortars and machine-guns rather than allowing them to fight against the heavily-armed Portuguese forces with their bare hands. As for the broadcasts from Radio-Senegal, their only purpose is to keep the Senegalesefully and objectivelyinformed about the behaviour of Portugal in Africa. Moreover. Radio-Senegal is not the ollly national radio station which broadcasts a Government's views on a problem which is of vital interest to it. 9. The allegations that have been made that Senegal has annexionist ambitions are very wide of the mark. ln his statement. the permanent representative of 10. The representative of portugal has criticized my Government for its declaredhostilitytoPortugal's policy in Africa. Just as we have solemnlyproclaimed our devotion to liberty, justice, democracy and inter,:", national co-operation for safeguarding peace, we have no less solemnly stated our unshakable opposition to everything which hinders the respect for, andtriumph of, these fundamental concepts and principles: that is to say, in this case, apartheid and Portugal's colonial policy. This is no secret. The Government of Senegal is proud to have contributed to the triumph of these principles in,many international gatherings. 11. Whose fault is it if the LisbonGovernmentbelieves that there is an international conspiracy to drive it out of what it caUs its "overseas provinces"? There is, of course, no such conspîracy. An the States which refuse to tolerate Portugal's retrograde policies have officially stated their positions and the legal measures whidh they consider suitable for hastening the liberation of the oppressed peoples of the Portuguese colonies. 12. The representative of Portugal, who is decidedly dauntless, has resorted to a worn-out argument. According to bim, w\~ are aIl agents of international communism. My delegation is not disturbed by these accusations because we know that Portugal'is in the sarne situation as a drowning man who clutches at any straw in order not to sink. Vie do not think, by the way, that such an argument will gain Portugal the sympathy of those from whom it expects support and protection. 13. Finally, we were stupefied to hear the representative of Portugal-a country which has already he':""', condemned by the international communityappeal to the justice of history. By doing so, Portugal has proved that it understands nothing of the lessons of history, which is likely to show it no mercy, since Portugal has used aIl its resources and energy, in vain, to try to distort its course. 14. In conclusion, we come to the Portuguese proposaI tO set up a commission of investigation. The representative of Portugal is really a master strategist: he has kept us breathless with anticipation right up to the end. Although Portugal ignores the provisions of the United Nations Charter and makes continuaI defiance of ourOrganization and Us doctrine, it is nevertheless weIl aware of our devotion to the very principles which it is trampling underfoot. Thus Portugal, which has consistently refused to allow commissions of investigation from this Organization to enter the territories under its administration, has decided, not without a certain amount of diabolical cunning, that making this suggestion is enough to showits good faith and innocence. Of course, however, as aIl the members of the Security Council know 15. An even weightier argument in support of our attitude is given us by the Portuguese authorities themselves. You will remember that the permanent rep:cesentative of Senegal drew attention. among other things. to the case of our Senegalese lorry drivers arrested in so-called Portuguese Guinea. Needless to say. the representative of Portugal had never heard of such an occurrence. Well. today we have received from Mr. Senghor. the President of the Republic of Senegal. a cable which 1 am going to take the liberty of reading to you for your edification: "From His Excellency MI'. Léopold Senghor to Mr. Cissé Dia. Minister of the Armed Forces. Senegalese Mission to the United Nations. "New element for your brief in Portuguese affair. Commandant Cercle Ziguinchor sent me following message: "'By coded message 1 have reported arrest of two Ziguinchor 10rIj' drivers. Kébé Ousman and Kébé Alioun. and their four apprentices, Now have honour inform you Kébé Alioun returned 18 April 1963 with four apprentices. But Kébé Ousman died horrible death 15 March 1963 athands ofPortuguese soldiers. (Signed) Léopold Senghor.'" 1 will say no more. 16. Mr. QUAISON-SACKEY (Ghana): My delegation had no intention of intervening immediately in this debate. but certain words were used by the representative of Portugal when he spoke on Friday. and such were the words that 1 am dutY bound to answer quickly. The representative of Portugal said this: "Yesterday. a certain representative took advantage of the confusioncreatedby theSenegalese statements in order to refer to Portugal as an octopus. a.'1d to compare the Portuguese people with thieves• • . .' • Even the Members of our National Assembly have been so weIl behaved that so far none of them has had to be horse-whipped publicly by order of the Government for stealing brass inkpots from the Assembly Hall." [1030th meeting. para. 46.} 17. When those words were first spoken. 1 was not listening properly and 1 did not know that they had been spoken. But. in the first place. the Portuguese representative came to speak here by the common consensus of this Council. including the delegation of Ghana. and we are surprised that he E?hould refer to me as "a certain representative" when he knew perfectly well that it was my delegation whic.h referred to Portugal as an octopus. an imperialist Pow~~rwhich has a stranglehold on certain pockets in Africa. Therefore. we used the term "octopus" inits right meaning. that of Portugal as an imperialist. colonial Power in Africa which is subjugating our African brothers and sisters. 18. When he referred to me as having said that the Portuguese people are thieves. 1 am afraid he was wrong. 1 never said that the Portuguese people were

There are no more speakers inscribed on my liste Is there any representative who wishes to take the floor this afternoon? It would be helpful to know in advance whether representatives would be prepared to take the floor. The represent"ative of Morocco has indicated his willingness. Are there any more? 21. If it is agreeable to the members of the Council. 1 propose"that the next meeting of the Council be held tomorrow at 10.30 a.m. It was so deoided. The meeting rose at 3.45 p.m.