S/PV.1304 Security Council

As agreed at the 1303rdmeeting of the Council, and owing to the limited number of seats available at the Council table, I shall now invite the representatives of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Portugal to take their places at the Council table, and the representatives of the United Republic of Tanzania, Burundi, the Central African’ Republic and the Congo (Brazzaville) to take the places reserved for them at the side of the Council’ Chamber. At the invitation of the President, Mr. J.?M. Bomboko (Democratic Republic of the Congo) and Mr. F. B. de Miranda (Portugal) took places at the Council table. At the invitation of the President, Mr. C. Y. Mgonja (United Republic of Tanzania), Mr. T. Nsanze (Burundi), Mr. F. Gon (Central African Republic) and Mr. J. Mouanza (Conga, Brazzaville) took the places reserved for them.

The Security Council will now .- continue its consideration of the complaint submitted to it on 21 September by the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Prksident: Lord CARADON (Royaume-Uni de Grande-Bretagne et d’Irlande du Nerd). Presents: Les representants des Etats suivants: Argentine, Bulgarie, Chine, Eta%-Unis d’Am&+ique, France, Japon, Jordanie, Mali, Nigeria, Nouvelle- ZBlande, Ouganda, Pays-Bas, Royaume-Uni de Grande-Bretagne et d(Irlande du Nord, Union des RBpubliques socialistes sovi&iques et Uruguay. Ordre du jour provisoire (S/Agenda/l304) 1. Adoption de l’ordre du jour. 2. Lettre, en date du 21 septembre 1966, adressee au President du Conseil de s&urit& par le rep&- sentant permanent par interim de la RBpublique democratique du Congo aupres de<l’Organisation des Nations Unies (S/7503). Adoption de l’ordre du jour L ‘ordre du jour es t adopt& Lettre, en date du 21 septembre 1966, adress6e au Prbsident du Conseil de sbcuritf! par le reprgsentant permanent par in&im de la RBpublique democratique du Congo aupres de I’Organisation des Nations Unies (S/7503) 1. Le PRESIDENT (tracluit de l’anglais): Comme convenu par le Conseil lors de la 1303Bme seance, et en raison du nombre limit6 de sii?ges disponibles a la table du Conseil, j’invite maintenant les rep&- sentants de la RBpublique d6mooratique du Congo et du Portugal a prendre place a la table du Conseil et les representants de la Republique-Unie de Tanzanie, du Burundi, de la RBpublique centrafricaine et du Congo (Brazzaville) & occuper les sieges qui leur ont BtB r&servk pres de la table du Conseil. Sur l’invitation du Pr&ident; M. J.-M. Bomboko (Republique democratique du Congo) et M. F. B. de Miranda (Portugal) prennent place d la table du Conseil. Sur l’invitation du PrtWdent, M. C. Y. Mgonja (Republique- Unie de Tanzanie), M. T. Nsanze (Burundi), M. F. Gon (R6publique centrafrioaine) et M. J. Mouanza (Congo-Brazzaville) occupent les si$- ges qui leur ont BM r&erv&. * 2. Le PRESIDENT (traduit de l’anglais): Le Conseil de skurite va maintenant poursuivre llexamen de la plainte qui lui a Btt? soumise le 21 septembre par la Republique democratique du Congo, 4. The representatives of Nigeria, Uganda and Jordan have entrusted me with the honourable task of introducing to this Council, on behalf of their countries and of Mali, the draft resolution [S/7539] which is now before the Council, 5. If we consider thhe various upsets and upheavals which axe shaking the newly independent nations and which are here and there reflected in coups d’btat and the destruction of all stability-that stability which is so essential to the normal and harmonious development of these young countries-if we consider the fact that a number of these domestic upheavals suffered by our young States are the work of foreign hands, and if we recognise, finally, that the Congo (Kinshasa), from which we hear today yet another cry of distress, is an African country whose wealth and size have brought since its independence the train of intrigue, suffering and bloodshed of which all here are aware, there can be no doubt that”every member of this Council shares the anxiety and anguish which overwhelm us when confronted with the complaint now before the Council. 6, As everyone knows, in the normal course of the diabolically calculated neo-colonialist process the last champions of retrograde ideas continue-in spite of the irreversible course of history and from nostalgia for a colonial era which has passed for ever-to cherish the illusion that a foothold in one State of the continent will open the way, through paternalism and corruption, to a treacherous reconquest the very idea of which is to be condemned, 7. Though some are concerned over the Congolese complaint and others find it inadequately supported, all-1 am glad to say-recognise that the colonialism which was the cause underlying it is still a subject of considerable concern because of the many crimes it has led to through the centuries on our continent. Thus Africans, whatever their country, feel concerned by any event relating to colonialism, particularly when, once again, the accused is Portugal, which, by its unto-operative attitude and scornful defiance of the pertinent resolutions of our Organization, remains an upholder of the vilest form of colonialism known to our age, 8. Everyone here is aware that, despite theuniversal condemnation and unanimous discredit it has earned, Portugal persists in its policy of terror and subjugation of the peoples still under its domination. The active participation of African spokesmen in this debate has proved, if proof were still needed, that our whole continent is ready and determined to combat any fresh stirrings of colonialism, from whatever sc$rce. The Democratic Republic of the Congo, 4. Les representants du Nigeria, de 1’Ouganda et de la Jordanie mlont con&! le devoir d’introduire aupres de notre conseil, au nom de leurs pays et du Mali, le projet de r&solution [S/7539] dont sont a pr&ent saisis les membres du Conseil. 5. Si l’on considEre les diffBrents remous et SOW bresauts qui secouent les jeunes nations et qui se manifestent ici et lb par des coups dlEtat et par la destruction de toute stabilite dont les jeunes pays ont le plus grand besoin pour leur ddveloppement normal et harmonieux, si lion considere que nombre de ces bouleversements internes, dont sont victimes nos jeunes Etats, sont le fait de.mains Btrangeres, si l’on veut enfin reconnaftre que le Congo (Kinshasa), d’oti nous parvient aujourd’hui encore un cri de d& tresse, est l’un des pays africains dont 1’Btendue et la richesse lui ont valu depuis son independance le cortege d’intrigues, de souffrances et-de sang que nul n’ignore ici, il n’y a auoun doute que chaque membre de ce conseil xessent en lui et partage l’inqui&ude et l’angoisse qui nous envahissent face & la plain& dont le Conseil se trouve saisi. 6. Personne n’ignore que, selon le processus normal d’un n&o-colonialisme diaboliquement calcul& les derniers tenants de conceptions r&rogrades conti- Went, en d&pit de la marche irrBversible de l’histoirt: et dans la nostalgic d’une epoque coloniale ii jamais revalue, & nourrir llillusion selon laquelle une brechc dans un Etat du continent y trouve, par le truchement du paternalisme et de la corruption, la voie h une perfide reconqu&te dont 1lidEe m&me ne peut &trc pue condamnable. 7. Aussi bien ceux qui sont pr6occup6s par laplainte congolaise, que ceux qui la trouvent non suffisamment BtayBe. tous reconnaissent heureusement que la rafson coloniale qui en est l’esprit, demeure un sujet d’inqui6tude suffisant du fait des nombreux crimes qu’elle n’a ceastS d’engendrer tout au long des si8cles sur notre continent, Clest ainsi que les Africains, de quelque contree qu’ils rel&vent, se sentent concern&s par tout Gvenernent qui sly rapporte, SUItOUt lorsque, encore une fois, l’acous& est le Portugal, qui, par son comportement peu coop&ratif dgfiant, tout en les bafouant, les resolutions pertinentes de notre organisation, demeure l’un des tenants de la forme du colonialisme la plus vile de notre gpoque, 8. Chacun sait ici que, au mepris de la condamnation universelle et clu discredit unanime qui p&e SW lui, le Portugal persiste dans sa politfque de terreur et d’asservissement des peuples qui vivent encore SOUE sa domination. La participation active de responsables africains a oe debat a demontre, slil en &.ait encore besoin, combien notre continent entier est p&t et d&id& a combattre toute nouvelle vell&te de colanialisme, de quelque origine que oela vienne. La “What the Democratic Republic of the Congo wishes to do before this Council today is rather to draw the attention of the world to the threat which Portugal’s interference in the domestic affairs of the Congo presents to international peace and security. For the Congo cannot, without endangering its survival, tolerate such interference any longer without reacting. “What the Democratic Republic of the Congo wants is a solemn commitment from the Government of Portugal to refrain in future from giving assistance to any attempts at subversion in its territory. It ventures, therefore, to hope that it will obtain the support of al the members of the Council,. . “The Democratic Republic of the Congo hopes, and dares to believe, that the members of this Council, aware of the hazards that attend the birth of a new world, will have no hesitation in giving it their support, and thereby aiding the whole of Afxica which cries out to the world for justice, “My country has suffered a great deal, For six years we have known only suffering and tragedy, and this is a final appeal which I am making here to all countries to leave us in peace, to leave the people of the Congo in peace, so that they may tend their wounds, work in peace and build their country. Our sufferings have always been caused by foreign interference, and we would like all such interference to come to an end.” [1302nd meeting, paras. 46-50.1 9, In the course of the debate the representative of Portugal answered by stating, among other things: “Portugal never denied that some el.ements of the old Katangese forces had entered Angola. In fact, following exaggerated rumours then circulating, thch Portuguese Ministry issued, on 12 February 1963, the following Press note: ‘In connexion with the news latterly published on the subject, it is made known that a small number of the old Katangese forces entered Angola, where they asked for political asylum, which was given to them. They were disarmed and interned in accordance with international law.’ “Non, ce que veut la Rgpublique democratique du Congo aujourd’hui, devant oe conseil, c’est appeler l’attention du monde sur la menace que les ingBrences portugaises clans les affaires du Congo font subir & la paix et a la s&ourit6 internationales. Car le Congo ne pourrait, saris danger pour sa survie, supporter plus longtemps sans reagir de telles interventions. “Ce que veut la RBpublique democratique du Congo, c’est un engagement solennel du Gcuvernement portugais de se garder & l’avenir de preter mainforte a toute tentative de subversion sur son territoire. Elle ose esperer, & ce titre, obtenir llappui de llensemble des membres du Conseil a . . “La R6publique democratique du Congo espere et ose croire que les membres de ce conseil, sensibles aux tragedies de l’enfantement d’un monde nouveau, n’h&iteront pas, & travers elle, & pr&ter leur appui a 1’Afrique tout entiere gui crie justice a la face du monde. “Man pays a beaucoup souffert. Depuis six ans, nous nlavons connu que souffrances et traggdies, et c’est une priere ultime que j’adresse ici & tous les pays de nous laisser tranquilles, de laisser le peuple du Congo tranquille pour quV1 puisse panser ses blessuses, travailler dansla paix et construire le pays. Nous avons souffert, toujours a cause des ingerences Btrangares et nous voudrions que ces ing&rences puissent prendre fin.” [13028me seance, par. 46 B 50.1 9. Ce a quoi, clans la suite du debat, le reprBsentant du Portugal a fait reponse en declarant entre autres chases: “Le Portugal n’a jamais ni6 que certains Elements des anciennes forces katangaises aient pen&&e en Angola. En fait, 3 la suite de rumeurs exag&ees qui circulaient alors, le Ministare portugais publia, le 12 f&Her 1963, le communiqu6 de presse suivant: “A propos des nouvelles rficemment’publi6es a ce sujet, on signale que certains eltSments des anciennes unit&s des forces katangaises ont p?%&re en Angola, oi’~ ils ont demand6 l’asile politique, qui leur a &B accord& 11s ont &tB d&sarm6s et inter&s confosmement au droit internationa1.w n . . . the gendarmes who had been interned in Angola.. , asked to be allowed to go back to the Congo, which they did.. e .w [1303rd meeting, paras. 21 and 24.1 10. The draft resolution which has been submitted to the Council on behalf of Jordan, Mali, Nigeria and Uganda has been prepared, calmly and dispassionately, by the African group in the ZTnitedNations, with the support of our Asian brothers, with a view to safeguarding our continent from any act which might impair the sovereignty or territorial integrity of our States. 11. We believe that the practice of recruiting and maintaining men without scruples and without ideals, stateless persons, for the purpose of threatening humans, should be proscribed and condenmed, incompatible as it is with the noble ideals of our Organization. The Machiavellian measures to which the forces of evil and big money have resorted in order to preserve their hold on the Congo are no secret to anyone here. The admission made here by the representative of Portugal is all the more disquieting because we are not unaware of the systematic work of extermination in which the Government of Portugal is currently engaged against whole populations in Angola, Mozambique and Guinea (Bissau). 12. It is true that the representative of Portugal has told us that in Angola there are no mercenaries, nor camps, nor war material to disturb the peace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and we take note of that in the second preambular paragraph of the draft resolution, The sponsors of this draft resolution and all the African States consider it their right to call upon the Council whose function it is to guarantee peace and security for all nations, to make Portugal put an end to any action aimedat threatening the sovereignty and integrity of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 13. I shall. now read out the draft resolution [ S/7539]. In the preamble, we state: “The Security Council, “Having heard the statements of the representative of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and of the representative of Portugal, “Taking note of the statement of the representative of the Democratic Republic of the Congo that Angola under Portuguese administration is used as a base of operation for foreign mercenaries for interfering in the domestic affairs of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, “Taking note further of the statement of the representative of Portugal that there are no mercenaries in Angola, nor camps, nor war material meant to II . . . les gendarmes qui avaient Btd inter& en Angola. . . ont demand& l’autorisation de retoumer au Congo, ce qu’ils ont fait *. .” [1303Bme seance, par. 21 et 24.1 10. Le projet qui vous a i%&! pr&sentB au nom de la Jordanie, du Mali, du Nigeria et de l’ouganda est un projet que 1s groupe africain de l’organisation des Nations Unies, avec l’appui des freres asiatiques, dans le souci d’epargner B notre continent tout acte pouvant porter atteinte ZX la souverainete ainsi qu’& l’int8grit8 territoriales de nos Etats, a Blabore ?i l’abri de toute passion, 11. Nous pensons que la pratique qui consiste h. enraler et 51 entretenir des individus saris scrupule et sans ideal, des apatrides, dans le but d’attenter & des vies humaines de m&me qu’B la securite des nations, est 9 proscrire et 51 condamner, incompatible qu’elle est avec les nobles ideaux de notre organisation. Personne, ici, n’ignore le machiav8isrne auquel ont eu recours les forces du ma1 et d’argent pour perpetrer leur mainmise sur le Congo. L’aveu enregistre ici m&me, du representant du Portugal, est d’autant plus troublant que nous n’ignorons pas la t$che d’extermination systematique & laquelle se livre en ce moment le Gouvernement du Portugal centre des populations entieres en Angola, au Mozambique et en Guinee (B&au). 12. Certes, le reprfisentant du Portugal nousaffirme qu’il n’y a plus, en Angola, ni mercenaires, ni camps, ni matt5riel de guerre pour troubler la paix en RBpublique d8mocratique du Congo, ce dont nous prenons acte dans le deuxieme paragraphe du pr&ambule de notre projet de rEsolution. Les auteurs de ce projet de r&solution, ainsi que tous les Etats africains, se croient en droit d’obtenir de cette instance de notre organisation chargee de garantir & toutes les nations la paix et la securit&, qu’elle amene le Portugal B mettre un terme 21 toute action visant ~5 porter atteinte & la souverainett! et & l’integrit8 de la R&ublique dfimocratique du Congo. 13. Je vais maintenant donner lecture de notre projet de rCisolution [S/7539], Dans le preambule, IIOUS indiqtons: “Le Conseil de &curitC, “Ayant entendu les dgclarations du representant de la RBpublique democratique du Congo et du representant du Portugal, “Prenant note de la declaration du repr&ents.nt de la RtSpublique democratique du Congo selon laquelle 1’Angola sous administration portugaise est utilis6 comme base operationnelle de mercenaires &rangers en vue d’une ingerence dans les affaires intBrieures de la RBpublique d6mdcratique du Congo, “Prenant note Bgalement de la declaration du representant du Portugal selon laquelle il n’y a en Angola ni mercenaires, ni camps, ni materiel de “Recalling the pertinent resolutions bfthe Security Cou%il and the General Assembly, “1. Urges the Government of Portugal, in view of its own statement, not to allow foreign tnercenaries to use Angola as a base of operation for interfering in the domestic affairs of the Democratic Republic of the Congo; “2. Calls upon all States to refrain or desistfrom intervening in the domestic affairs of the Democratic Republic of the Congo; “3. Requests the Secretary-General to follow closely the implementation of the present resolution.” 14. Setting aside all sterile and unconstructive passion and relying on the spirit of objectivity and, above all, responsibility which is the hallmark of this council, the sponsors of the draft resolution hope that it will receive the unanimous support of the Council.

