S/PV.1427 Security Council

In accordance with rule 37 of the provisional rules of procedure, I propose, with the consent of the Council, to invite the representative of Haiti to participate without the right to vote, in the discussion of the question now on the agenda. Credentials for the representative of Haiti have been received, and the Secretary-General’s report of 24 May 1968 [S/8.594] has been circulated. A+’ tlze invitation of the President, Mr. Bonhomme (Haiti) took a place at the Security Council table.

The Security Council will now begin its examination of the complaint submitted to it by Haiti in its communications of 20 and 21 May 1968 [S/8592 and S/8593]. 3. The first speaker on my list is the representative of Haiti, to whom I now give the floor.

Mr. President, I should like to convey to you my Govemmerit’s thanks and great appreciation of your decision to convene an emergency meeting pf the Security Council which is the conscience of the world, and is answerable to mankind as a whole. It cannot and must not make any distinction between nations because of their geographical position, their power, their ethnic composition or culture, their language or religion, in accordance with Article 1, paragraph 3, of the Charter. 5. When, as now, so many terrible problems are facing Governments and communities and when, as prophesied in the Bible, the earth is removed and the mountains are carried into the midst of the sea, when the waters thereof roar and are troubled, when the mountains shake with the swelling thereof, when the hire of the labourers who have reaped down the field of the rich; which is kept back by fraud, crieth, it is neither surprising, untimely nor unreasonable that the 4 million negroes of the small Caribbean State of Haiti, the first independent and sovereign black republic in the world, should come to the Security Council to cry halt! My Government’comes befor’e the Council today to draw attention to facts which, according to Articles 34 and 35 of the Charter, create a situation which might lead to international friction. 6. This situation has already caused a breach of the peace and it threatens to deteriorate in the near future. It is the sort of situation which, according to Article 2, paragraph 3 of the Charter, would normally endanger international peace and security. It has been characterized by repeated acts of an aggressive nature which have been, and still are being, perpetrated from outside and which take various forms: sometimes a vicious press campaign and unsavoury propaganda on radio, television and on the screen, with the object of spreading and encouraging hatred against the mass of negro peasants in Haiti and against their Government, which has been made an object of ridicule; sometimes economic strangulation by the blocking of all international or private channels through which the international COoperation referred to in Article 1, paragraph 3, of the Charter might have helped to solve the economic, social and humanitarian problems with which ‘this black community in the Caribbean has been and is still faced This community, which has always been in the forefront of the struggle against slavery in all its forms and which is bringing about social and racial emancipation and national economic development, now finds itself condemned to extinction through a slow process of starvation, with no alternative but to rebel against the Government it has created for itself or to throw itself into the arms of foreign ideologies. 7. Armed forces, regularly re-equipped from inexhaustible fmancial resources, have kept up a constant pressure and made eight separate invasions in an attempt to bring about the violent overthrow of an established and recognized Government and to halt the national revolution of a black community. These acts of aggression reached their height on Monday, 20 May. 9. My Government is, therefore, appearing before the Security Council today because for the moment, although acts of aggression have been committed from outside the country, it has not so far been a question of two States Members of the United Nations having a dispute, a quarrel, breaking off friendly or diplomatic relations, or being at war, in which case Article 33 of the Charter would apply; namely, the obligation to seek a solution by negotiation, inquiry, mediation etc., or by resort to regional agencies or arrangements. 10. We make no accusations, we accuse no people, no Government, no country, but we shall quote clear and explicit texts which cover the situation m Haiti and provide for its settlement. We shall submit facts that are supported by evidence and that point to a logical remedy and the action to be taken. 11. Why, then should we belittle the gravity of this situation, for which my Government asks for your serious attention and immediate action? Because it concerns a small country, or a little twig of the great black branch of mankind? 