In view of the excellent presentation that has been made by the representative of Mali of the draft resolution which stands before this Council, co-sponsored by Jordan, Mali, Nigeria and Uganda, I shall try to be very brief in this supporting statement. My only purpose is to underline two things: first, what we think of Portual and its activities in Angola; second, why this draft resolution is as mild a reaction against Portuguese misbehaviour as it is, 16. Portugal’s colonial presence in Africa, naturally, is something most distasteful to Africa. It is something that our friends in the world-east, west, north and south-have assured us is equally distasteful to them. The difference between us and our friends is that we in Africa are having to live with this nuisance; and it is a very uncomfortable nuisance to live with. 17. The representative of Portugal, in one of hi.s interventions, made a statement to the effect that Portuguese presence in Angola was not responsible for all the problems of the Congo. I quite agree with him. The new nations of Africa, including my own, have their problems. All we require is that those problems which we have, and which we are trying to tackle with all the power at our disposal, should not be compounded and made impossible by external interference. Surely Portugal recognixes that it is one of the cardinal principles of the United Nations -of which Portugal is, happily or unhappily, a Member-that one State should not interfere in the domestic affairs of anothes. 18. It is also a cardinal principle of theorganisation of African Unity, of which Nigeria is honoured and privileged to be a member and of which we hope that NRappelant les resolutions pertinentes du Conseil de s6curite et de llAssembl&e generale, nl, Invite instammentle Gouvernement portugais, eu 8garaipre declaration, a ne pas permettre a des mercenaires Btrangers d’utiliser 1’Angola comme base operationnelle en vue d’une ingbrence dans les affaires intQrieures de la Republique democratique du Congo; 2. Invite tous les Hats & s’abstenir ou cesser d’intervenir dans les a.ffaires interieures de la RBpublique d8mocratique du Congo; 3. PA le Secrgtaire general de suivre de pres Ifapplication de la pr6sente r8solution.” 14. Transcendant toute passion sttSrile et non constructive, mais se fondant sur le sentiment d’obj ectivittf et surtout de responsabilit8 qui caracterise le Conseil, les auteurs du projet de r&solution soumis espb rent que ce projet reoueillera l’appui unanime du Conseil. 15. M. ADEBO (NigBria) [traduit de l’anglais]: Compte tenu de l’excellent expos6 fait par le representant du Mali sur le projet de r&solution dont le Conseil est saisi, et qui a pour coauteurs la Jordanie, le Mali, le Nigeria et l’ouganda, je m’efforcerai de ne l@appuyer que tres brievement. Mon seul objectif est de mettre en lumiere deux chases: tout d’abord, ce que nous pensons du Portugal et de ses agissements en Angola; ensuite, pourquoi le projet de r&solution reagit avec autant de mod&ration au comportement r6pr8hensible des Portugais. 16. La presence coloniale portugaise en Afrique deplafi extr@mement, bien slur, aux Africains. Elle est tout aussi deplaisante pour nos amis du monde entier, a l%st, a l’Ouest, au Nerd et au Sud, ils nous l’ont assure. La difference entre nous et nos. amis, c’est clue nous autres, qui vivons en Afrique, devons supporter cette source de tourments et elle est fort g&ante a supporter. 17. Le representant du Portugal, dans l’une de ses interventions, a dtSclar6 en substance que la pr6- sence portugaise en Angola n’&ait pas la cause de tous les problemes congolais. Je suis tout a fait d’accord avec lui. Les nouvelles nations africaines, y compris la mienne, ont leurs problemes, Tout ce gue nous demandons, clest que cesproblemes auxquels nous devons faire face, et que nous essayons d’aborder avec tous les moyens a notre disposition ne soient pas compliquBs ou rendus insolubles par une intervention exterieure. Le Portugal reconnait certainement qutun des principes fondamentaux de llOrganisation des Nations Unies - a laquelle le Portugal, heureusement ou ma.lheureusement appartient - c’est qu’un Etat ne doit pas s’immiscer dans les affaires interieures d’un autre Etat. 18. C’est egalement un principe fondamental de L’Organisation de lfunite africaine, dent le Nigeria a Lthonneur et le privilege d’etre membre, et dont nous 19. The Foreign Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo came here to protest against acts of subversion on the part of Portugal inAngola. He made * charges of a very serious character. Nigeria has been on this Council only for a short time, but Nigeria has been following the traditions and deliberations of this Council ever since it became a Member of the United Nations. We recognize that this Council seeks to do justice, between the parties that come before it. We unfortunately have also had to recognize that sometimes a number of countries find it difficult to do justice or the measure of justice that is required, if their friend is in trouble. We recognize this, and we shall have to live with it until that day when, as we hope, the Council and the United Nations as a whole will be able to deal out ideal justice. 20. We of the delegation of Nigeria have no difficulty at all in accepting the allegations that were put forward by the Foreign Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. But we knew that those of our colleagues here who do not live in Africa might have difficulty in being persuaded. We consulted with them, and what did we discover? A number of them had no doubt at all that Portugal was as guilty as it was presented to be by the Foreign Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and they were prepared to condemn Portugal and to support any other measure that might be necessary to bring home to Portugal that if it continues to be in Angola, against the wishes of the world, it should at least not make such a great nuisance of itself as the Foreign Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has presented it as doing. 21. There were other members who felt that these 21. D’autres membres jugeaient gue ces alltlgations allegations might be investigated. Why did we not devaient faire l’objet d’une enquete. Pourq[uoi n’avonssend an investigating team to find out? I have some nous pas envoy6 un groupe d’enquete pour procdder sympathy for those who said this, because we of the 9 des constatations? Je comprends assez bien ces Nigerian delegation hold the view that. if facts are d&larations, &ant don& qu’& la delegation nig&- susceptible of accurate investigation they should be rienne, nous sommes d’avis que si les faits peuvent subjected to such investigation. But we do not feel faire l’objet d’une enqu6te pr&ise, cette enquete that this is a case in which one could go to Angola devrait avoir lieu. Mais nous ne crayons pas qu’en and begin to identtiy the mercenaries there, fox the ces circonstances il soit possible d’aller en Angola simple reason that they do not wear badges on their et dlentreprendre llidentification des mercenaircs heads. It is also difficult to go to the base that the qui sly trouvent, pour la simple raison que ces mex- Portuguese Government established in Angola to help cenaires n’arborent pas d’insigne. 11 est Bgalemenb these mercenaries to prepare for the day when they difficile d’aller a la base que le Gouvernement pox-, will be sent back to the Congo, for the simple reason tugais a crf%e en Angola pour aider ces mercenaires. that, although the Portuguese Government does not a se preparer au moment oil ils seront renvoyes au. believe in our own values of international morality Congo, et cela pour la simple raison que, tout en ire: and has flouted them many times, they are not stupid croyant pas a nos propres normes de moralitt! interpeople, and they would not prepare the place for our nationale et tout en les ayant bafouees bien souvent,, inspection so that we could get an accurate picture, le Gouvernement portugais n’est pas stupide et IX! 19. Le Ministre des affaires Btrangeres de la REpublique democratique du Congo est venu ici protester centre des actes de subversion commis pax le Portugal en Angola. I1 a formu des accusations d’une nature tres grave. Le Nigeria ne siege a ce conseil que depuis peu de temps, mais il s’est in% resst? a ses traditions et B ses dkliberations d&s qu’il est devenu memhre de ItOrganisation des Nations Unies. Nous reoonnaissons que le Conseil de securite cherche B se prononcer conformement au droit entre les parties qui se presenterit devant lui. 11 nous faut aussi, malheureusement, reconnaftre que certains pays eprouvent parfois de la difficult& a se prononoer conformement au droit, m&me dans la mesure requise, quand un pays de leurs amis est sur la sellette. Nous le savons et nous devrons nous en accommoder jusqu’au jour ou, comme nous l!esp&rons, le Conseil de &curite et l’organisation dcs Nations Unies dans son ensemble seront a meme de dispenser une justice ideale. 20. La delegation du Nig(tria admet sans la moindre difficult6 les allggations avancees par le Ministre des affaires Btsangbres de la Republiwe dt?mocratique du Congo. Mais nous savions que ceux de nos collegues du Conseil qui n’habitent pas 1’Afrique pourraient ne pas se laisser convaincre facilement. Nous sommes entr& en consultation avec eux, et qu’avonsnous constat&? Un certain nombre d’entre eux n’entretenait aucun doute sur la culpabilite du Portugal telle que l’a exposee le Mini&e des affaires Btrangeres de la I%publique democratique du Congo, et ils etaient pri3ts a condamner le Portugal et B appuyer toute mesure qui pourrait s’av&rer Scessaire pour lui faire sentir que slil reste en Angola centre lea vo?ux du monde entier, il devrait au moins ne pas y 6tre aussi g&ant que le Ministre des affaixes &rangEres de la RBpublique democratique du Congo 1% dgcrit. 23. The United Nations fought a long war in the Congo to assist the Congolese. Some of the people against whom the United Nations had to fight were not of Congolese origin. As soon as theunited Nations got the better of the war, these people went across to Angola, In spite of protests, the Portuguese Government dit nothing to expel these people to their homeland or to wherever else they might choose to go. So far as the Portuguese authorities were concerned, they were just ordinary refugees. They took their arms away from them, but as soon as it seemed to the Portuguese Government that a government was in the Congo which cared to have these mercenaries back, not only dit it send the mercenaries back, but -apparently having kept their arms in an armoury with labels on them for each individual mercenaryit released their arms, and the mercenaries went back. The representative of Portugal asked us this question: was Portugal in error in doing this? 24. I think that the members of the Security Council ought, individually, to give the representative of Portugal his answer today. Speaking for my own country, and, I believe, speaking for all of Africa, we have no doubt at all that Portugal was in error, and if anybody is going to defend Portugal today or to contend that the charges against Portugal have not been substantiated, he should answer this question himself and answer it publicly here: was or was not Portugal in error in doing what it did? I also submit that we must, individually and collectively, also ask ourselves the question: if it was an error for Portugal to do this, is the Democratic Republic of the Congo not justified in its apprehension that what Portugal did yesterday it could do tomorrow-and is in fact planning to do so? 25. Some people say in the course of consultations that they agree that Portugal was in error and that it should not commit that error again; but their difficulty is that evidence is required that it has those bases and those mercenaries waiting, and therefore they cannot proceed to condemn Portugal as we do who represent Africa here and as do our most intimate friends on this Council who recognize how much suffering has been caused Africa by its colonial presence there, and in what that is resulting, For that reason we were persuaded to remove from our original draft the condemnation of Portugal for having bases prepared and for having mercenaries ready to jump on the Congo. It was only in deference to such members of this Council that we did so, not because 23. L’Organisation des NationsUnies s’est longtemps battue au Congo pour venir en aide aux Congolais. Quelques-uns de ceux centre lesquels elle a dfl hitter n’&aient pas dtorigine congolaise. Sitat que les Nations Unies prirent le dessus dans les combats, ces gens sont passes en Angola, En d&pit de protestations, le Gouvernement portugais n’a rien fait pour les expulser et les renvoyer dans leur pays, ou dans tel autre endroit de leur choix. Pour les autorites portugaises, ces gens n*&aient que des r&fugi& ordinaires. Onleur a enleve leurs armes, mais aussit& qu’il parut au Gouvernement portugais qu’un gouvernement en place au Congo desirait reprendre ces mercenaires, non seulement il les a renvoybs, mais - sans doute avaiton conserve leurs armes dans un magasin avec des etiquettes portant les noms de chacun d’eux - il leur a rendu leurs armes, et les mercenaires sont retourn&s. Le repr&entant du Portugal nous a demand6 si le Portugal avait eu tort d’agir de la sorte. 24. A mon avis, les membres du Conseil de s6curit6 devraient aujourd’hui repondre individuellement au repr&entant du Portugal. Au nom de mon pays et, je pense, au nom de toute l’Afrique, je dirai que nous ne doutons absolument pas que le Portugal ait et6 dans son tort, et si quelqu’unveut defendre aujourd’hui le Portugal ou soutenir que lcs accusations formulees con&e lui n’ont pas et8 etablies il devra repondre lui-m&me a cette question, ici et en public: le Portugal avait-il, oui ou non, tort d’agir comme il l’a fait? Je suggere Bgalement que nous devrions, individuellement et collectivement, nous poser nous-mi?mes cette question: si le Portugal a eu tort d’agir comme il l’a fait, la RBpublique democratique du Congo nlest-elle pas fondle 2 craindre qulil n’agisse demain comme il a agi hier, et qu’il ne soit, de fait, en train de sly preparer? 25. Certains ont dit, au tours des consultations, qu’ils reconnaissaient que le Portugal Btait dans son tort et qu’il ne devrait pas recidiver; mais ce c@ les gene, c’est qu’il faut prouver que le Portugal entretient ces bases et ces mercenaires en attente, et cela les empeche de condamner le Portugal comme nous le faisons, nous qui repr&sentons 1lAfrique ici, et comme le font nos amis les plus proches au sein de ce conseil, Iesquels reconnaissent la somme des souffrances qu’a 0austSes la presence coloniale portugaise en Afrique, et ce qui en estla cons&uence. Pour cette raison, nous nous sommes 1aissEs persuader de supprimer de notre projet de resolution original la condamnation du Portugal du fait qu’il entretient des bases et dispose de mercenaires pr&s & sauter 26. 1 apologize to the Foreign Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, I apologize toour fellow countries of Africa and I apologize to some of our friends on this Council for the mildness of this first operative paragraph. But that is the genesis of the preparation of that paragraph. In this connexion, I want to join the Foreign’ Minister of the Congo in expressing deep appreciation of the action taken by the Government of the Republic of France on 1’7 Sep-’ tember 1966. Everybody will recall that on that day. the French police announced that it had uncovered a secret group of mercenaries who were training for violent action in the Congb. The leaders of the group were from States which were identifiable. They were from States whose Governments are supposed to respect the sovereignty of the Congo. We recognize that they might not have been-in fact, I am prepared to admit that they were not-deputed by their respective Governments to go into training for this nefarious purpose. But I think that we are entitled to request those Governments to take notice of the fact of this misbehaviour on the part of their nationals and to workout such steps themselves as are possible to prevent further international plots against the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 27. At this juncture all we can hopeforhaving regard to the consultations that took place before we brought the draft resolution before this Council, is that Council members who feel that it is too soft will recognize why it is so, and that Council members who feel that they cannot condemn Portugal, either because Portugal is their friend or because theydonot see evidence of a kind sufficient for them to condemn Portugal, will at least be convinced that on its own admission Portugal deserves to be called upon not to do again what it did before in the supposedly mistaken belief that it was in fact acting in the best spirit of international law. 28. I said when I started that I would be brief. I hope that I have not bored my fellow members on the council by this statement. I wish to take this opportunity to thank all of them for the co-operation that the African members of this Council have received, first from our Asian friends on the Council, and from all other non-permanent members of the Council, in the preparation of the compromise document that is before the Council. I hope that after the vote it will 28. J’ai dit en commencant que je serais bref. Jlespere ne pas avoir ennuye mes collegues du Conseil par cette declaration. Je voudrais saisir cette occasion pour les remercier tous de la collaboration qu’ils: ont apportee aux membres africains du Conseil, nos amis d’Asie siegeant au Conseil d’abord, et tous les autres membres non permanents du Conseil, dans la. preparation de oe texte de compromis dont le Conseil est saisi. J’espere qu’une fois le vote intervenu il sera. 30. The facts are well known to the members of the. Council, On 24 September a mob of several hundred persons forced its way into the Portuguese Embassy at Kinshasa, destroyed the furniture and sacked the archives of the Embassy. The Charge d’affaires and two other members of the staff were dragged out of the building, attacked with sticks and knives, and abducted to another part of the city, where they were seriously mistreated in public on the streets, and the Charge d’affaires suffered a broken elbow before they were rescued by the Congolese authorities. 31. My delegation has noted with satisfaction the statement of the Foreign Minister of the Congo that his country wishes fully to adhere to the obligations of international law and practice, But the serious fact remains that the ever more frequent incidence of such events and over the world becomes a cause of serious concern. For years now attacks have been mounted by “spontaneous” mobs on embassies in many countries, and it looks more and more as if such attacks are becoming the latest arm in the arsenal of diplomacy, If the policy of State A displeases the host country, a mob demonstrationagainst the Embassy of that State A is allowed or unleashed, demonstrations which in many cases have lead to sacking, burning or destruction of the embassy and sometimes to bodily harm to one or more members of the diplomatic staff. I could cite here a long and sad list of cases over the last few years, but we all know of sufficient examples of this latest and most refined form of modern diplomacy tomake this superfluous. These attacks are by no means the doubtful privilege of any particular country or any particular area. They have in more recent years taken place in almost all parts of the world. 32. My own country is at this moment the victim of a serious violation of the diplomatic immunity of one of our representatives in a foreign country, not, by the way, a member of the United Nations. In direct violation of time-honoured diplomatic practice, this representative, having been declared persona non grata as a measure of retaliation, has for two months 30. Les faits sont bien connus des membres du Conseil. Le 24 septembre, une foule de plusieurs oentaines de personnes a pEln6tr6 de force dans llambassade portugaise de Kinshasa, d&ruit lesmeubles et saccage l,es archives de l’ambassade. Le charge! dlaffaires et deux autres membres du personnel ont 6tB entrai.%s hors de I’Bdifice, attaqu6s & coups de baton et de couteau, et entrain& dans une autre partie de la ville, ofi ils ont BtB s&ieusement malmenBs en public dans les rues; le charge d’affaires a eu un coude fracturi5 avant que les trois personnes fussent delivrees par les autorites congolaises. 31. Ma d616gation a pris note avec satisfaction de la declaration du Ministre des affaires &rang&res du Congo indiquant que son pays desire se conformer sans reserves aux obligations du droit international et des coutumes internationales. 11 n’en reste pas moins grave que ce genre d’incident se produise de plus en plus frgquemment dans le monde entier, ce qui est une cause de graves pr&occupations. Cela fait maintenant des ann6es que des foules se livrent “spontan6mentw, dans de nombreux pays, a des attaques centre les ambassades; on dirait de plus en plus qne ce genre d’agression devient l’arme la plus rb cente dans Ifarsenal diplomatique. Si la politiqne de l%tat A d&plan au pays hate, une manifestation populaire devant l’ambassade de cet Etat est autorisge, ou d6ohafnGe, manifestation qui aboutit tr&s souvent au sac, & l’incendie ou B la de struotion de l’ambassade, et parfois E1 des voies de fait sur un ou plusieurs membres du personnel diplomatique. Je pourrais titer ici une longue et regrettable liste de tels cas intervenus ces quelques derniBres ant&es, mais nous connaissons tous asses dlexemples de cette forme recente et si raffinee de la diplomatie moderne pour que ee soit superflu. Ce genred’agression ne constitue pas du tout le disc&able privil&ge d’un pays ou d’une region donnes. 11 s’est manifest&, ces toutes dernieres annees, dans presque toutes les parties du monde. 32. Mon propre pays est en ce momentm$mevictime d’une grave atteinte 8 l’immunit6 diplomatique de l’un de nos reprdsentants dans un pays &ranger, q$ n’est d’ailleurs pas membre de 1’Organisation des Nations Unies. En violation directe des usages diplomatiques consacr?%, ce representant, d&la& persona non grata par mesure de repr&ailles, est 33d Ever since diplomacy was invented, the first and most essential condition for the conduct of this form of inter’national Contact has been the inviolability of the envoy, the embassy and its staff, andfor centuries this habit has for gbod reason been respected, In the few cases where this rule was broken itused to cause an international OutCrY. It was unfortunately reserved for our time to turn this barbarous expedient almost into a habit. If this trend is not checked, we may well reach the Point where embassies have to be turned into fortified strongholds or be withdrawn altogether, and Where ambassadors have to go about in mediaeval, steel-plated armour in order to protect their very lives. 34. My delegation believes that the time has come when we in the United Nations should strongly express cur disapproval of this habit, which can under no circumstances be condoned, no matter what the merits or faults of any country’s policy. Every Government has undertaken to respect the obligations of the international community, and has by that very fact undertaken the duty adequately to protect the diplomatic staff and buildings in its country and not to impede their legitimate movements. Any failure to abide by this rule can only do immeasurable harm to international relations and in the end will, like a boomerang, turn against its perpetrator, as many cases have already shown. 35. My country would therefore appeal to all Governments to make clear in word and in deed their strong feeling that such infringements on diplomatic practise and privilege should stop. 36. My delegation has wished to stress this important and basic rule of diplomatic relations before discussing the substance of the complaint which has been brought before the Council, to which.1 should now like to turn. 37, Listening to the clear and very moving words of the Foreign Minister of the COngO, one could not fail to be struck by the unhappy fate that has befallen his country during the six years of its independence. During those years the Congo has known little Peace, much turmoil and endless Suffering for its people. we fully understand its desire to be left undisturbed in order that it may grow into a unified and prosperous entity. The United Nations, which has been SO closely associated with the Congo since its birth, will undoubtedly wish to do everything in its Power in order to achieve this tranquillity which the Congolese People SO ardently desire. 33. Depuis que la diplomatie a BtB inventee, la condition premiere et essentielle pour que puisse se realiser cette forme de contact international a 6t.B l’immunitd du plenipotentiaire de l’ambassade et de son personnel, et pour de bonnes raisons cette habitude a tSt6 respect&e pendant des siecles. Dans les rares cas 0Q elle a et.6 violi+e, cela a souleve la &probation internationale. 11 Btait malheureusement &serve & notre bpoque de faire presque une habitude de cet expedient barbare. Si cette tendance n’est pas &prim&e, nous en arriverons peut-btre au point oil les ambassades devront Btre transform&s en forteresses ou &re retirBes oompletement, et oil les ambassadeurs devront circuler en armure moyennageuse pour defendre leur vie. 34. Ma delegation pense que le moment est venu pour nous, a l’organisation des Nations Unies, d’exprimer notre d&approbation &v&re de cette habitude, pour laquelle il ne saurait y avoir aucune excuse quels que soient les merites ou les torts de la politique d’un pays. Chaque gouvernement s’est engage a respecter les obligations de la communaut6 internationale, et a par la m&me assume le devoir de proteger efficacement le personnel et les batiments diplomatiques qui se trouvent dans son pays et de ne pas entraver les deplacements 16gitimes de ce personnel, Tout manquement B cette regle ne peutque causer un dommage immense dans les relations internationales et doit se retourner, en definitive, comme un boomerang oontre son auteur, on I1a deja vu dans bien des o&s. 35. Mon pays voudrait done adresser un appel zi tous les gouvernements pour qu’ils montrent clairement par leurs paroles et par leurs actes qu’ils estiment absolument que de telles atteintes aux usages et aux privileges diplomatiques doivent cesser. 36, Ma delegation a tenu a souligner cette regle importante et fondamentale des relations diplomatiques avant de discuter le fond de la plainte dont le Conseil a Bt6 saisi et a laquelle je voudrais passer maintenant. 37. En Ecoutant la declaration Claire et t&s 6mouvante du Ministre des affaires Btrangeres du Congo, on ne peut manquer d’&tre frapp6 du destin malheureux qui a 6t6 celui de son pays pendant ses six premieres ann6es d’independance. Au tours de ces an&es, le Congo n’a gubre oonnu la paix, mais a subi beauooup de bouleversements et des souffrances sans fin pour son peuple. Nous oomprenons parfaitement son d&sir d’&re laiss6 en paix afin de pouvoir devenir une entit6 unifiBe et prosp&re. Les Nations Unies, qui ont 6tk associ6es de si prbs au. Congo depuis sa naissance, tiendront certainemenf; a faire tout ce qui est en leur pouvoir pour rfZaliser cette tranquillit a laquelle le peuple congolais aspire si ardemment. 40. In the second place, the complaints brought before us deal with the policy of Portugal with regard to its territories in Africa. This is, of course, a subject of great importance to the whole of Africa and to many other countries, and it has been an item on the agenda of the Security Council since 1961. It was dealt with extensively in the course of last year, and on that occasion my delegation was able to state clearly its hope that Portugal could be persuaded to lift its restrictions on the application of the right of self-determination. I do not propose, therefore, to deal with this aspect of the problem during the present debate, a debate which, in the opinion of my delegation, should be restricted to the specific Congolese complaint. 41. When we thus leave aside, on the one hand, the aspect of internal domestic politics in the Congo, and, on the other hand, the question of the Portuguese Territories, there remains what is the heart of the Congolese complaint, namely, that the overthrow of the Congolese Government was planned with the help of mercenaries who were being trained in Angola, This, of course, is a serious matter. 42. The Congolese Government accuses the Government of Portugal of permitting the existence inAngola of camps where men are trained for the sole purpose of upsetting the legal Congolese Government. Some facts and figures were supplied to lend force to the complaint. If these accusations were proved to be true, they would constitute a serious andunacceptable situation. The Portuguese Government on its part, however, both in direct contact with the Government of Kinshasa and through its representative speaking before the Security Council, has categorically denied the existence of any mercenaries as well as of any training camp or material for them in the territory of Angola, 43. In the view of my delegation, the Security Council is thus, as so often before, once again placed before 40. En second lieu, les plaintes dont nous sommes saisis ont trait B la politique du Portugal & 1’8gard de ses territoires en Afrique. C’est 18 Bvidemment un sujet de la plus gsande importance pour 1’Afrive tout enti&re et pour de nombreux autres pays, et cette question figure a llordre du jour du Conseil de &curitd depuis 1961. Elle a BtB longuementtraitee l’an dernier, et & cette occasion ma dBli5gation a pu exprimer clairement son espoir que le Portugal se . laisserait convaincre d’abandonner ses restrictions & l’applioation du droit dlautod&ermination. Je ne me propose dono pas de traiter cet aspect du probl&me au tours du present di5bat qui, de l’avis de ma d&egation, devrait se limiter 8. la plainte congolaise elle-meme. 41. Si nous laissons ainsi de catE, d’une part, lfaspect de politique interieure du Congo et, d’autre part, la question des territoires portugais, il reste oe q~i est au centre de la plainte congolaise, a savoir que le renversement du Gouvernement congolais a &ES projet4 avec l’aide de mercenaises entraih8s en Angola. La question, bien entendu, est grave. 42. Le Gouvernement congolais accuse le Gouvernement portugais de permettre l’existence en Angola de camps oti des hommes sont entraih& & la seule fin de renverser le Gouvernement congolais legal. Quelques faits et quelques chiffres ont BtB fournis & l’appui de cette plainte. Si le bien-fond6 de ces accusations dtait prouv6, elles &$&zaient une situation grave et inadmissible. Cependant, le Gouvernement portugais, de son cat&, tant dens ses contacts directs avec le Gouvernement de Kinshasa que par son representant parlant devant le Conseil de s&urite, a oategoriquement niB l’existenoe de mercenaires ainsi we celle de camps d’entratiement ou de materiel pour ces mercenaires sur le territoire de 1’Angola. 43. De llavis de ma d618gation, le Conseil de SbCUrite, comme tant de fois dans le passe, se trouve 44. In the present case, however, we understand that it is not the intention of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to press its case to that point, and that it is more interested in assurances for the future about non-interference in its internal affairs. 45. The Portuguese Government, on its part, has emphatically denied that it is giving support inAngola to elements trying to subvert the Government of the Congo. Furthermore, this statement ofthe Portuguese Government should constitute a valuable basis for an assurance such as the Conga desires. 46. Under these circumstances, my delegation believes that the wisest action for the Council is to take note of the statemecits of both parties and to request all Statesto desist from intervening in the do-mestic affairs of the Congo. Such a decision should not imply any condemnation or judgement, because the evidence available is insufficient. But it would yet give the Government of the Congo the assurance of freedom from intervention which it seeks, and which the Gove.mment of Portugal has implicitly given in its statements, and which it is, in view of those statements, prepared to abide by. 47. I should, in conclusion, like to repeat theearnest hope of my Government for the peaceful development of the Democratic Republic of the Congo without disturbance from internal or external sources.

I now call on the representative of Portugal.

First of all, I should like with your permission, Mr. President, to clear up a point to which the Foreign Minister of the Congo made a reference while exercising his right of reply for the second time at the very end of the last meeting of the Seourlty Council. 50. It will be recalled that the Minister alleged that the Portuguese Government “obstinately refusesR to return to the Congo some planes belonging to the 44. Dans le c&s p&sent, cependant, nous crayons savoir qus la Republique democratique du Congo n’a pas l’intention de pousser l’affaire jusqu’a ce point et qulelle tient davantage a recevoir pour l’avenir des assurances de non-ing&ence dans se6 affaires interieure s. 45. Le Gouvernement portugais, de son o$t8, a cat& goriquemcnt d&nenti qu’il donnait appui en Angola a des 8Mments cherchant & renverser le Gouvernement congolais. Cette declaration du Gouvernement portugais devrait d’ailleurs constituer une base valable pour une assurance comme celle que souhaite recevoir J.e Congo. 46. Dans ces conditions, ma dblbgation estime quele plus sage pour le Conseil serait de prendre acte des &clarations des deux parties et de demander a tous les Etats de s’abstenir d’intervenir dans les affaires int&ieures du Congo. Une telle dtScision ne devrait impliquer ni condamnation, ni jugement, car les preuves dont nous disposons sont insuffisantes. Elle donnerait oependant au Congo ce qu’il d&ire: ne plus &re l’objet d’interventions, assurance que le Gouvernement pormgais a implicitement don&e dans ses d&larations et que, compte tenu de ces d&larations, il est disposQ a respecter. 47. Je voudrais, en conclusion, dire une fois de plus le sin&re espoir qu’a mon gouvernement de voir la. Rdpublique dgmocratique du Congo se developper de faGon pacifique, sans troubles d’origine intgrieure ou exterieure. 48. Le PRESIDENT (traduit de l’anglais): La parole est maintenant au representant du Portugal. 49. M. DE MIRANDA (Portugal) [traduit de l’anglais]: Je voudrais tout d’abord, Monsieur le PrBsident, avec votre permission, Bclaircir un point dont le Mini&e des affaires Btrangeres du Congo a par16 alors qu’il exerFait son droit de reponse pour 1s seconde fois, 3. la finde la derni&re reunion du ConselL de &curit& 50. On se souviendra. que le Ministre des affairee Btrangeres du Congo avait affirm6 que le Gouvernement portugais “refuse obstin&nentn de rendre 51. In the statement made before tl~e Council on 3 October, I said: wMore recently we were requested to allow a Congolese mission to visit Angola in order to examine the condition of some planes which are lying there. These planes have no military significance but are the property of the Congolese Government. w [1303rd meeting, para, 31.1 52. I must now explain that the planes in question are really worthless and have always been at the disposal of the Congolese Government. It will be recalled that I was the first to refer to the planes in this debate. I was also the first to admit that they are the property of the Congolese Government. The present Government of the Congo asked us to allow a military mission to visit Angola to examine those planes. The Portuguese Government, in its usual spirit of co-operation, authorized the visit, If no Congolese mission has yet been sent to Angola, that is a matter of the exclusive responsibility of the Government of Kinshasa. 53, It is idle to seek to throw .the blame 0n anybody else. The Foreign Minister would be better advised if he looked for explanations in his O’VVI services at home and addressed his complaints to them, As for ourselves, we would be only too glad if the Congolese Government took awny whatever property it has left lying in Angola, And the sooner the better, because it will be at least one pretext less for such baseless allegations as the Foreign Minister of the Congo has made in connexion with the planes. 54. Now, I will proceed with my delegation’s comments on the draft resolution [S/7539] which has just been placed before the Council, It is beyond controversy that the draft resolution ought to reflect the truth which has emerged from the debate. A draft resolution which ignores the truth is an instrument of sheer injustice and can .only discredit those who approve it, 55. Now, what is the truth that has emerged from the present debate? The Democratic Republic of the Congo brought to this Council a complaint against Portugal to the effect that Portugal allows merccna-2 ries in Angola to hold bases in order to disturb the peace of the Democratic Republio of the Congo. If this charge had been proved, I fully agree that it would have been a very serious charge. But what has the Congolese Government brought here to sub-. stantiate its complaint? The Congolese Government has made allegations, but, as every0ne knows, they have been based on mere suppositions and fancies. COIlgOhiS Iui-m6me ( c ‘est le fruit de son imagination. 51. Dans ma d6claration devant le Conseil, le 3 OCtobre, je disais: wPlus rdcemrnent encore, On nous a demand6 de permettre B une mission congolaise iI& se rendre en Angola afin d’exnminer l%tat de certains avions gui sly trouvent. Ces avions n’ont aucune importance militaire, mals appartiennent au Gouvernement congolais.n [23(13??me seance, par. 31.1 52. Je dois expliquer maintenant que ces aviuns nlont r8ellement aucune valeur et ont toujours BtB & la disposition du Gouvernement congolais, On se souviendra que jlai &6 le premier % parlerde ces avions dans ce clgbat. J’ai aussi et6 le premier & recon-a nafire qurils sent la propri6t6 du Gouvernement congolais, Le Gouvernement actuel du Congo nous ademand de permettre & une mission rnilitaire de se rendre en Angola pour les examiner. Dans son esprit habitue1 de coop&ation, Ie Gouvernement portugais a autoris6 cette visite. Si aucune mission congolaise n’a encore BtB envoyde en Angula, cela rel&ve de la responsabilit6 exclusive du Gouvernement de Kinshasa. 53. I1 est vain d’essayer de rejeter le blfime SW qui que ce soit d’autre. P,e Ministre des affaires &rang&es ferait mieux de rechercher l’explication clans ses propres services chew lui et de se plaindre % eux. C&ant 9. I~US, nous serions trap heureux que 9e Gouvernement congolais enlhve tout ce qUi lui appartient et quW a pu Eaisser en Angola. Le pIuS t6t sera le mnleux, car ce sera un pretexte de moins 2 des accusations ma1 fondles, comme celle que le Ministre des affaires &trang&res du Congo a faite a propos dos avions. S4. Se vais maintenant presenter les observations de ma d616gation sur le prnjet de r6solution [S/7539] dont le Conseil vient d’&tre saisi. II ne fait point de cloute que le projet de resolution doit $tre l’expression de la v6rit6 telle qu’elle s’est deigagee du debat, ‘Un projet de rrSsolution qui ne tient pas compte de la v&it& est un instrument de pure injustice et ne peut que jeter le discrEdit sur ceux qui l’approuvent. 55. Or, qnelle est la &rite qui s’est d6gagBedu d&bat actuel? La Rbpublique d&nocrati~~e du Congo a SaiSi le Coneeil d’une plainte centre le Portugal, plainte selon laquelle le Portugal permettait % des ‘mercenaires, en Angola, d70ccuper des bases en vue de troubler la paix dans la RBpublique d&-nocratique du Congo. Si le bien-fond6 de cette accusation await bt6 prouvb, je reconnais parfaitement qulelle eat &t6 tr&s grave. Mais, que nous a apporte le GoUVernement congolais pour &ayer sa plainte? Le Gouvernement congolais a formu des alEgations, mais, comme cha~cun sait, elles n!Qtaient fondles que sur 57. Beyond allusions to these alleged statements, there is not one iota of proof, nothing that can be regarded as even plausible evidence. In fact, the whole story of mercenaries seems to merit closer investigation, I have before me reports published in two French newspapers, Combat and L?Aurore. ACcording to these reports, twenty out of the forty mercenaries arrested in early September in Ardeche in France have left for Kinshasa via Brussels, as they had been recruited for the Congolese army. 58. Be that as it may, the Congolese Government has failed utterly to prove or substantiate its complaint against Portugal, There is absolutely no basis for the allegation that Portugal is providing bases for any mercenaries, in any place in Angola, for use in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, The most categorical assurances have been given in this respect to the Congolese Government and to its Foreign Minister, as I have already stated and as I repeat again, first by the Portuguese Ambassador in Brussels, and then by a spokesman of our Foreign Ministry, and on 27 September by the Portuguese Foreign Minister at a Press conference in Lisbon. These assurances have been repeated by me here on the floor of the Council, because the Congolese Government chose to question the good faith of the Portuguese Government and preferred to believe the supposed statements of some mercenaries in order to suit its own objectives-objectives which have since been demonstrated by a series of gratuitously hostile acts against Portugal. 58. But in its crude attempt to cast doubt on Portugal’s good faith, the Congolese Government has met with an equally dismal failure, for it has had to resort to obvious distortion of facts, Unfortunately, such distortions of facts and of my statements in this Council have been repeated, and that obliges me to cluote from what I said at the last meeting of the Council: “What simply happened was this: the gendarmes who had been interned in Angola, as was made public by the Portuguese Government at the time of their internment by means of the Press note which I have already quoted, asked to be allowed to go back to the Congo, which they did with the authorisation of the Congolese Central Government which-be it well noted-was the legitimate and legal 57, Mises a part les allusions a ces pr6tendues d&larations, on ne nous a pas pr6sent6 un atome de preuve , rien qui puisse &tre considdrd mc?me oomme un indice vraisemblable. En fait, toUte l’fdhire dkS mercenaires semble appeler une enqW?te pIUS approfondie. Jtai sous les yeux des articles publi6s dans deux journaux franqais, Combat et 1’Aurore. C&a articles affirment que 20 des 40 mercenaires arr&8s au debut de septembre dans l’Ard&che, en France, se. sont rendus a Kinshasa via Bruxe11es, car ils avaient 8% recrutds pour l’armee congolaise. 58. Quoi qu’il en soit, le Gouvernement congolais nta pas le moins du monde r6ussi B prouver le bienfond6 de sa plainte centre le Portugal. L’all6gation selon laquelle le Portugal fournirait des camps h des mercenaires, en Angola, en vue d’actions contrc la RBpublique d6mocratique du Congo est d&u&z do tout fondement. Les assurances les plus oat6goriques ont 6% don&es a cet Bgard au Gouvernement congolais et au Ministre des affaires EtrangBres du Congo, je ltai deja dit et je le r6p8te, d’abord par lfambassadeur du Portugal a Bruxelles, puis par un porteparole de notre minis&e des affaires &rang&s, et enfin le 27 septembre par le Ministre portugais des affaires Btrangc?res au tours d’une conf6rencc de presse don&e a Lisbonne. Ces assurances ant BtB r6itdrees au Conseil par moi-m6me, parce que le Gouvernement oongolais avait decide de mettro en doute la sin&rite du Gouvernement portugais et avait pr6f6r6 ajouter foi aux ddclarations pr&tBes a certains mercenaires parce qu’elles servaient mieUX ses propres objectifs, objectifs qui, depuis lors, Ont 6t6 manifest& par une sdrie d’actes hostiles gratuits dirig6s centre le Portugal, 59. Dans oette tentative grossiere de jeter le discredit sur la bonne foi du Portugal, le Gouvernement Congolais a aussi Bchou6 piteusement, car il a da recourir a des deformations Bvidentes des faits, Malheureusement, ces versions fallacieuses des faits et de d6clarations que jtai faites devant ce oonseil ont gtg rdpdtdes, ce gui m’oblige & oiter ce we j’avaie dit a la derni&re seance du Conseil: “Voici ce cr-ii s’est tout simplement pass& leiie gendarmes gui avaient 6t6 intern& en Angola, ainsi gue le Gouvernement portugais llavait d&la.& publiquement au moment de leur internement, dans le communiVJ6 de presse que jcai deja cit6, ont demand6 l’autorisation de retourner au Congo, ce q’ils ont fait avec l’assentiment du Gouvernement central congolais gui, notons-le bien, &ait alors lc “If the leaders of the present Congolese Government have fallen out with the previous leaders, Portugal has nothing to do with that. I repeat and I insist: both in receiving the gendarmes in Angola and in allowing them to go back, Portugal’s conduct was impeccably correct.” [1303rd meeting, paras. 24 and 25.1 60. This is what I said, and Ihope it is not necessary for me to expatiate further on this point. There was a Public Force which was defeated in the Congo, Some elements of that Force crossed the border into Angola as refugees. They were disarmed and interned in accordance with international law. They were not allowed to conduct any political or military activities while they were in Angola. There was not a single protest made by the Congolese Government at any time in connexion with those refugees, When they thought that they could safely go back to the Congo, from where they came, they were allowed to go back, with the consent of the then legitimate Government of the Congo, 61. Nothing could be clearer, nothing couldbefairer, nothing could be more legal: and the Portuguese Government confesses to no error on this point, This is not merely the view of my delegation; it is the opinion of all who have accompanied this debate. Everyone knows the reason why there has been an interval of so many days between the last meeting ofthe Security Council and this one. Was this a natural turn of events? Would so many days be allowed to elapse if the slightest substance had been discovered in the Congolese complaint? Everyone knows why this draft resolution has been tabled. It appears that certain countries cannot go back empty-handed whenever they come to this Council with a complaint against Fortugal, howsoever flimsy, absurd and baseless that complaint may be-and the Congolese complaint certainly answers this description. 62. In the light of the present debate and of the general reaction it has produced, my delegation cannot avoid the conclusion that this draft resolution can be viewed only as a consolation prize offered to the Democratic Republic of the Congo for having failed to substantiate-much less to prove-its case, a case in which the Democratic Republic knows, and has known all along, that it does not have truth and reason on its side. 63. That is why this draft has had to be presented to the Council in terms which are totally irrelevant to the subject of the present debate. My delegation refuses to accompany those who seek to mix up issues, It is clear from their presentation that this draft has not been motivated by any merit of the Congolese complaint, but by other consideration. My delegation notes that at least so much has been implicitly admitted, “Si les dirigeants du Gouvernement congolais actuel ont eu maille a partir avec les chefs prl?- oedents du Congo, le Portugal n’a rien & y voir. Je rep&e et j’insiste: que ce soit en accueillant les gendarmes en Angola ou en les autorisant a retourner au Congo, la conduite du Portugal a &6 d’une correction impeccable.” [ 13038me seance, par. 24 et 25.1 60. Voil$ ce que jtavais dit; j’espere qu’il ne sera pas nBcessaire que je m’dtende davantage sur cette question. Une force publique a Btr? defaite au Congo. Certains elements de cette force ontpasse la frontiere et se sont r6fugi& en Angola. 11s ont Bte d6sarmds et inter&s conform6ment au droit international. On ne leur apas permis de se livrer B des activitgs politiques ou militaires pendant leur sejour en Angola, A aucun moment, le Gouvernement congolais n’a &eve la moindre protestation 8, propos de ces r?%gi&. Lorsqu’ils ont estime qu’ils pouvaient sans danger regagner le Congo, dtofi ils &aient Venus, ils ont BtB autoris& a le faire, avec llassentiment de ce qui Btait alors le gouvernement legitime du Congo. 61. Rien ne saurait Btre plus clair, plus juste, plus ldgitime, et le Gouvernement du Portugalne reconnaft avoir commis aucune faute en la matibre. Ce n’est pas seulement l’opinion de ma d8l&gation, mais celle de tous ceux qui ont suivi ce debat. Chacun connaft les raisons pour lesquelles il s’est Bcoul~ tant de jours entre la derniere r&.mion du Conseilde s8curit6 et notre presente s6ance. Etait-ce un delai normal? Aurait-on laisse passer tant de jours si l’on Wait ddcouvert le moindre fondement a la plainte congolame? Chacun sait pourquoi ce projet de resolution a BtB d8pos8. 11 semble que certains pays ne peuvent pas afen aller les mains vides lorsqu’ils viennent deposer devant ce conseil une plainte OOntre le Portugal, si futile, absurde et fantaisiste qu’elle puisse Btre; et la plainte congolaise repond*sans aucun doute B cette description. 62. Compte tenu du present dhbat et de la r&&ion generale qu’il a provoqt&e, ma delegation ne peut manquer d’aboutir 8. la conclusion que oe projet de r&solution ne saurait &tre consider6 que comme un prix de consolation offert a la Rdpublique d.!Zmocratique du Congo qui nra pas pu Stayer, et moins encore prouver, le bien-fond8 de sa cause, cause dans laquelie la Rdpublique democratique sait depuis le debut qufelle nta pour elle ni la v&rite ni la raison. 63. Voil& pourquoi ce projet a dit btre p&sent6 au Conseil dans des termes qui sont tout &fait &rangers a llobjet du dBbat actuel. Ma delegation refuse de slassocier & ceux qui essaient de confondre les questions. I1 apparai’t. clairement dans leurs declarations que ce projet n’a pas et6 inspire par le bien-fond6 de la plainte congolaise, mais par d’autres consi- &rations. Ma deldgation OOnState qu’a tout le moins cela a Bt6 admis implicitement. 65. In so far as the draft resolution fails to dismiss the unsubstantiated complaint brought here by the Congo, it seeks to make a casualty of the truth. Far more unjustly, it embodies a directive addressed to Portugal not to interfere, not to provide mercenary bases in Angola for actions against the Congo. 66. Heading through the draft resolution I see first, in the second preambular paragraph, a reference to “Angola under Portuguese administration”. This is the first time such a phrase has occurred in any resolution of the United Nations, and my delegation takes very strong exception to this description of Angola. Portuguese sovereignty in Angola is not in doubt. There is only Angola; there is no such thing as wAngola under Portuguese administration”. 67. Secondly, the third preambular paragraph takes note of the statement made by me to the effect that there are no mercenaries in Angola, nor camps nor war material meant to disturb the peace inthe Democratic Republic of the Congo. Yes, indeed, I made such a statement. 68. But then what do we see in the draft resolution7 In operative paragraph 2, Portugal is urged not to , do exactly what it was stated we have not been doing. I ask: What is the purpose, what is the intention behind this paragraph? Why is Portugal asked not to do what it has already declared it is not doing? Is that any insinuation that Portugal might hereafter go back on its word? If there is such an insinuation, my delegation indignantly rejects and repudiates such an insinuation. 