12. What would happen if a great power was the victim of similar aggression on the same scale, directed from the territory of a friendly State, financed and supported by citizens of that friendly allied State and with the co-opera.. tion of its own nationals, in abuse of the principle of territorial asylum and in violation of solemn international treaties? What would it do if an armed attack had been launched against its territory, its army, its population, its military bases; if there had been an attempt to assassinate its Head of State, the members of the Government and their families; if the neighbouring Powers had mobilized their land and sea forces? Would not the Security Council have been asked to deal with the matter and would it not have taken the necessary action? 13. How can it be claimed that the invasion by a handful of men of a small State in the Caribbean does not endanger peace in this critical ama, and even in the continent and throughout the world when such a danger has arisen in the past and has led to mobilization and to a confrontation which made the whole world tremble, and caused your great Council to be convened in historic meetings and which culminated in victory for the principles of the Charter which we are invoking today? “ . . . more than 20,000 United States troops were put into the city to ensure the safety of foreigners, halt the bloodshed and quell the violence, restore order-and forestall what President Johnson believed was the imnn. nent takeover of the Republic by Communist-dominated elements and the establishment of a ‘second Cuba’. “The President’s decision to intervene, applauded by most North Americans caused consternation in other parts of the hemisphere. Many Dominicans were offended by this latest affront to their national dignity, seeing in it a dramatic demonstration that the United States had no confidence in their ability to resolve their own problems and little respect for their position as citizens of a sovereign and independent State, juridically the equal of the United States itself. Many other Latin Americans were deeply disturbed, both because of the massive breach of the non-intervention principle and because of the way in which the United States took to itself responsibility for defining the character of the developing Dominican situation and responding to it. “The Organization of American States, profoundly shocked, its pride in tatters, came reluctantly to the support of the United States. . . .“I 15. Mr. Plank’s first conclusion was: “All of this is now history. But it is history that could repeat itself-with appropriate local variations-m other countries of Central America and the Caribbean. In Haiti, for instance, or in Guatemala or in Honduras. These are countries that he within a sphere the United States regards as being of vital importance: under no circumstances will their capture by Communist regimes be permitted. The device of preventive intervention, employed by the United States in the Dominican case, could be employed again. Whether it will be employed, or should be, is another matter. “Three facts are to be kept in mind in thinking about United States policy toward countries in the Caribbean region. The first fact is that the societies of the Caribbean, like societies everywhere in the developlag world, are caught up in the confused but rapid process of change which we are accustomed to call generically the nationalist revolution. The second is that the United States is member and leader of the Inter-American System, the institutionalized embodiment of the Western 1 Quoted in English by the speaker. 16, Mr. Plank goes on to say that the primary aim of the United States in the Caribbean is to promote relations between Caribbean nationalities and inter-Americanism in the hemisphere. He points out how difficult that is in practice, Referring to Haiti, he says: “Haiti’s situation is even more precarious but for very different reasons, Of all states in the hemisphere, this is the least well structured. Politically, despite the seeming invulnerability of President Duvalier, it is extremely fragile and brittle: when Duvalier goes the political “system’‘-such as it is-will collapse. Duvalier’s successors will inherit administrative chaos and a disarticulated society. Desperately poor, largely, rural, living isolated lives, the population asks little of its central government but to be left alone. Into this administrative, political, ideological void the Communists could step easily.“’ 21. At the present time, the Haitian Government has just concluded a contract for the most important project in the nation’s history, namely: first, the construction of a hydra-electric power station at the P6ligre dam and an adjoining substation; and secondly, the construction of a power transmission line from PBligre to Port-au-Prince and a substation at Port-au-Prince. This contract was introduced in the Chamber on 8 May 1968 and ratified by a law published by the Government in the Official Gazette, ,!,e Maniteur, on Thursday, 16 May 1968. Four days later, as we know, Port-au-Prince and Cape Haiti were subjected to a heavy bombing attack. 17. Those are Mr. Plank’s words. Referring to communist opportunism, he says: 22. I shall now take the members of the Security Council back to the year 1958, which was the starting point for a succession of armed invasions and acts of piracy, attacks on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Haiti. 6‘ . . . there is Haiti, which if left to itself could be effectively, if not formally, under Communist control within hours or days of Duvalier’s demise. , , . Our area of concern is geographically strictly delimited and we have identified four States in that area in which intervention might be necessary. Of these Haiti is the one whose situation corresponds most closely to that found by President Johnson and his advisers in the Dominican Republic. Preventive intervention in Haiti, therefore, may be appropriate and necessary.“1 23. The first invasion took place on the night of 28 July 1958. Alix Pasquet, an ex-officer, accompanied by former captains Perpignan and Dominique, both of whom, like Pasquet, were political refugees in the United States of America, and four Miami police officers wearing their sheriffs badges, landed at Port-au-Prince, took possession of the Dessalines barracks behind the National Palace and kept the Palace under machine-gun fire all night long. Inside, there was only a small group of soldiers and civilians protecting the Head of State. However, while concluding that intervention might be a logical outcome, Mr. Plank points out that: “ . . * most Latin Americans question the ability of the United States to understand or sympathize with movements of radical reform, even of non-Communist varieties, and because they sometimes doubt the accuracy and adequacy of the information upon which our policy decisions are based . . .“I 24. This abortive attack came to an end at dawn, when the rebel groups were liquidated by loyal volunteers of the National Guard, the Haitian army and Port-au-Prince civilians, who rushed to the aid of the Head of State. It cost the lives of about fifty men. A trivial price, the lives of fify men, it might be thought, if one laid no emphasis on the value of even a single human life for whose protection and dignity so many fine words were uttered by delegations to the International Conference on Human Rights held recently at Teheran. It will be said that the lives of a mere fifty Haitian negroes are a trivial price, but that would be to ignore the potential of one human life as a contributing factor to economic development. And even if the toll, of that infamous piratical expedition had been no more than one doctor, one agricultural expert and other such qualified people in an under-developed country like Haiti, battling for economic growth, would it then be possible to write off such actions, and all those that followed, as being of no importance? 18. He concludes as follows: “It would be truly tragic, however, if the United States should be an agency importantly responsible for those improved prospects. This could happen if we were to put inordinate stress upon Communist dangers in the region at the expense of due attention to the crying needs for political, economic and social reform. If the United States loses its identification with the concepts of political democracy, social justice, economic well-being and the dignity of the individual, it has lost its purchase in this hemisphere.“1 19. The strange fact is that, whenever the Head of the Haitian Government of 22 September 1957 undertakes 25. As it had done on 9 June 1958, the Haitian Government followed its practice of voicing its concern in a note 1 Quoted in English by the speaker. 26. What was the reaction to this reasonable request from the Haitian Government? To what extent was it taken into consideration? The events which followed made it abundantly clear, It should be noted that the attack came only ten months after Mr, FranFois Duvalier had been elected President of the Republic. 27. The Dominican-Haitian conflict: those events of 1963 were marked by bloodshed and devastation and known as the Haitian-Dominican conflict. On the morning of 14 May, an American newspaper carried a private news item from a New York source, according to which a rebel invasion was to take place that night. The rebel force was supported by a self-styled Haitian Government in exile, formed two days earlier in Puerto Rico. 28. You all know how the stage was set and cleverly arranged by a vast international conspiracy; the Haitian Government did not fail to produce the evidence and to protest sharply, as a result of which it was decided to bring the matter before the United Nations Security Council. 