69. What has been demonstrated in the course of the present debate that can justify such a directive? Has it been proved that Portugal has ever in the past provided mercenary bases in Angola for actions against the Congo? Has anything been produced to justify even a suspicion in that direction7 Is it not a fact, accepted even by the Congolese Government itself, that, during the six years of the Congo’s troubled existence as an independent State, when many outside Powers had been accused of interference in the internal affairs of that country, never-not oncewas such an accusation leveled at Portugal? Is it not a fact that, all through this period, Portugal has striven scrupulously to avoid any entanglement in the internal affairs of the young Congolese Republic and, in strict adherence to the principle of good-neighbourliness between contiguous States, endeavoured to assist the Congolese people in all manner of things by keeping open the routes of communication and by providing material assistance in the form of muchneeded provisions, food-stuffs and other material, even at cost substantially lower than those obtaining in the international market? 65. Dana la mesure oil il slabstient de debouter le Congo de la plainte sans fondement qu”‘il a pr8sentee ici, ce projet de r&solution Porte atteinte B la v&rit& D’une mani&re encore bien plus injuste, il invite le Portugal & ne pas s’immiscer dans les affaires du Congo, a ne pas entretenir des bases de mercenaires en Angola en vue d’actions centre le Congo. 66. En lisant oe projet de r&olution, je rencontre tout d’abord, dans le deuxieme alinea du preambule, l’expression fillAngola sous administration portugaise”. Cleat la premiere fois qulune semblable formule apparaft dans une &solution des Nations Unies, et ma delegation proteste Bnergiquement centre cette manii%re de designer 1’Angola. La scuverainete portugaise en Angola n’est pas en doute. 11 n’y a qu’un Angola, 11 n’existe pas d’ “Angola sous administration portugaiset’. 67. En deuxieme lieu, je constate que le troisieme alinda du preambule prend note de ma declaration dans laquelle je demens la presence, en Angola, de mercenaires, de camps, ou de materiel de guerre destines B troubler la paix dans la I?&publique d8mocratique du Congo. J’ai, en effet, fait cette d&laration. 68. Mais, gue d&ouvrons-nous dans la suite duprojet de rBsolution? Le paragraphe 2 du dispositif nous invite instamment & ne pas faire ce que prEci&ment nous avons dit ne pas faire. Je vous le demande: Quel est le but de ce paragraphe, quelle intention dissimule-t-i17 Pourquoi demande-t-on au Portugal de ne pas faire ce qu’il a deja d&larB qu’il ne fait pas? Veut-on donner 51 entendre que le Portugal poursait ulterieurement revenir sur sa parole? Si c’est cela, ma delegation tient 9 rejeter et repousser avec indignation une telle insinuation, 69. Qu’est-il apparu au tours du present debat qui puisse justifier de telles instructions? A-t-on prouv(t que le Portugal ait jamais fourni, dans le passe, des bases en Angola & des mercenaires pour qufils puissent entreprendre des actions centre le Congo? A-t-on jamais rien avanc6 qui soit de nature a faire naitre un soup9on de cet ordre? N’est-ce pas un fait, reconnu par le Gouvernement congolais luim&me, que, pendant les six am&es troublees quevient de vivre le Congo en tant qu’Etat independant, alors que de nombreuses puissances Btrangbres ont Bte accusees de s’immiscer dans les affaires interieures de ce pays, aucune accusation de la sorte n’a jamais - pas une seule fois - bti? lanoee centre le Portugal7 N’est-ce pas un fait que, pendant toute cette periode, le Portugal a scrupuleusement &it& de s’immiscer dans lea affaires intgrieures de la jeune RBpublique oongolaise, qu’il s’en est strictement tenu aux principes de bon voisinage entre Etats limitrophes, qu’il s’est efforce dlaider le peuple oongolais dans tous les domaines, en maintenant ouvertes les voies de communication et en fournissant une assistance sous la forme de vivres, de den&es aliet d’Bquipement dont le Congo avait instam- ‘71. We can, and we do, make this claim, But there are those who cannot do likewise. Only a few days ago, on 6 October to be precise, the Head of the Congolese Government was reported in the international Press as having declared: “If t&e Congolese Government has decided to close all the foreign consulates established in the interior of the Congo, it is because experience has little by little forced us to regard them as workshops of subversi0n.n If this is the situation in the Congo, if subversion has come to that country over a long period of time through all the foreign consultates that have recentlybeen closed, how can anyone vote in conscience and in truth for a draft resolution singling out Portugal? On what valid grounds could such discrimination be justified? Is it intended to find a scapegoat, an innocent party, to answer for those who are really guilty? 72. From another angle, we have here a drx”t resolution which seeks to discriminate against Portugal. When it is the Congo that takes the initiative in all the hostile acts against Portugal, the draft resolution inverts fact and makes an appeal to the aggrieved party not to injure the wrongdoer. Nothing could be more revolting; nothing could be more repugnant to eve6 an elementary sense of justice and fair play. 73. I ask: Which Government represented around this table-indeed what State-would admit an appeal addressed to it in such’ circumstances? Neither will Portugal. 74. We Portuguese do not need to be told to do what we have always been doing and have spontaneously declared to be our intention to do in the future, We consider such a directive as not merely superfluous but, in the circumstances, tendencious and uncalled for-in fact, offensive, We do not need appeals and directives in order not to provide mercenary bases in Angola for operations against the Congo. We have always avoided such interference, not as a matter of political expediency, but as a matter of honour and of principle, And none knows this better than the Congo itself. 76. But how has the Congo behaved towards us? Since 1961 it has harboured elements which infiltrate 71. Cela, nous pouvons ltaffirmeretnousl~affirmons. Mais il en est dtautres qui ne pourraient en faire . autant. II y a quelques jours seulement, Ie 6 octobre, le Chef du Gouvernement congolais a dfZclar8, selon la presse internationale: WSi le Gouvernement congolais a d&cidb de fermer tous les consultats &rangers ouverts 51 ‘lfinterieur du Congo, c’est parce que l’exp8rience nous a, petit a petit, contraints B les considerer comme des foyers de subversion.” Si telle est la situation qui r&gne au Congo, si ce pays est depuis longtemps viotime d’une subversion ayant son origine dans tous les consulats &rangers qui ont Bti? recemment ferm8s, comment quiconque pour- !rait-il., en toute conscience et v&it& voter pour un projet de r&olution’d&ignantuniquementle Portugal7 Welles raisons valables pourraient Btre invoquees pour justifier une telle discrimination? Veut-on trouver un bout Bmissaire, veut-on faire endosser par un innocent les responsabilit& des vrais coupables? 72. Sous un autre angle encore, le projet de r&olution actuel vise 8 imposer une discrimination aux depens du Portugal, Alors que clest le Congo qui a chaque fois pris l’initiative de commettre des actes hostiles centre la Portugal, le projet de r&solution retourne la situation et lance un appel a la victime pour qu’elle laisse en paix l’agresseur. Rien ne pourrait &re plus r&oltant. Rien ne pourrait indigner davantage quiconque e st douu8 du plus Blementaire sens de justice et d’Bquitt5. 73. Je vous demande de me dire we1 gouvernement represent8 dans cette salle, quel Etat au mondc, accepterait qulon lui adresse un appel sous cette forme? En tout cas, pas le Portugal. 74. I1 n’est pas besoin de nous dire, 51 nous autres Portugais, qu’il faut faire ce que nous avons toujours fait spontanement, et que nous avons affirm6 vouloir continuer de faire & l’avenir, Nous estimons qu’un tel conseil est non seulement superflu, mais en la circonstance, tendanoieux, injustifil! et, en fait, offensant. Nous ntavons pas besoin de recevoir des appels et des conseils pour nous abstenir de fournir, en Angola, des bases & des mercenaires pour des operations centre le Congo. Nous avons toUjoursBvitB une telle ingerence, non pas pour des raisons d’opportunitd politique, mais parce que crest une question de principe et d’honneur. Nul ne le sait mieux que le Congo lui-m6me. 75. Mais comment le Congo s’est-il Comport6 envers nous? Depuis 1961, il donne asile &des Elements 76. Yet, the draft resolution placed befcre the Council makes its recital as if nothing were wrong, as if no such bases for violent attacks against Portugal existed in the Congo. An this, when the Foreign Minister of the Congo himself openly admits theis existence before the Council and makes no secret of the active support of his country to the missions of violence launched from those bases. The Foreign Minister has asserted his GovernmenVs firm belief in the principle of peaceful settlement of all disputes between nations, Is it that in the present instance he feels that there is no dispute and that his Government is justified in discarding its own firm belief and in inciting violence against Portugal? By what code of international conduct is foreign aid and incitement to violence justified as a method of solving political differences? 77. Indeed, this appears to have become the rule of behaviour these days with those who choose to act in opposition to Portugal. They make it a point always to swear by the Charter of the United Nations and then proceed to behave as if the Charter did not exist, The aid given by the Congolese Government for violent operations against Portugal is a flagrant instance of this double-dealing. 78. Yet the draft resolution issues a directive, but only to Portugal. And what about the Congo? Portugal has drawn the attention of the Security Council to certain grave facts which the draft resolution completely ignores. I refer to the facts contained in the letter of 24 September from my Government [S/7506] and enumerated by my delegation earlier in this debate, The Congolese Government bears exclusive responsibility for those facts, Nevertheless, for all that is stated in the draft resolution, the Democratic Republic of the Congo might have been as innocent as a new-born baby. And yet, everyone here present knows beyond a shred of doubt that the hands of the Congolese Government are not clean. How, then, could the Congolese complaint succeed, even in equity? 76. Malgre cela, dans le projet de r&olution SOUmiS au Conseil, les considerants sont r&dig& comme si tout allait bien, comme s’il n’existait pas au Congo de telles bases d’oti sont lancees de violentes attaques centre le Portugal. Et cela au moment meme oti le Ministre des affaires &rang&es du Congo en a ouvertement admis l’existence devant le Conseil et nla pas cache que son pays appuie aotivement les missions offensives declenchges a partir de ces bases. Or, le Ministre des affaires BtrangGres du Congo nous affirme la foi de son gouvernement dans le principe du reglement pacifique de tous les differends entre nations, E&me-t-i1 que, dans le cas p&sent, il n’existe pas de diffgrend et que son gouvernement a parfaitement le droit d’oublier cette profession de foi et d’inciter & la violence centre le Portugal? En vertu de quel code de conduite internationale pretend-on justifier ltassistance BtrangEre et l’incitation Btrang&re 9 la violence pour regler des diffgrends politiques? 77. En fait, telle semble Btre aujourd’hui la rEgle de conduite de ceux qui ont chcisi de stopposer au Portugal, 11s mettent leur point d’honneur a jurer sans cesse par la Charte des Nations Unies et agissent ensuite comme si la Charte n’existait pas. L’aide qu’a apportl?e le Gouvernement congolais aux violences contre le Portugal est un exemple flagrant de oe double jeu, . 78. Cependant, le projet de resolution contient des instructions, mais elles sont adressees au seul Portugal. Et le Congo? Le Portugal a appeltS l’attention du Conseil de &curite sur certains faits graves dont le projet de r&solution ne tient aucun compte. Je fais allusion aux faits cites dans la lettre du 24 septembre de mon gouvernement [S/7506] et Bnum6r& pr&8demment par ma delegation au coura des pr&ents debats. Le Gouvernement congolais en est seul responsable. NBanmcins, a la lecture de tout oe qui est dit dans le projet de r&solution, la RQublique ddmocratique du Congo semble aussi innocente que l’enfant gui vient de naftre. Et cependant, chacun ici pr&eent sait, sans l’ombre d’un doute possible, que les mains du Gouvernement congolais ne sont pas sans taches. Comment, dans ces conditions, la plainte congolaise peut-elle, en toute Quite, avoir gain de cause? 80. All these acts of violent hatred which were allowed to proceed unrestrained, even to complete disrespect for the universally ., respected norms of diplomatic immunity, have been published by the news and information media of the world, and are not even denied by our accuser who is nevertheless regarded in the draft resolution as if he were the aggrieved party, What a blatant inversion of the truth! 81. However, I may here proceed to list even fresher acts of a similar character. Similar and equally violent anti-Portuguese demonstrations inspired by that self-same source have taken place in other parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In my last intervention [1303rd meeting] I mentioned the anti- Portuguese demonstrations in the port town of Matadi. Today I have to mention another instance. Portuguese nationals have been living in a climate of constant intimidation and in Lumumbashi the Portuguese Consul, on being intimidated to close down the Consulate, had to demand from the Congolese Government definite assurances and guarantees for the safety of the numerous members of the Portuguese community there before agreeing to leave his post, My latest information is that a number of Portuguese residents are leaving the Congo out of fear. 82. And be it noted that while the Security Council was being seized of the Congolese complaint, and before the Council had had the opportunity to pronounce itself, the authorities in Kinshasa, far from seeking to restrain the violent campaign of hate unleashed against Portugal, have unilaterally and in utterly indecent haste proceeded to cut off diplomatic and consular relations with my country. On the other hand, the Congo has not invoked a single new fact whioh could justify the various initiatives it has taken against Portugal. 83. What does all this indicate? It indicates that this complaint has been only a pretext or a camouflage to cover up pre-conceived hostile designs against Portugal which are now being put into execution. The initiative for such hostile acts comes from the Congo, which must therefore bear exclusive responsibility for their consequences, It is truly astounding that the draft resolution is silent on this 80. Tous ces actes de haine et de violence, que l’on a laiss&s se dgrouler librement, au m6pris total des normes universellement respectees de l’immunitd diplomatique, ont 6t6 cites par les journaux et moyens dfinformation du monde entier; ils n’ont d’ailleurs pas fait l’objet d’un dementi de la part de nos accusateuss, qui, cependant, sont oonsid6r6sdans le projet de &solution comme &ant partie 16&e. Quelle facon criante de d6figurer la &rite! 81. Et .je pourrais cependant titer ici des actes encore plus r&cents, de mbme nature. Des manifestations antiportugaises semblables et non moins violentes, inspirees par les memes sources se sont produites dans d’autres parties de la Rdpublique dBmocratique du Congo, Dans ma derniere intervention [ 1303eme &ance], jlai parl& des manifestations antiportugaises dans la ville de Matadi. Je dois aujourdlhui titer un autre exemple. Les ressortissants portugais vivent dans un climat d’intimidation constante, et a Lumumbashi le Consul du Portugal, que l’on a oblige sous la menace ?i fermer le consulat, a dti, avant d’accepter de quitter son poste, exiger du Gouvernement congolais des assurances et des garanties bien definies en ce qui concerne la SBCUrite des nombreux membres de la communaut6 portugaise vivant dans cette ville. Selon mes renseignements les plus recents, bon nombre de r&idents portugais quittent le Congo sous l’empire de la peur. 82. Note2 Bgalement qu’alors que le Cons&l de &curit6 &ait saisi de la plainte congolnise, et avant meme que le Conseil ait eu la possibilit8 de se prononcer, les autorites de Kinshasa, bien loin de chercher 5t mod&rer la violente campagne de haine d6chafnee centre le Portugal, ont, unilateralement et avec une h%te v6ritablement indecente, rompu les relations diplomatiques et consulaires avec mon pays. D’autre part, le Congo n’a pas invoqud un seul fait nouveau qui puisse justifier les diverses mesures prises centre le Portugal. 83. Que ressort-il de tout oela? Ces faits indiquent que oette plainte n’est qu’un pretexte ou un camouflage pour dissimuler des desseins d’hostilit6 pr6- concus centre le Portugal, desseins que l’on met aujourdlhul a execution. L’initiative de ces actes d’hostilit8 vient du Congo, qui doit done assumer la responsabilite exclusive des cons8quences. I1 est vraiment Btonnant que le psojet de r6solution ne dise 84. In my last intervention, I made on behalf of my Government a proposal that, provided the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo reciprocated our goodwill by first permitting an investigation of the anti-Portuguese bases that are to be found on Congolese territory, a similar investigation could be carried out by a body appointed by the Security Council of the all.eged bases for mercenaries supposed to be provided by Portugal at Vila Luso and Henrique de Carvalho in Angola. I then suggested that a body made up of three members of the Security Council could proceed to carry out this investigation in conjunction with one representative of each of the two parties concerned. That proposal of ours, made in proof of our good faith and because we have nothing to conceal, has been reported in the international Press which evidently recognized it as apositive contribution to the full elucidation of the truth: whether it is Portugal that is disturbing the peace of the Congo or the Congo that is disturbing the peace of Portugal. 85. But the Congolese delegation did not even think it convenient to touch upon our proposal, and for obvious reasons, although explanations which convince no one have now been brought to the floor of the Council. What is equally regrettable is that the draft resolution likewise avoids any reference to our proposal. The fact is, as I said in my last statement before the Council, that our accusers and their supporters do not want the truth; they want resolutions against Portugal, however gratuitous these may be, A debate is regarded merely as a pretext to ask for such lopsided resolutions. 86. On 2’7 September, the Foreign Minister ofPortugal. renewed, in the course of his statement to the Press, the invitation addressed on previous occasions to the Secretary-General to visit Angola and also Mozambique, an invitation which he stated is still open. My Foreign Minister said: “In the face of the accusations levelled against US by the Congo, it may be said that a unique occasion has arisen for the Secretary-General to intervene. We have repeatedly invited him to visit our overseas Provinces and the invitation has never been withdrawn. The Secretary-General, acting within his legitimate concern for peace on the frontiers of countries, can now go to Angola and Mozambique and inspect all the places he wishes. We shall not raise any obstacle.” 87. If the Secretary-General had accepted our invitation and visited those Territories, he would now be in a position to certify beyond a shadow of doubt ~.. 