29. But the present situation has a long history. It must be borne in mind that there have been innumerable violations of our national sovereignty and territorial integrity: frequent violations of Haitian air space by Dominican aircraft, the mobilization of the Dominican armed forces, large-scale manoeuvres of combat troops massed on the Haitian Dominican frontier, the insidious radio, press and television propaganda from official sources in the Dominican Repub, lit, pamphlet campaigns designed to disrupt public order in Haiti and to create an atmosphere of danger and violence and a state of emergency. Then there-was the ultimatum of the Dominican Government of 28 April 1963. 30. After this came the second invasion. Thirty-six guer. rillas, aided and abetted by foreign Governments and Haitian exiles and at the request of the latter, landed at the tip of the South Haiti peninsula and massacred and terrorized the Haitian peasants in that mountainous region. They were engaged by tactical troops and volunteers of the National Guard and within twenty-one days, in which there were thirteen clashes, thirty of the guerillas were killed and six were taken prisoner. 31. 1 now turn to the series of invasions of Haitian territory from the Dominican Republic. There was the attack on the night of 415 August on the frontier town of Ouanaminthe by armed bands based in the Dominican Republic. There was the assault on the frontier district of Mont Organise, near the Dominican town of Capotille, which, it should be noted, took place less than two weeks after the first invasion. There was the landing at 1 a.m. on 30 June 1964 at a place called “Lacon des Huitres” in 32. Then there was the sixth invasion. At about the same time south-west Haiti was invaded by a group of Haitian exiles accompanied by a number of foreigners. The quautity and quality of their weapons, their equipment and their modern communication system leave no doubt about their origin or the effectiveness of a contingent properIy trained in guerrilla warfare. The original plan was for them to bc supplied by an air drop-this was made impossible by the Haitian defence-and to mount a large-scale attack against the towns and villages. 33. How can it be denied that the various incidents I have mentioned constitute an attempt, launched from the territory of a foreign Power to disrupt law and order, with bloodshed and acts of destruction affecting the country’s economy? How can one fail to accept the evidence and recognize the flagrant nature of the preparations and organization in neighbour States for an armed invasion of Haitian territory? 34. I have spoken of the great loss of human life resulting from these expeditions by former officers of the Haitian army enjoying territorial asylum. In view of that loss of life, how can the repetitive nature of their crimes be ignored? How can one shut one’s eyes to the fact that they carry out their nefarious operations by the same means and from the same territories whose authorities, notwithstanding the frequently voiced concern of the Haitian Government, have become their accomplices by improperly condoning their behaviour and activities? 35. It would be impossible to calculate the extent of the serious damage that these invasions have done to the Haitian economy. Leaving aside the legal aspects, they raise a number of practical problems, which, as any thinking person can see, are of vital importance to the Government and people of Haiti. 36. Will the Haitian Government be asked to waive its sacred right of self-defence, when, in contempt of the rules of international law and custom, neighbour States, which have become the chosen refuge of all Haitian political exiles, have already welcomed-this is a point to be noted-numbers of former Haitian soldiers who have been the constant agents of a small group of stateless citizens in foreign pay, who have no thought for their country and whose only concern is to seize power in infamy and dishonour and with bloodshed, 37. While the people are directing their efforts towards peaceful work and striving to restore an economy ruined by the steady decline in the market price of its basic products, these repeated attacks on the security of persons and property-the logical consequence of acts of piracy-are forcing the Haitian Government to take preventive meas+ ures. Thus the country’s resources are diverted from 2s economic development plan, designed to improve the lot of the people and raise the level of living generally, and are channelled into the work of rebuilding and rehabilitating beneficial effects on VaIkILlS StXtOrs of the economy. In view of all this, how codd the Security Council fail to find die complaint of the Haitian Government well-grounded and to give the matter its most serious attention? Moreover, what would happen to the large-scale field programmes of the United Nations spccialized agencies, the objectives of the United Nations Development Programme and the generous philosophy and achievements of the Development Decade, if States Members of the United Nations entered into the obligations ,of a necessary economic and political co-operation and at the same time sabotaged the very channels of that co-operation by destroying the infrastructure on which their contribution was based? 39. Needless to say, after invasions of its territory causing loss of life and diverting the Haitian people from their task of reconstruction, the Haitian Government cannot be content with mere recommendations or simple expressions of regret such as, on the instructions of the United States Government, Ambassador Gerald Drew offered in 1958, when it would have been easy to prevent the unfortunate Pasquet affair by agreeing to the reasonable request of the Haitian Government. 40. The Security Council should adopt measures and make recommendations with a view to prohibiting all States from dealing in arms, war materials rind military supplies except when deiivery is made to Governments. The Council’s next aim should be to prevent my operational ship or aircraft from being equipped, armed or used for any war-like purpose whatsoever within the jurisdiction of any State. Finally, without imposing unnecessary restrictions on the freedom of the press and information services, it should, for the sake of friendly relations between States, ensure that nothing deliberately abusive or excessively defamatory is broadcast, published in print or made known through any other media, which might undermine the prestige of Governments or upset internal public order by pernicious propaganda. 41. The eighth invasion was an abortive one. It was planned on United States territory by the Cuban, Masferrer and the Haitian, P&e Georges, with Cuban mercenaries and Haitian exiles, but it came to the knowledge of the United States Customs authorities, who last no time in seizing the weapons and handing the offenders over to the courts, which duly convicted them. 42. With regard to the eighth invasion, it is the desire of my Government to make an impartial statem8nt of the facts concerning these actions, which threaten the sovereignty of the Republic of Haiti and are flagrant and repeated violations of the fundamental principles of international law and of the spirit. and letter of the United Nations Charter, It is not the intention of my Government to put any country or Government on trial. “The order convening the Commission was read out and placed at the top of the documents submitted and marked exhibit ‘A’. “After deciding to meet in closed session and settling the preliminary items on its agenda, the Commission began its inquiry. The Commission decided to make an on-the-spot visit. It went to rue Geffrard on the east side of the National Palace, where it confirmed the existence of five bomb craters, the largest of which, near an electric py1011, was ten centimetres deep and two metres in diameter. This crater was caused by the explosion of bomb NO. 10. The other four craters were smaIler and were 1, 8, 12 and 20 metres respectively from the main crater. “The Commission then went to the Headquarters of the Haitian Air Force and confirmed the existence of an impression the length of a bomb in the asphalt, caused by the impact of a bomb falling to the ground. It was at a distance of 20 metres from the main hangar. The Commission then interrogated Capt, Jean Colbert of the armed forces of Haiti, and attached a record of the interrogation to the minutes, marked exhibit ‘1’. Having completed its visit, the Commission returned to its place of meeting. “The Commission then examined a bundle of photographs relating to its inquiry, marked exhibit ‘2’. Having completed its inquiry, the Commission drafted its report as follows: “On 20 May 1968, a B-25 bomber, operating under United States commercial licence No, N-92882, based and registered in California, took off from Melbourne, a coastal town in Florida, 175 miles north of Miami and 3 1 miles from Cape Kennedy, the great United States space centre, landed at Inague after a 600.mile flight. Jupiter, a coastal town 95 miles south of Melbourne, was included in its itinerary as an emergency airport. Using the island of Inague, where an American company operates the sole concession for sea salt, as its position of attack, it headed for Port-au-Prince, In order to attack the capital and take full advantage of the element of surprise, the aircraft approached from the south. At about 8 a.m. the aircraft crossed the town from the south-east to the north-west and dropped three bombs aimed at,the National Palace, and in particular the private apartments