20 84. Dans l’intervention susdite, jlai propos8, au nom de mon gouvemement, que, si le Gouvernement de la Republique democratique du Congo &pond & notre geste de bonne volonte en permettant une enqur?te sur les bases antiportugaises sur le territoire congolais, une eno@te similaire sur les p&endues bases de mercenaires que fournirait le Portugal a Vila Luso et Henrique de Carvalho en Angola soit effect&e par un organisme nomme par le Conseil de s&uritb. Jlai alors sugg8r6 qu’un oxganisme compos& de trois membres du Conseil de securite se livre & oette enqu$te de concert avec un representant de chacune des deux parties int8ress8es. Cette proposition Fe nous avons faite pour prouver notre bonne foi et parce que nous n’avons rien & cacher a BtR mention&e dans la presse internationale gui, de toute Evidence, y a vu une contribution positive & la possibilite de dBgager la v&rite, de savoir si c’est le Portugal qui trouble la paix au Congo ou le Congo qui trouble la paix du Portugal. 85. La di%gation congolaise n!a mgme pas jug& bon de mentionner notre propositidn, et ce pour des raisons bvidentes, encore qulelle vienne de fournir au Conseil des explications qui n’ont convaincu personne. Ce qui est regrettable aussi, c’est que le projet de &solution Bvite toute allusion & notre proposition. Ainsi que je l’ai declare lors de ma derniere d&laration devant le Conseil, le fait est que nos accusateurs et ceux qui les soutiennent ne veulent pas de la vgrit(?; ils veulent des rBsolutions centre le Portugal, quelque gratuites qu’elles puissent Btre. Tous les d!3bats sont consid&‘& comme simples pr&.extes pour demander des resolutions aussi d8&- quilibrbes. 86. Le 2’7 septembre dernier, & l’occasion d’une declaration a la presse, le Ministre des affaires &rang&es du Portugal a renouvele l’invitation faite en d’autres occasions au Secretaire general des Nations Unies de visiter 1’Angola et le Mozambique, invitation qui, a-t-i1 ajoutb, est toujours valable. Mon ministre des affaires Btrangeres a d&!lar& “En presence des accusations portEes centre nous par le Congo, il faut dire qulune occasion unique se presente pour le SecrBtaire gbneral d’intervenir. Nous I’avons invitti B maintes reprises & visiter nos provinces d’outre-mer et cette invitation tient toujours. Le SecrCStaire general, dans son souci legitime d’assurer la paix sur les frontieres, peut maintenant se rendre en Angola et au Mozambique et y inspecter tous les lieux qu’il souhaiteravisiter. Nous ne ferons aucune difficulKn 87. Si le Secr&aire g&era1 s’Btait rendu & notre invitation, s’il avait visit6 ces territoires, il sesail; maintenant en mesure d’affirmer, sans l’ombre d’un 88. Even though this false Congolese complaint and the hostile acts which followed it have provoked the greatest indignation in rr.p country, I endeavoured in my previous statements to deal with the Congolese allegations dispassionately and objectively, and even with a studied restraint, in the hope that good sense would yet prevail among our accusers and their supporters. In this I have had before me as a constant source of inspiration the principle of good-nelghbourliness which is essential for the normal pursuit of international life, and the desire of my Government to be of some assistance, through co-operative effort, to a neighbouring country which has emerged but recently into independent statehood and has before it a long road to travel. 89. It would seem, however, that our moderation is mistaken for weakness, and perhaps on the basis of that mistaken belief my country is abusively mentioned in the draft resolution, even when it has been amply demonstrated that those who would accuse it have failed to make a case, even in its first, rudimentaiy phase, 90. That is the reason why my delegation feels all the more indignant that a draft resolution has been submitted here which casts aside all norms of fairness and equity and which has the sole aim of giving undesenred points to our accusers, My delegation regrets that-we should have to say this, but we should be failing in our duty if we did not state here categorically and beyond all possibility of misunderstanding that my Government finds it impossible to accept !Fhis shocking draft resolution, which, ti approved, can only lead to very grave consequences, for which Portugal once again disclaims all responsibility. 91. Mr TARABANOV (Bulgaria) (translated from French): The Security Council once again has before it a problem created by the policy of colonial oppression practised by certain countries, and in particular by Portugal. That policy, which lies at the root of the problem we are now discussing, has been most resolutely condemned by the United Nations. Furthermore, ihe General Assembly, at its twentieth session, launched an appeal to all States to give their moral and material assistance to the national liberation movements of Mozambique, Angola and so-called Portuguese Guinea, 92. At present, the Council has before it the complaint of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which 88. La plainte congolaise d&u&e de tout fondement et les actes d’hostilit.8 qui ont suivi ont provoqu6 la plus vive indignation dans mon pays et, pourtant, dans mes interventions anterieures, jlai tent6 de traiter des accusations congolaisesdefa$on objective, sans y apporter aucune passion et meme avec une moderation voulue, clans l’espoir que le bon sens aurait raison de nos accusateurs et ceux qui les soutiennent. A ces fins, ma oonduite a BtB constamment dictee pax le principe de bon voisinage qui est essentie1 dans la poursuite normale de lavie internationale; et par le ddsir de mon gouvernement d’aider, grbce g un effort de coopiZration, un pays voisin ayant r& cemment accede a Ilind6pendance et ayant devant lui un long chemin B parcourir. 89. I1 semble, toutefois, que notre moderation soit prise pour de la faiblesse et clest peut-Btre, du fait de cette erreur, gue l’on insulte mon pays, dans le projet de r6solution, bien qu’il ait BM nettement demontr6 que ceux qui nous accusent n’ont pu Btablir le bien-fond6 de leur requ&e meme dans oa phase premiere la plus rudimentaire. 90. Clest pourquoi ma d6lBgation est particuli3rement indignee du fait qu%n projet de r6solution ait &6 depose ici, au m6pris de toutes normes de justice et d’bquit8, h seule fin de permettre Sr. no6 accusateurs de marqer des points sans justification aucune. Ma delegation regrette qu’il lui soit n&essaire de le dire, mais nous manquerions & notre devoir si nous n’affirmions pas ici categoriquement, sans malentendu possible, que notre gouvernement ne peut accepter un projet de r&solution aussi choquant qui, s’il est a.dopt6, ne peut w’entratier de graves cons6quences pour lesquelles, une fois de plus, le Portugal decline toute responsabilit& 91. M. TARABANOV (Bulgarie): Le Conseil de S&Irite est de nouveau saisi d’un probl&me cr66 par la politique d’oppression coloniale de certains pays et, en particulier, du Portugal. Cette politique qui est B la base du probl&me dont nous discutons en ce moment, a Bt6 non seulement condamnee de la faGon la plus rf%olue par les Nations Unies, mais l’hssemblee g&&rale, B sa vingtieme session, a lance? un appel a tous les Etats afin qu’ils accordent leur assistance, tant morale que materielle, aux mouvements de liberation nationale au Mozambique, en Angola et en Guin6e dite portugaise. 92. Actuellement, le Conseil est saisi de la plainte de la Rgpublique dEmocratique du Congo qui attire 93. In its letter of 21 September [S/7503] and in the statement of its Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Democratic Republic of the Congo has accusedPortugal of now using the Territory of Angolaunder Portuguese administration as a base of operations for mercenaries employed for the purpose of committing aots of subversion in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, In the light of the developments seported in the statement of the Foreign Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and in the statements of certain other speakers-the Minister of Tanzania and the Burundi Minister for Foreign Affairs-it seems that this was not an isolated act, but represents an important and constant aspect of Portugal’s colonial policy, as, indeed, of any colonial policy, 94. Interference by Portugal, direct or indirect, using either foreign mercenaries or individuals who have betrayed their African brothers, has been a continuous and steady policy of the Portuguese Government since the independence of the countries bordering on Angola and the other Territories under Portuguese administration, In this connexion, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the other African speakers have furnished .specific information on the nefarious role played by certain Western countries that are allies of Portugal, their secret services and the Atlantic Pact itself, particularly in the formulation and implementation of this policy aimed at creating internal divisions and fratricidal conflicts in African States that have recently escaped from the colonial yoke. 95. The equivocal denials made with such solemnity by the representative of Portugal in refutation of the accusations against his Government have only served to confirm the reports concerning Portugal’s efforts to incite, facilitate and encourage subversive activities against the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Is it not strange that the Government of Portugal refused to comply with the Secretary-General’s request to return the arms stored in Angola by, among others, the four battalions of Katangese gendarmes who had taken refuge there during the operations waged by the United Nations forces, but that when a Government was installed in the Congo with which Portugal was able to collaborate-that of Mr. Tshomb&- and which enjoyed the favours of certain Western Powers, it not only sent back the gendarmes -as it has just told us-after they hadreceived training on its territory, but also returned a considerable portion of the stored arms? Then, when a new Government which did not have the good fortune to find favour in Portugal’s eyes was installed in the Congo, Portugal started to create difficulties and to prevaricate about returning the military material belonging to the Democratic Republic of the Congo which had been left in Angola, 93. Dans sa lettre du 21 septembre [S/75033, et dans lfintervention de son ministre des affaires BtrangZ?res, la RBpublique dgmocratique du Congo a accuse le Portugal d’utiliser maintenant le territoire de l’hngola sous administration portugaise, comme base opgrationnelle des mercenaires, ces derniers &ant employ& dans le but de perp&.rer des actes de subversion dans la RQpublique &mocratique du Congo, A la lumi??re des d&eloppements rapport& dans l’intervention du Ministre des affaires t%rang&res de la RBpublique du Congo et dans les dgclarations de certains autres orateurs - le Ministre de Tanzanie et le Ministre des affaires Btrangeres du Burundi -, il apparati *e cette activit6 ne constitue pas un acte isolb, mais represente unaspectparticulier important et constant de la politique coloniale du Portugal, comme d’ailleurs de toute politique coloniale. 94. Llingerence du Portugal, directement ou indirectement, se servant soit de mercenaires &rangers, soit d’individus ayant trahi leurs f&-es africains, a Bt6 une politiqae suivie et constante du Gouvernement portugais depuis l’accession B. l’independance des territoires contigus a l’hngola et aux autres territoires sous administration portugaise. A cet bgard, le Ministre des affaires Btrangsres de In RBpublique democratique du Congo et les autres orateurs africains ont fouxni des informations specifiques sur le r61e nefaste de certains pays occidentaux allies du Portugal, de leurs services secrets, de 1’Alliance atlantique elle-meme, en particulier clans la formulation et l’application de cette politique visant B cr6er des divisions internes, des luttes fratricidea B 1lintBrieur des Etats africains nouvellement sortis du joug colonial. 95. Les d6niZgations Quivoques, quoique tr&s solennelles, du representant du Portugal des accusations port6es centre son gouvernement, n’ont fait que confirmer les informations concernant les agissements de ce dernier en vue d’inciter,-de faciliter et d’encourager les activites subversives centre ia Bpublique democratique du Congo. En effet, .n’est-iL pas &range de voir le Gouvernement du Portugal r&iser d ‘accgder B la requ&e du Secretaire gen6ral lOrSque celui-ci demande que les armes stock6es entre autres par les quatre bataillons de gendarmes kal;P.ngais &fug& en Angola lors des operations meneespar les forces des Nations Unies soient rendues? Mais, quand un gouvernement est install6 au Congo, avec lequel le Portugal trouve le moyen de collaborcr - comme celui de M. Tshomb6 - jouissant des faveurs de certaines puissances occidentales, il renvoie non seulement les gendarmes (ainsi qu’il 1’8 maintenant soulign6) prealablement entrati6s sur 8011 territoire, mais dgalement une grande quantitg delEa armes stockges. Par la suite, quand un nouveau gouvernement est install6 au Congo, qui nla pas ltheur de plaire au Portugal, ce dernier oommencQ? & cr6er des difficultgs, & tergiverser concernant 3e renvoi du materiel militaire, propri6t6 de la Rkpublique d6mooratique du Congo et se trouvant sur ll~3: territoire de PAngola. 97. All this does not create an atmosphere of confidence with regard to the statements of the Portuguese Government. That is why our delegation has serious doubts as to the effectiveness of any decision based on such equivocal statements. The reason for the arrogance shown by the representative of Portugal and his refusal to accept even a resolution so reticent in the expression of the truth as that submitted by the Afro-Asian members of the Security Council is that Portugal is counting on the continued support of its allies in order to continue its colonialist and interventionist activities, His arrogant statement was obviously addressed to the friends of Portugal who practise colonial exploitation in the Portuguese colonies by proxy. This nefarious psactice lies at the root of the resistance of Portugal and other countries to the process of decolonization which has begun in Africa. We are equally unconvinced by the denials of the United States representative regarding the responsibility of certain of Portugal’s allies and NATO in encouraging Portugal’s colonial policy and acts of subversion against the countries bordering on its colonies. The statement by the United States representative that NATO protects the freedom not only of the United States but also of the entire world rings false in view of the fact that the arms supplied to Portugal are used not only to destroy those fighting in the movement for the liberation of their country, but also to wipe out the population of whole regions. 98. The legal action taken against a private individual acting in conjunction with the CIA in connexion with the supplying of B-26 aircraft to Portugal does not absolve the CIA-which is a United States Government agency-of its responsibility. The course of the trial will be followed with interest. If the operation had been successful, as in other cases, the individual in question and the organization itself would certainly not be in the dock but would be enjoying the official favours of the United States. 99. Despite their declarations of non-intervention in the domestic affairs of neighbouring States, it is quite obvious that the Portuguese colonialists are not interested in the establishment of peace and the independent democratic development of the neighbouring countries. They fear-not without reason--that the existence of African States which have been freed from the colonial yoke may serve as an example to the peoples of Angola, Mozambique and so-called Portuguese Guinea and may hasten the elimination of colonialism in those Territories, Far from abandoning its outmoded colonial policy, Portugal tries by every means to sabotage the consolidation of the independence and sovereignty of the African States. 97. Tout cela ne peut pas creer une atmosphere de confiance autour des declarations du Gouvernement portugais. C’est pourquoi notre d&legation ades doutes s&ieux quant & l’efficacit8 d’une d&ision fondle sur des dBclarations aussi Bquivoques. Si le representant du Portugal s’est montre aussi arrogant et a d&la& qu’il n’accepterait pas une &solution pourtant aussi r&ervtle, dans l’expression de la v&.%8, que celle dont les membres afro-asiatiques du Conseil de securite nous ont saisis, c’est que le Portugal compte, b l’avenir aussi, sur l’appui de ses allies pour continuer Son activite colonialiste et interventionniste. Sa declaration arrogante Btait certainement adressee aux amis du Portugal qui pratiquent I’exploitation coloniale, dans les colonies portugaises, par d6Xgation. Cette pratique nefaste est & la base de la resistance du Portugal, comme de celle d’autres pays, au processus de d&olonisation qui est commence en Afriqe. Nous ne pouvons pas Btre plus convaincus par les d&legations du reprgsentant des Etats-Unis quant & la responsabilit6 de certains alli& du Portugal et de 1’OTAN dans l’encouragement de la politique coloniale du Portugal et de ses a&es subversffs envers les pays voisins de ses colonies, La declaration du representant des Etats-Unis selon lequel 1’OTAN protege non seulement la 1ibertB de son pays - cfest-&.-dire des Etats-Unis -, mais aussi celle du monde entler Porte & faux devant le fait que les armes fournies au Portugal servent non seulement a aneantir les combattants du mouvement pour la liberte de leur pays, mais aussi & exterminer les populations de regions entibres. 98. L’action judiciaire entreprise centre une personne privge, en liaison avec la CIA, a propos de la fourniture d’avions B-26 au Portugal, ne dGgage pas la responsabilit6 de la CIA qui est une agence du Gouvernement des Etats-Unis, Un pro&s a bti! intent& dont on suit certainement le dQveloppement. Si l’op&ation avait rSussi, comme dans d’autres cas, la personne en question et l’organisation elle-m$me ne seraient certainement pas au bane des accu&s, mais parmi les b&.Gfieiaires des faveurs officielles des Etats-Unis. 99. Malgrh leurs d&larations de non-intervention dans les affaires intdrieures de pays voisins, il apparati clairement que les colonialistes portugais ne sont pas int&ess& 2 I’btablissement de la paix et au d&eloppement ind&pendant et dSmocratique des pays limitrophes, Non sans raison, ils craignent que l’existence dIEtats africains lib&& du joug colonial ne serve d’exemple aux peuples de l’Angola, du Mozambique et de la Guinbe dite portugaise et ne pr&ipite la liquidation du colonialisme dans ces territoires. Loin d’abandonner cette politique coloniale p&rim$e, le Portugal met tout en Quvre pour saboter la consolidation de l’ind6pendance et de la souverainete des Etats africains. 101. The present debate on the complaint of the Democratic Republic of the Congo against Portugal should also serve as a warning to those Western Powers which practise a policy of military and economic co-operation with that country. That policy is, moreover, reflected in the attitude of certain Powers in the Security Council, where they constantly seek to prevent the adoption of effective measures or sanctions against Portugal. 102. The delegation of the People’s Republic of Bulgaria is firmly convinced that only effective measures against the root cause-the existence of Portuguese colonialism-can put an end to Portugal’s acts of provocation and interference in the domestic affairs of the African States. It considers that the Security Council should most xesolutely condemn Portugal’s acts of subversion against the Democratic Republic of the Congo and against other African States.