of the President for life of the Republic, with the sole purpose of taking the life of Dr. Franqois Duvalier, the constitutional head of the State of Haiti, and members of his family. Continuing its attack, the aircraft dropped a bomb, on the Chanterelles air base, which landed 20 metres from the main hangar of the headquarters of the Haitian Air “After the raid the aircraft flew off in a northwesterly direction; the whole episode lasted about 40 seconds. The four bombs dropped were 1.30 metres in length and 20 centimetres in diameter, had an effective radius of about 100 metres and carried a plastic explosive supplied by Atlas Chemical Industries Inc., Wilmington, Delaware; 19-899 San Mateo, California, 94402 Wilmington, Delaware. Only one of them exploded in rue Geffrard, 200 metres to the east of the private apartments of the President for life of the Republic, killing several people and wounding many others. Five craters, one of which, in concrete, has a diameter of 1.20 metres, and four others in the asphalt can be seen at the side of the National Palace. “The same afternoon, at about 1 p.m., a bomb of the same type as those used against the targets in Port-au- Prince was dropped by a B-25 aircraft on a residential area in the town of Cap Haitien. Armed men landed in two aircraft, murdered civilians and took possession of Cap Haitien airport. “The following day, 21 May 1968, at about 6 a.m., a Haitian Air Force patrol sighted a plane about to take off from Cap Haitien airport and another was observed behind the screen formed by the bluff, south of Port-au- Prince. On Tuesday, at about 2 p.m., the Haitian army regained control of the Cap Haitien landing strip and an American aircraft, number N-92882, the one which had carried out the raid, was found at the southwest end of the runway. Various documents relating to its registration, flight plan and target were found in the cockpit. At the same spot, by the runway, was a stack of twenty-six bombs, some of which were of the same type as those described above as having been used in the attacks on the National Palace, the headquarters of the Haitian Air Force and the civilian population of Cap Haitien.” 44. Here is a list, taken from the notary’s statement, which has also been submitted to you, of the equipment, weapons and ammunition seized: One case containing four boxes of 7-12 calibre cartridges for rifle 49 kg, USA; Two large cases, one entirely filled with cartridges for M-l rifles, and five boxes of cartridges, calibre 12 Remington, the other containing thirty clips of M-l cartridges; One carton containing fifteen boxes of Remington Winchester cartridges calibre 12 (twenty-five cartridges per box); Three rolls of explosive detonating cord (reg. US); One box containing 220 cartridges, calibre 30 M-2; Two boxes containing 800 cartridges for rifles, calibre 42; One carton containing M-l cartridges; Ten empty cartridge-clips for M-3 machine guns; One container of M-l cartridge-clips; Four pairs of trousers; Four cases of high explosive (plastic) marked “Atlas Chemical Industries, Inc., Explosive Division”; One case extra dynamite; Six M-l rifles; Two boxes of inflammable plastic cement; Twenty-five bombs; One manual on tactics. 45. I shall now read out the texts of the pamphlets, copies of which have been circulated to members of the Council: “People of Haiti, stand up and join the Haitian coalition”-this is the Haitian coalition based on UnitsI States territory enjoying territorial asylum-‘%0 put an immediate end to the present regime of crime, degrada. tion and poverty. “Forward with us to crush the monster Duvalier and his murderous henchmen. “The bombs we have dropped on the National Palasti are no more than a token warning. “If Duvalier thinks he can resist, we shall destroy the city over his head and there wiIl be nothing left of it but rubble and ashes. “Attention! We already control two thirds of the territory of the Republic, The roads and coastline ari under strict observation. The people and the officers and soldiers in the army are joining forces with us everywlrcre “Young people of Port-au-Prince, workmen, craftsmen those of you who count yourselves among the fearlesj elements in the capital, come forward for your libm tion! “Down with poverty! Down with crime! Down with Duvalier! Long live the revolution! ” 46. As soon as they landed, the mercenaries began li! massacre peasants, workers, craftsmen, soldiers, voluntcm of the National Guard, all of whom they regarded ai belonging to the great Duvalier family. For instani?. Mr. Jean Theard, who had come to take part in a survey oi the sugar refinery in the north with two Cuban industria!