I have a special request that the Foreign Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo be allowed to speak to us now in exercise of the right of reply, I understand that he might wish to continue that statement at our next meeting. If there is no objection, I shall now give him the floor.

It appears that the u Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence Co Colonial Countries and Peoples. 101. Le d&bat actuel sur la plainte de la Rhpublique democratique du Congo centre le Portugal devrait, dlautre part, servir d’avertissement aux puissances occidentales qui pratiquent une politique de collaboration militaire et 6conomique avec ce pays. Une expression de cette politique est d’ailleurs l’attitude de certaines puissances, au sein du Conseil de si?curit&, oh elles freinent constamment l’adoption de mesures effectives - y compris les sanctions - centre le Portugal. 102. La d618gation de la RBpublique populaire de Bulgarie est profond6ment convaincue que, seules, des mesures effectives centre la cause principalc - lfexistence du colonialisme portugais - peuvent @iminer les provocations et l’ing&ence du Portugal dans les affaires inti?rieures des Etats africains. Elle estime qu’il serait appropri6 que le Conseil de sBcurit6 condamne, de la faGon la plus ri?solue, les actes de subversion du Portugal B I’encontre de la Republique dgmocratique du Congo, ainsi qu% l’encentre d’autses Etats africains. 103. Le PRESIDENT (traduit de l’anglais): Je suis saisi d’une demande spboiale tendant B permettre au Ministre des affaires 6trangPres de la R6publique d6mocratique du Congo de prendre maintenant la parole devant nous dans l’exercice de son droit de r6ponse. Je crois comprendre qu’il dbsirerait Gventuellement poursuivre sa d&claration& notre prochaine s6anoe. En l’absence d’objection, je lui donne la parole. 104. M. BOMBOKO (Rhpublique dhmocratique du Congo): Encore une fois, il semble qu’au tours de u - Comic6 spkial charge! d’bdier la situation en ce qui concerne l’application de la D&Aration sur l’octroi de I’indhpendance aw pays et aw peuples coloniaux. 105. If his Government is genuinely motivated by a spirit of co-operation, I see no reason why it cannot return our equipment to us without our beirig forced to send commissions there. Be that as it may, my delegation and my Government have taken note of this admission since at the outset he tried to sow confusion by claiming that these weapons, aircraft, ammunition and equipment had been returned to the Democratic Republic of the Congo as part of the socalled technical assistance. 105. Si ce gouvernement est vraiment animg d’un esprit de coop&ation, je ne vois pas pourquoi il ne peut pas nous remettre ce matQrie1 qui nous appartient, sans que nous soyons oblighs d’envoyer lh-bas des commissions. En tout cas, ma di?&gation et mon gouvernement ont pris acte de cette reconnaissance, car au dGbut il a voulu jeter la confusion en prbtendant que ces armes, ces avions, ces munitions et cet equipement ant 6th remis a la RBpublique d6- mocratique du Congo dans le cadre de la pretendue asststance technique. 106. Furthermore, I reserve the right to revert this afternoon to the statements of the Portuguese representative, who thinks that we have no proof and that his statements, or those of his Government, are sufficient in themselves to dispel our concern. 107. I have proof with me here that the four battalions of Katangese ex-gendarmes which were in Angola were never disarmed. On the contrary, with the approval of the Governor-General of Angola, who represents the Portuguese authorities there, General da Sousa gave them permission to train and re-equip for further operations. It is, after all, astonishing that four battalions should be interned, and then, as if by magic, reappear in the Congo armed to the teeth, As the members of the Council are well aware, these same battalions were recently involved in the Kisangani affair and were part of a plot which was brought to light thanks to the Congolese Government’s vigilance and the co-operation of certain friendly States, 108. I shall prove all that this afternoon in order to show the Council that, even allowing for the Fortuguese representative’s contradictory statements, we cannot be satisfied with his verbal assurances here, or with those of his Government, since the latter, although belonging to this Organization and bound to respect the relevant General Assembly and Security Council resolutions, had no compunction in maintaining those battalions, facilitating their trainjng and flouting the Secretary-General’s injunctions. How 108. Je dhmontrerai tout cela cet apr&s-midi pour prouver au Conseil qu’il n’est pas possible, compte tenu mgme cles d&clarations contradictoires du reprgsentant portugais, que nous puissions nous contenter des assurances verbales qu’il nous donne ici et que nous donne son gouvernement, parce que ce dernier, qui pourtant est Membre de cette organisation, et qui devrgit respecter les r&solutions pertinentes de l’Assemblge g&&ale et du Conseil de skcurite, n’a pas eu honte d’entretenir des bataillons, de leur permettre - 25 106. D’autre part, je me reserve le droit de revenir cet apr&+di sur les dQlarations du repri%entant du Portugal qui croft que nous n’avons pas de preuves et qui pense que sa seule dgclaration, ou celle de son gouvernement, suffisent pour apaiser nos inquib tudes. 107. J’ai ici avec moi des preuves qui d$montrent que les quatre bataillons d’ex-gendarmes katangais, qui se trouvaient en Angola, n-‘araient pas &6 d6sarm& , mais qu’au contra&, avec llappui du Gouverneur gQ$ral de l’Angola, repr&entant la-bas l’autoriti! portugaise, ils avaient requ du gbn6ral da Souza l’autorisation de s’entsaker et de se ri%quiper pour de nouvelles op8rations. Il est quand mgme surprenant que quatre bataillons soient intern& et que, comme par une operation magique, on les voit revenir au Congo arm& jusqulaux dents. Les membres de ce conseil savent t&s bien que ce sont ces mGmes bataillons qui ont trempi: derni’&ement dans l’affaire de Kisangani et qui faisaient partie du complot qui a Bti: BventG grbce B la vigilance du Gouvernement congolais et a la coop&!ration de certains Etats amis. 109. The Portuguese representative also referred, and I shall revert to this later, to certain measures taken by my Government and to the anxiety felt by the Portuguese now in the Congo. At the beginning of the Council’s debates, I asked the Portuguese representative to tell me how many of his compatriots were living in the Congo. I must point out that he was unable to give me a precise figure, offering the excuse that the records had been burnt. I am sure however, that the Government at Lisbon knows how many Portuguese are living in the Congo. 110. For his personal information, I can tell him that there are over 8,000 Portuguese living in the Congo and he cannot come here and claim that since independence these Portuguese have been threatened or ill-treated by the Congolese Government, When there were incidents in front of the Portuguese Embassy at Kinshnsa, a city with more than 1.5 million African inhabitants, the thousands of Portuguese living there did not suffer; they remained at home and carried on with their usual activities. Can the Portuguese representative tell us whether these people have been subjected to any ill-treatment at all at Kinshasa, were there are 1.5 million Africans and where riots can easily break out? I do not believe that he can say that before this Council. No, we shall prove this to him this afternoon and we shall produ.ce evidence, even publications, 111.. He, too, referred to certain newspapers such as L’Aurore, and Combat, and we know what line they follow. We also have other publications which plainly prove that Portugal took part in that famous plot. He did not show us L’Aurore, but I have here the me Magazine, published at Brussels, which shows photographs of Salazar and Moi’se Tshomb8 side by side, and anyone acquainted with the Belgian Press is aware of this publication’s fascist tendencies, It asks why Portugal is hated in Africa and thi;s, is the reply it gives: “Let us be frank. The President at Lisbon is playing Moi’se Tshombi:‘s game, and he is right to do so. He has recruited and trained courageous white volunteers for Tshomb6, but when anybody says so the saintly man and his official services protest, proclaiming ignorance of any camps, in Angola or elsewhere, where groups of armed mercenaries are ready to give a little help to the good Moi’se. The singular squeamishness of the Portuguese calls to mind the opinion of them expressed by the Duchess of Abrantbs in the nineteenth century: ‘These people have a kind of feeling of inferiority which makes them not timid, but fearful and per- 109. Le reprkentant portugais a par16 Sgalement, et j’y reviendrai encore, des initiatives prises par man gouvernement et de l’inqui&ude qu%prouveraient & l’heure actuelle les ressortissants portugais qui se trouvent au Congo. Au d6but des d6bats de ce conseil, j’avais demand6 au dt%gu6 portugais de me donner le chiffre de ses compatriot%! vivant au Congo. Je dois dire qu’il a 6th dans l’impossibilit.6 de me donner un chiffre exact, fournissant comme pr6text.e que les archives avaient 6tit brQl6es. Or, je suis certain que le Gouvernement de Lisbonne est au courant du nombre des ressortissants portugais rkidant au Congo. 110. Pour son in%rmation personnelle, je peux lui indiquer qu’il y a plus de 8 000 Portugais qui vivent au Congo, et il ne peut pas venir pr$t.endre ici que, depuis l’in&pendance, ces Portugais ont 6th l’objet de menaces ou de mauvais traitements de la part du Gouvesnement congolais. Lorsqu’il y a eu, dans une ville qui compte un million et demi d’Africains, des incidents devant 1’Ambassade du Portugal, les milliers de Portugais qui vivent b Kinshasa n’ont pas eu & en souffrir et ils sont rest& chex eux, continuant B vaquer B leurs activit6s. Le reprgsentant portugais pourrait-il dire ici si, B Kinshasa o’l il y a un million et demi cl’Africains et 071 les 6meutes peuvent facilement se diklencher, ces ressortissants ont Bti: l’objet d’un quelconque mauvais traitemcnt? Je crois quY1 ne saurait le dire ici devallt ce conseil. .Non, nous le dhmontrerons cet aprbsmidi et avec des preuves h. l’appui, avec meme des publications. 111. Lui aussi a fait allusion a certains journaux comme l’Aurore, comme Combat, dont on connaFt les tendances. Nous disposons, nous aussi, d’autres publications qui prouvent saris embages la participation du Portugal & ce fameux complot. 11 ne nous a pas montr6 l’Aurore, mais, moi, j’ai 18 EurOpt? Magazine, 6ditb % Bruxelles, et qui a publi6 ici, c&e ;I c&e, la photo de Salazar et celle de M&e Tshomb6; et ceux qui connaissent la presse beige savent les tendances fascistes de ce journal. Ce dernier se demande pourquoi existe en Afrique la haille du Portugal, et voilh la r6ponse qu’il donne: “Parlons franc. Le Pr6sident de Lisbonne joue la carte de Moi’se TshombB, en quoi il a raison. I1 lui a recrut6 et entrai?& de courageuxvolontaires blancs; mais quand on l&e ce likvre-l%, le saint homme et ses services officiels protestent et proclament qu’ils ignorent tout des camps oh seraient, en Angola et ailleurs, group&s et arm& des mercenaires destines a donner un petit coup de main au bon Moi’se. “Devant les singulikes pudibonderies des Portugais, on songe au jugement que portait deja sur eux, au XIX&me si&cle, la duchesse d’Abrani&s: “I1 existe dans ce peuple une sorte de sentiment de son inf&iorit& qui le rend non pas timide, 113. I again reserve the right to speak this afternoon to illustrate Portugal’s bad faith and to show the reasons why that country should be thoroughly mistrusted, 314. As far as we Africans are concerned, the draft resolution-and I shall revert to it this afternoonis actually too moderate with regard to Portugal because, at a time when other countries in the world are agreeing to decolonization and when countries which had great empires are renouncing them and recognizing the right of peoples to self-determination, the Portuguese Government is making mock of the Africans. That Government is party to a far-reaching conspiracy, a conspiracy which we did not wish to mention here because it was not the subject of discussion in the Security Council, a conspiracy which it was not appropriate for us to expose here, a conspiracy which extends from the Cape to Luanda, with all the southern part of Africa affected and Portugal an active partner in the furtherance of it. 115. The Portuguese Government’s attitude in the Southern Rhodesian affair is well known, as is its refusal to apply economic sanctions and its desire to continue to assist the Ian Smith rggime; we know the reasons why it behaves as it does. 116. I do not wish to tax the patience of the members of the Council since the hour is rather late. With your permission, Mr. President, I reserve the right to make a fuller statement in reply to the Portuguese representative’s assertions,

I have no doubt there will be a further opportunity for the Foreign Minister of the Congo to speak to us, if he wishes, in due course. May I inquire from the representative of Portugal whether he wishes to raise a point of order,

I wish to exercise my right of reply, but I will be very brief.

If therepresentative of Portugal wishes to make a very brief statement in right of reply, and if the Council agrees, I am psepared to invite him to do so.

This is fast <becoming a dialogue between deaf people. The Foreign Minister of the Congo referred, when exercising his right of reply, to three points: first, the property which the Congolese Government has left lying in Angola; second, the Portuguese residents in the 1’011 recrute des mercenaires, gue les mercenaises qui ont hi% arrgtks en France, n’en dgplaise aux redacteurs de l’hurore et de Combat que vous avez cites, ces mercenaires n’ont jamais et& envoy& au Congo, et qu’aujourd’hui, comme vous le savez fort bien, I’instruction continue en France. 113. Je me reserve encore une fois le droit d’intervenir cet apres-midi pour demontrer la mauvaise foi du Portugal, pour demontrer les raisons qui militent en faveur d’une m&fiance totale B l*$gard de ce pays. 114. En ce qui nous concerne, nous, Africains - je reviendrai sur l’analyse du projet de r&solution cet aprbs-midi -, nous trouvons que ce projet de resolution est en ritaliti? trap mode& A l%gard du Portugal parce que, au moment oti les autres pays du monde consentent & la decolonisation, au moment o’u ceux qui avaient de grands empires renoncent B ces empires et reconnaissent aux peuples le droit B l’autodetermination, le Gouvernement portugais se moque des Africains; le Gouvernement portugais fait partie d’un complot, dtun complot plus vaste, d’un complot dont nous n’avons pas voulu parler ici parce qu’il ne faisait pas l’objet des discussions au Conseil de securitit, d+.tn complot qu’il ne nous appartenait pas de d&oiler ici, d’un complot qui va du Cap jusqu% Luanda. Tout le Sud de I’Afrique est soumie a ce complot, et le Portugal est l’un des elements actifs de la rGalisation de ce cornplot. 115. On connaft l’attitude de ce gouvernement dans l’affaire rhodesienne et son refus de se soumettre a l’application des sanctions Z?conomiques, sa volonte de continuer a aiderle regime de Ian Smith, On connafi les raisons pour lesquelles ce gouvernement agit ainsi. 116. Je ne veux pas abuser de la patience des membres du Conseil de sbcuritit, puisque l’heure est assez avanc8e. Je me r&serve le droit - nveclapermfssion du P&&dent - de pouvoir faire un expose plus complet, 3 titre de rhponse aux affirmations du rep&?- sentant du Portugal. 117. Le PRESIDENT (traduit de I’anglais): Je suis certain que le Ministre des affaires Gtrangeres du Congo pourra reprendre la parole en temps voulu s’il le d&ire. Puis-je demander au reprbsentant du Portugal s’il desire soulever une motion d’ordre? 118. M. DE MIRANDA (Portugal) [traduit de llanglais]: Je dijsire exercer mon droit de rgponse, mais je serai t&s bref. 119. Le PRESIDENT (traduit de l’anglais): Si le representant du Portugal desire exercer bri??vement son droit de reponse et si le Conseil y consent, je suis dispo& 7* lui donner la parole. 120. M. DE MIRANDA (Portugal) [traduit de l’anglais] : Ce d6bat ressemble de plus en plus B un dialogue de sourds. Dans llexercice de son droit de rhponse, le Ministre des affaires etrangeres du Congo a souleve trois points: en premier lieu, les biens que le Gouvernement congolais a laiss& en Angola: deuxibme- 121. As fox the question of the property which the Congolese Government has in Angola, I said that I was the first to refer to the planes which the Congolese Government has in Angola, and I was also the first to admit that they are the property of the Congolese Government, Earlier in this very metting, I said that the Congolese Government could take back whatever property it has left lying in Angola. It is now immaterial how the property came into Angola.’ I myself do not have the details about whether or not it came there in the time of Mr. Tshomb& It was Mr. Tshombi: who was at the head of the legitimate Government of the Congo if it was at that time that the property was taken there. In any case, what it is important to know is that that property is in Angola, that the Portuguese Government admits that it belongs to the Congolese Government and it is at the, disposal of the Congolese Government to take it back whenever it wishes. Of course, the Congolese Government cannot expect that we will actually take that material and place it at the door of (the) Government House at Kinshasa. 122. As for the Portuguese residents in the Congo, I have received reports which state that they are living in an atmosphere of intimidation and that many of them, as I said a little while ago, are leaving the Congo for Angola. The Foreign Minister says that they are well protected. 1 am glad to have that assurance from him, and I only hope thatthat assurance will be kept and that the Portuguese community in the Congo will not be put to any trouble. 123. As I have said, and as I repeat, on the point of the mercenaries which the Poreign Minister of the Congo has promised to raise again, I reserve my right to reply.

It remains for us to decide when we should resume this debate in the Council, I have undertaken some preliminary consultations, and I understand that most members would be prepared to proceed with our debate this afternoon, perhaps at 4.30, since some of us have obligations in the First Committee, which is to meet earlier. 125, There are one or two considerations to bear in mind. The fist, there are still some ten representatives who wish to speak in this debate, and, secondly, we have meetings called for tomorrow at 10.30 a.m. and at 3.00 p.m. I would also mention the consideration that the Foreign Minister of the Congo put to me, that he would hope we could conclude this week the proceedings on the complaint he has brought. 121. En ce qui concerne les biens que le Gouvernement congolais possede en Angola, j’ai dit que jlai $ti: le premier a parler des avions du Gouvernement congolais en Angola; jlai egalement et!tg le premier a reconnaFtre que ces avions sont la propri&e du Gouvernement congolais. Auparavant, au tours de cette sgance-ci, j’ai dit que le Gouvernement congolais POUvait reprendre tous les biens qu’il alais&s en Angola, La faGon dont ces biens sont arrives en Angola im- Porte peu B present. Je n’ai moi-m8me aucun detail a ce sujet et je ne sais pas sYls sont ou non arrives en Angola du temps de M. Tshomb& Mais si ces biens ont &t:ti: apportes en Angola B cette epoque-la, c’btait bien M. Tshombe qui etait a la t&e du Gouvernement l&gal du Congo. De toute fagon, ce qu’il importe de savoir, c’est que ces biens se trouvent en Angola, que le Gouvernement portugais reoonnait qu’ils appartiennent au Gouvernement congolais, et qu’il se tient B la disposition de ce dernier pour les lui rendre quand il le desirera. Bien entendu, le Gouvernement congolais ne peut pas s’attendre h ce que nous transportions ce materiel jusqu% la Porte du Palais du Gouvernement a Kinshasa. 122. Quant aux residents portugais au Congo, j’ai repu des rapports signalant que ces residents portugais vivaient dans une atmosphere d’intimidation et qu’un grand nombre d’entre eux, comme je l’ai dit il y a quelques instants, quittaient le Congo pour 1’Angola. Le Ministre des affaires etrangeres nous dit qu’ils sont bien proteges. Je suis heureuxde recevoir cette assurance de sa part; j’esp&re seulement que cette assurance sera respectde et que la communaut.6 portugaise au Congo ne sera pas inqui&tbe. 123. J’lai deja dit, et je repbte, qu’en cequi concerne la question des mercenaires, dont le Ministre des affaires gtrangeres du Congo a promis de reparler, je reserve mon droit de rbponse. 124. Le PRESIDENT (traduit de l’anglais): I1 nous reste a d&ider quand nous reprendrons ce debat au Conseil. J’ai entrepris des consultations p’r&iminaires et je crois comprendre que la plupart des membres seraient disposhs B continuer la discussion cet apres-midi, peut-i%re B 16 h 30, puisque certains d’entre nous cloivent se rendre B la Premiere Commission qui se reunira plus t8t. 125. I1 faut tenir compte d’une ou deux consid&ations. Premierement, il reste encore quelque 10 repr&- sentants qui souhaitent prendre la parole dans ce d&bat et, deuxiemement, nous avons des &unions prevues pour demain a 10 h 30 et a 15 heures. Je veux egalement rappeler que le Ministre des affaires &rangeres du Congo m’a dit qu’il espitrait que ies d&bats sur la plainte deposee par son pays se termineraient cette semaine. 127. With great respect, E should like to submit this proposal for the consideration of my colleagues on the Council, 127. Je d&sire t&s respectueusement soumettre cette proposition B mes coll&ues du Conseil.

Naturally, I wish to act in this matter in accordance with the wishes of the members of the Council. 128, Le PRESIDENT (traduit de l’anglais): Je tiens naturellement L agir selon les va~x des membres du Conseil en oette matibre. 129. I can say only, on the comments made by the representative of Nigeria, that I have already called a meeting of the Council for tomorrow morning to deal with a specific issue; that issue is the complaint which has been brought to us by the delegation of Israel. I have also called a meeting of the Council for 3 o’clock tomorrow afternoon to deal with the specific issue of admissions to the United Nations. 129. A la suite des observations du repri%entant du Nigi?ria, je ne peux que rappeler que jlai dSjS. convoqui: une r6union du Conseil pour demain matin afin de traiter d’une question particuli&re; il s’agit de la plaint@ dGposite par la dblGgation d’Isra81. J’ai &galement convoqug une reunion du Conseil pour 15 heures, demain, pour traiter de l’admission de nouveaux membres ZL llorganisation des Nations Unies. 130. Those meetings are meetings which have been duly called in accordance with the rules, and must be maintained. Therefore, I think that our choice is between a meeting this afternoon at 4.30, as most members of the Council are willing to undertake, or a meeting to follow immediately after tomorrow afternoon’s meeting to deal with admissions to the United Nations. I think that that is the choice before us, and I would wish to follow the wishes of the Council in this matter. If there is a substantial number of members who are not anxious for us to continue this afternoon, I would not wish to proceed against their wishes. 130. Ces r&unions ont Et6 dtiment convoq&es selon le reglement et doivent done avoir lieu. I1 me semble done que nous puissions seulement choisir entre une r&union a 16 h 30 cet apr&s-midi, commecela semble btre le d&ir de la plupart des membres du Conseil, et une r&nion qui suivrait immediatement la seance de demain aprbs-midi consacree B l’admission de nouveaux membres B l’organisation des Nations Unies. Je crois que crest 1.e seul choix que nous ayons et je d&ire me conformer aux va%x du Conseil en la matibre. Si un nombre important de membres ne souhaite pas que nous poursuivions le debat cet aprbsmidi, je ne veux pas aller % l’encontre de leurs d&sirs.

Mr. President, unless there were some strong reasons for the members of the Council not towish a meeting, my delegation would accede to the suggestion that you have made that we meet this afternoon. We also have the difficulty that confronts the representative of Nigeria in having a meeting of this Council at 4.30 this afternoon, because we also have a meeting at 3 p.m. However, we will meet any time this afternoon that the members of the Council wish to meet because it is our feeling that, with the number of speakers that we have on our list and as this matter has been before us for a while, we should bring it to a resolution as speedily as possible, Therefore, I would say that as far as our delegation is concerned we would be prepared to meet this afternoon. 131. M. NABRIT (Etats-Unis d’Am&ique) [traduit de l’anglais]: Monsieur le President, h moins que les membres du Conseil n’aient des raisons imphrieuses pour ne pas se r&Mr, ma d6lbgation serait d’aocord pour accepter votre suggestion de nous r&mir oet aprhs-midi. Nous nous trouvons dans la mbme situation que oeIle du representant du NigGria en ce qui concerne une r6union eventuelle du Conseil aujourd’hui & 16 h 30, parce que nous avons Sgalement une &union 1 15 heures. Toutefois, nous nous r6unirons g n’importe quel moment de l’apr&s-midi qui conviendra aux membres du Conseil, parce que nous estimons qu%tant don& le nombre d’orateurs inscrits et le fait que nous sommes saisis de cette question depuis assez longtemps nous devrions arriver aussi rapidement que possible & adopter une &solution. Je tiens done B declarer qu’en ce qui concerne notre d&ittomorrow rather than have it this afternoon at 4.30 as the President has suggested. One of the reasons has already been mentioned. 133. The other reason which I should like to submit is that we regard this subject as being of such great significance and importance to us that we do not feel that justice would be done to it if we were to meet this afternoon at 4.30 because the time available to us would be very short. 134, Another reason is that we have not quite completed our consultations, and we should like to continue them this afternoon. We feel that we would be ready by tomorrow. I would also mention to my colleagues that the Foreign Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has already shown that he is willing to postpone the meeting until tomorrow morning,

I must repeat to the repre- 135. Le PRESIDENT (traduit de l’anglais): Je dois sentative of Uganda that we have meetings scheduled rappeler au repr$sentant de 1’Ouganda que nous avor18 for tomorrow morning and tomorrow afternoon. deja prbvu des &unions pour demain matin et pour Therefore, the choice is between continuing this demain aprBs-midi. En cons&quence, nous devon% afternoon and continuing tomorrow afternoon. I would continuer soit; cet ap&s-midi, soit demain aprtiswelcome any further views which members of the midi. J’accueillerais avec faveur toute autre opinion Council may wish to express. que les membres du Conseil souhaiteraient exprimcr.

Mr. President, we have listened attentively to your remarks and also to the statements of the representatives of Nigeria and Uganda. For our part, we wish to state that we share the view expressed by them. We feel that quite convincing arguments have been put forward to the effect that we should not skimp on the time we devote to the question under discussion and that we should allow the consultations which have been mentioned here to continue. 13’7. Moreover, it was only today that we received the draft resolution, and regardless of whether our position is favourable or negative it is an elementary procedural requirement that time should be allowed for its consideration. We must have sufficient time to study the document with the attention which it warrants and formulate our position on it. That requires at least twenty-four hours. 138. With regard to the President’s statement that he has already made arrangements concerning tomorrow’s meetings, we regret this rather hasty action because the Council can hardly turn its attention to other questions until it has completed consideration of the matter before it, a matter which is a very serious and important one for all mernbers. Moreover, we have already expressed our views as to when it would be best, in the light of practical considerations, to discuss these othes matters to which the President has referred. 133. La deux&me raison que je voudrais donnes, c’est que cette question a une telle importance et une telle port&e pour nous que nous estimons que nous ne pourrions pas la traiter comme il se devralt si nous nous Gunissions cet ap&s-midi B 16 h 30, car nous ne disposerions alors que d’un temps tr&s court. 134. Une troisi&me raison, c’est que nous n’avons pas encore tout B fait termin& nos consultations Ot qut? nous aimerions les poursuivre cet apr&s-midi. NOUS pensons Btre pr@ts d’ici Zi demain. Je veux egalement rappeler 3 mes collZ?gues que le Ministre des affair% &trang&res de la Republique dhmocratique du Conga a dlores et d&j& indique qu’il &ait dispos& a ne rc1* prendre la seance que demain matin. 136. M. FEDORENKO (Union des R6publiques socialistes sovihtiques) [traduit du russe]: Monsieur lc Prbsident, nous avons &out& vos remarques avcc beaucoup d’attention, de meme que celles des repr&- sentants du NigGria et de 1’Ouganda. Pour sa part, la d&&gation sovihtique partage le point de vue y11t” viennent d’exprimer ces derniers. Les raisans quC ant 6% invoqu6es nous semblent suffisamment s&- rieuses pour que nous n’ccourtions pas l’examen rie la question et que nous poursuivions les consultations dont on a par%. 137. De plus, nous n’avons requ qu’aujourd’hui le projet de r&solution et, quelle que soit notre attitur%c a son 6gard - qu’elle soit favorable ou dhfavorable -& les rbgles les plus i%mentaires de la procf?d~~rc exigent qu’un certain delai nous soit laiss8. 11 11<1:88 faut, en effet, un certain temps pour Studier ce cioc8rment avec toute l’attention voulue et pour arr&eanotre position B son egard. Cela demande au moirrs un d6lai de 24 heures. 138. Quant Zt la d&claration que vous venez de fnire au sujet des seances prbvues pour demain, nous IP~ pouvons que regretter la p&cipitation avec laquPI9c vous avez agi. En effet, nous ne pouvons gulzrc aborder l’examen d’autres questions tant que nn-lr~ n’aurons pas termi& celui d’une question aussi grave et aussi importante pour chacun d’entre nous, ciba~ la plainte de la Rhpublique dgmocratique du Con,gc>* d’autant que nous avons eu l’occasion d’exprimer ncrt ~“e point de vue dfiment circonstanci6 sur le moment r%B il conviendrait le mieux de discuter de ces autu-e.% questions, 140. In other words, my delegation shares the view just expressed by the representatives of Nigeria and Uganda and it has listened attentively to the considerations put forward by the representative of the United States. It therefore considers that the Security Council should continue discussing this lnatter tomorrow morning at 1.0.30.

My delegation shares the views expressed by the representatives of Nigeria, Uganda and the Soviet Union. The question before us is very important and it is a pressingone. It has been before us awaiting a solution for some time. During one hour this afternoon we cannot be expected to hear all the statements that may be made. In addition, I believe the element of continuity is very important. I do not think there should be any interruption in our consideration of this important question. Other items will follow. I am not saying that any one of those items is not important, However, we do have before us a question which should be given adequate, complete and uninterrupted consideration by this Council. The Foreign Minister has been here for some time and we do not want to delay the consideration of this question, But a meeting of one hour will not expedite our work when consultations have to be carried out by the co-sponsors of the draft resolution.

I was consulted a few moments ago and I replied that we would wish to fall in with the views of the majority and the convenience of the Security Council. After the debate which we have begun, however, I believe there are many reasons why we should continue our discussions in a rather more systematic and coherent manner. I therefore urge the Pxesident to decide that we should meet tomorrow morning at 10.30 to examine this item. I know that he has the right to set the time for Council meetings, I also think it would be well if all members of the Council were given an opportunity to deal with their other affairs, I myself took the floor rather early this morning and afterwards I might have gone about my business elsewhere. Nevertheless, there are other members who are not in the same position and that is why I appeal to you, Mr. President, to decide that, we should continue to examine this item tomorrow morning at 10.30, which would certainly enable us to complete our work in a responsible manner, as befits the Security Council, 143. Mr. McARTHUR (New Zealand): As the President has pointed out, the Council does have before it a rather heavy workload in the days that lie ahead. We shall be called upon to deal with some questions which we all recognize are of considerable impor- 140. Autrement dit, la d616gation sovietique par “age le point de vue exprimB il y a quelques instants par les repr&entants du Nigeria et de 1lOuganda; elle a Bgalement &out& avec attention les arguments pr&ent&s par le rep&sentant des Etats-Unis d’Am& rique, mais elle estime que le Conseil de s&Wit6 doit poursuivre l’examen de cette question demain matin B 10 h 30. 141. M. EL-FARRA (Jordanie) [traduit de l’anglaisj: Ma d616gation partage l’avis exprim6 par les rep&- sentants du Niggria, de 1”Ouganda et de IWnion SOvibtique. La question dont nous sommes saisis est d’une urgence et d’une importance extremes. Elle attend une solution depuis longtemps dGj&. On ne peut pas s’attendre B ce qu’en une heure nous entendions toutes les d.$claralions qui pourront btre faites. En outre, j’estime que ll&ment de continuit.6 est Ws important. Je ne pense pas qu’il faille interrompre l’examen d’une questionaussi importante. Les autres questions peuvent attendre. Je ne veux pas dire que certaines de ces questions soient saris importance. Toutefois, nous sommes B p&sent saisis d’une question & laquelle le Conseil doit consacrer une &tude approprGe, compl&te et ininterrompue. Le Ministre des affaires 6trangGres est ici depuis un certain temps deja, et nous ne voulons pas retarder l’examen de cette question. Or, une &union d’une heure n’avancera pas nos travaux alors que les coauteurs du projet de r&solution doivent procbder a des consultations. 142. M. TARABANOV (Bulgarie): J’ai 6th consult6 il y a un moment et jlai rbpondu que nous souhaitions nous ranger % l’avis de la majorit et8 la convenance du Conseil de s6curit6, mais, aprBs la discussion qui s’est engag6e ici, j’estime quW y a beaucoup de, consid6rations qui militent en faveur de ce que nous continuions notre discussion d’une mani??re un peu plus suivie et plus constante. Dans ces conditions, je lance un appel au President pour qu’il prenne la d6cision de nous r6unir demain & LO h 30 pour examiner cette question. Je sais que c’est son droit de fixer les &unions du Conseil. Je crois qu’il serait bon Bgalement que tous les Membres du Conseil &issent avoir la possibiliti! de s’occuper de leurs autres affaires. Pour ma part, ayant par16 ce matin assez tat, j’aurais pu peut-&tre m’en aller ailleurs. Mais il y a d’autres mernbres qui ne sont pas dans le mQme cas, et c’est pourquoi je vous lance un appel, Monsieur le President, pour que vous ditcidiez de poursuivre l’examen de ce point demain B 10 b 30, ce qui nous permettrnit certainement de termines notre travail dlune faGon s6rieuse et digne du Conseil de sgcuriti?. 143. M. McARTHLJlt (Nouvelle-Z6lande) [traduit de l’anglais]: Comme vous venez de nous le faire remarquer, Monsieur le PrBsident, le Conseil a un calendrier assez charge? pour les jours %. venir. Nous allons btre appel& h traiter de questions dOnt

I shall not speak at length. I should merely like to say that, given the significance and gravity of the question with which we are dealing, my delegation would have preferred to deal with it quickly were it not for the various commitments to which you yourself, Mr. President, have referred, which the members of the Council have to fulfil this afternoon in different places. I do not believe that, given the importance of the subject, the Council should embark on such a serious debate and then conclude it later in a manner not worthy of itself. My delegation therefore very much hopes that you will consider the problem from that standpoint and that your decision will enable us to discuss the item in detail tomorrow morning at 10.30, as several of my colleagues have already suggested. We shall then have had sufficient time for mutual consultations on the different aspects of the problem, which, in our view, is extremely serious and of capital importance. 146. I hope that you will take these various oonsiderations into account and defer examination of this item until tomorrow morning at 10.30.

As is often the case when the Security Council is called upon to meet during a General Assembly session, we find ourselves in a rather delicate position. 148. I would mereIy like to point out that the request which led to this series of meetings was submitted by the representative of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, who, according to what we have just been told, would agree to the postponement until tomorrow of the meeting scheduled for this afternoon. This request was supported by our African colleagues and it seems to me that, in the circumstances, it would be difficult for us to press for the second meeting to be held this afternoon since that would not be convenient for certain of our colleagues. 145. M, KEITA (Mali): Je ne vais pas &re long. Je voudrais uniquement dire que ma dblegation aurait aim& &ant don& l’importance et le serieux de la question que nous examinons, traiter rapidement de cette question si ce n%tait les diffgrentes obligations que vous avez signalbes vous-m&me, Monsieur le Prhsident, et auxquelles les membres du Conseil ont B faire face cet aprbs-midi en diffbrents endroits. Je ne crois pas qu’il faille donner l’occasion au Conseil d’ouvrir un debat aussi s$rieux pour ensuite &serves B ce dQbat une fin qui ne soit pas au niveau du Conseil, &ant don&, je le rappelle, l’importance du sujet. C’est pour cela que ma d&lggation souhaite vivement que vous envisagiez le problbme sons cet angle et que vous preniez une decision qui permette que 1 ‘on discute B fond de cette question demain matin B 10 h 30, comme l’ont deja suggbr6 plusieurs de mes coll&gues, Nous aurons alors eusuffisammsnt de temps les uns et les autres pour nous consulter sur differents points de ce problbme, qui, pour nous, est t&s sgrieux et a une importance majeure. 146. J’esp’ere que vous voudrez bien tenir compte de ces diffgrentes consi&rations pour reporter l’examen de ce point a demain 10 h 30, 147. M. SEYDOUX (France): Nous nous trouvons dans une situation un peu dglicate, oe qui est souvent le cas lorsque le Conseil de sQuriti! est appelg a se r&mix pendant une session de 1’AssemblBe g&&ale. 148. Je voudrais simplement rappeler que la demande de convocation de cette session a 8th pr&entee par le representant de la Republique democratique du Congo qui, d’apr8s ce qu’on vient de nous dire, accepterait que la &ance pr&ue pour cet apr&s-midi soit report&e a demain. Cette requ%te a eti! appuyee par nos coll&gues africains, et il me semble que, les chases se pr&sentant ainsi, il nous est difficile d’insister davantage pour que la seconde sdance ait lieu cet apr&s-midi, puisque cela ne convient pas a un certain nombre de nos collegues. 150. AS that was a decision by the President, I am 150. Comme il s’agit 1% d’une dgcision prbsidennaturally inclined to abide by it and to agree if a tielle, je suis naturellement enclin B la respecter et majority of my colleagues support it, B me dgclarer d’accord si la majorit de mes coll’egues estiment qu’il doit bien en &re ainsi.

If no other member of the 151. Le PRESIDENT (traduit de l’anglais): Si aucun Council wishes to speak on this matter, I would wish autre membre du Conseil ne demande la parole a to make my comment. I said previously that, in exerce sujet, je d&sire faire une observation personnelle. cise of the authority which I must exercise, I had J’ai dit auparavant que dans l’exercice de l’autorit6 called two meetings of the Council for tomorrow. dont je suis investi, jlai convoqu6 deux r&unions du I did SO after oonsultation with my colleagues. I Conseil pour detain. Je l’ai fait apres COnSUltatiOn think it is an important principle that when a meeting avec mes collegues. J’estime que c’est un principe of the Council is called on a matter said to be urgent, important que lorsqu’une reunion du Conseil est the meeting should be convened without delay except convoqube sur une questionconsid6rGecommeurgente when there is a special or overriding reason to the cette sdance se r&hisse sans retard & moins qu’il contrary. n’y ait une raison partiouliere ou primordiale de l’ajourner. 152. This is an important principle to which I have 152. C’est un important principe dont j’ai dkja eu had occasion to refer in the past. It was for that l’occasion de parler. Voil& pourquoi, apr??s consulreason that, after consultation, I called a meeting of tation, jlai convoqu6 une r&union du Conseil pour the Council to deal with the complaint of Israel totraiter de la plainte d’Israg1 demain matin. Ayant morrow morning. Having taken that decision after pris cette d6cision aprBs des consultations et apres consultation, and after consideration of all factors avoir pes6 tous les facteurs pertinenta, j’estime in the matter, I feel that it must stand. qu’elle doit &tre maintenue. 153. We also have a meeting called, for some days 153. Nous avons Ggalement, depuis quelques jours now, for tomorrow afternoon to deal with the question deja, pr6vu une r&union demain apr&s-midi pcur of the admission of new Members, This too is a mattraiter de la question de l’admission de nouveaux ter in which other people are concerned, and the membres . I1 s’agit Bgalement dtune question qui representatives of the two applicants have come interesse d’autres personnes, et les representants many thousands of miles for this occasion. I do not des deux pays candidats ont couvert des milliers de think that the discussion tomorrow afternoon need kilometres pour &re presents B cette occasion. Je ne take any length of time. It is a debate which would pense pas que la discussion de demain apses-midi not be expected to last for long, Therefore, having dure bien longtemps. C’est un d6bat qui sera Saris heard the views of a number of members who wish. doute bref. En con&quence, apres avoir entendul ‘opithe present debate not to be continued this afternoon, i nion d’un certain nombre de membres qui ne soumy feeling is that the decision should be that we) haitent pas voir la discussion se poursuivre cet should proceed, immediately after we have dealt with1 apres-midi, j’estime qu’il convient de d6cider que the matter of new Members tomorrow, to continue’ le &bat que nous ajournons aujourd’hui se poursuive the debate which we postponed from today. demain immhdiatement apr&s que nous ayions trait6 de la question des nouveaux membres. 154. Since this is a matter which I think lies within 154. Comme la question releve a mon avis de ma my discretion, I will so direct and I would hope that competence, j’en d6cide ainsi et j’espere que les members would understand that the decision I take membres comprendront que ma decision correspond is one which is taken in my best judgement after a ce qui me semble btre la meilleure solution apres hearing the views expressed and having consulted avoir entendu les opinions exprimbes et du fait que with members previously on the two meetings fixed j’avais auparavant consult6 les membres du Conseil for tomorrow. au sujet des deux reunions pr6vues pour demain. The meeting rose at 1.45’p.m. La s&me est leve’e si 13 h 45. HOW TO OBTAIN UNITED NATIONS PUBLICATIONS United Nations publications may be obtained from bookstores and distributors throughout the world. Consult your bookstore or write to: United Nations, Sales Section, New York or Geneva. COMMENT SE PROCURER LES PUBLICATIONS DES NATIONS UNIES Les publications des Nations Unies sont en vente dans les librairies et les agences dbpositaires du monde entier. Informez-vous aupr&s de votre librairie ou adressez-vous 6: Nations Unies, Section des ventes, New York ou GenBve. COMO CONSEGUIR PUBLICACIONES DE LAS NACIONES UNIDAS Las publicaciones de las Naciones Unidas est6n en venta en librerias y casas distribuidoras en todas partes del mundo. Consulte a su librero o dirijase a: Naciones Unidas, Secci6n de Venras, Nueva York o Ginebra. Litho in U.N. Price: $U.S. 1.00 (or equivalent in other currencies) 00058-October 1968-2.000