- 47. A copy has been filed of the report of the interroga. tion of the following mercenaries: Philippe Briette, Jean R&my Beliard, Wesley Laman and Maurice Ambroise MagIoire. The report of the interrogation shows that the B-25 aircraft which bombed Port-au-Prince and Cap Haitien, the Cessna and the C-46 were piloted by three United States citizens, who have been described as follows: (1) The B-25 pilot was Mr. Jay-known as Jay-Humphrey according to the Associated Press-residing in Casino Street, Freeport, Bahamas. He is a tall man with steel-blue eyes and has a house at West Palm Beach. Mr. Jay owns a bus, a building and a Ford, Mustang ,in Freeport. It was this Mr. Jay-Humphrey who purchased the arms and ammunition in the United States. He is at present in Florida. (2) The Cessna was piloted by Mr. Larry Decraff, a United States citizen, who lives in the Bahamas near the Holiday Inn Hotel and the Lucarian Hotel. (3) The C-46 was piloted by an American called Bill. 48. Again, according to the statements of those who participated in the act of genocide of 20 May, these Americans met regularly in New York, the headquarters of the United Nations and the Security Council. Meetings took place on Broadway, where the combat uniforms were purchased, and at Miami and were attended by Paul Maglaire, Luc Fouche, Jean-Baptiste Georges, Raymond Alcide Joseph, Raymond Cassagnol, Raymond Montreuil and other members of Paul Magloire’s large family, such as Maurice Ambroise Magloire, who was captured and seriously wounded during a skirmish. 49. According to the mercenaries, the meetings at Miami, New York and Melbourne, Delaware, were held without any attempt at secrecy and could have been detected by the most incompetent and untrained police or secret service in the world. 50. After heavy covering fire from the G.C. 10, the defence forces were ordered by President Duvalier, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, to attack; they captured the B-25 and routed the invaders after killing a good number of them. This great nationalist and revolutionary victory by the Duvalier forces was followed up with the destruction of the enemy forces and the capture of arms and ammunition. 51, The following is a list of the items submitted in evidence : Two leaflets; Two maps; The plan for the raid on Port-au-Prince; The flight plan Melbourne-Jupiter (Florida); Statute miles; TWO pencilled sheets; Aircraft bill of sale; Application for aircraft registration (Federal Aviation Agency); A light blue folder marked: 67105707, Hamilton ACFT CO Inc 4187, Box 11427, Tucson AZ 85706, Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Aeronautical Centre, P.G. Box 25022, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 7312%Official business; TWO yeIlow cards: (a) certificate of airworthiness and (b) application for registration, both attached to the light blue folder; Handbook (with maroon cover); One uniform; Photographs of captured weapons and ammunition; Photographs of victims (killed and wounded); Photographs of the prisoners; A list of the captured weapons certified by a notary; A statement by the prisoner Philippe Briette; Photographs of the President taken at 5 p.m. on 24 May at Francois Duvalier airport, when the bomber was taken there; Photographs of the aircraft. 52. Having read out that list of items, I cannot refrain from making a few remarks. It would have been impossible for that invasion to be carried out without the toleration Of Governments of States Members of the United Nations. Paul Magloire, Luc Fouche, Jean-Baptiste Georges live in the United States and have for a long time been trying to acquire aircraft to bomb the people and towns of Haiti. Raymond Montreuil, the nephew of Paul Magloire, and Raymond Cassagnol were living in the United States, where they were busy preparing for the act Of international banditry on 20 May, The Haitian Government had known for a long time that members of the Haitian colony at Nassau (Bahamas) were to take part. Medical supplies were purchased at Freeport (Bahamas). The bombs which took innocent Haitian lives were supplied by a munitions factory in Delaware. 54. These perpetual threats by powerful nations against the future of the first independent black Republic in the world compel us constantly to maintain sufficient forces on a war footing to defend our territorial sovereignty and integrity and to protect our cultural patrimony, inherited from ancient African civilizations. 55. The close links between politics and economics cannot be ignored. The earlier invasions took place immediately after our decision to build the Frdnqois Duvalier airport, which is one of the finest in the Antilles. The eighth invasion, in which large forces and enormous resources were used, took place four days after publication in the Moniteur of the ratification of the contract to construct the Frangois Duvalier hydroelectric power station at the Pt%gre dam. For the Haitian people, this power station will be what the Aswan Dam is for Egypt, the home of the ancient civilization of our ancestors. 56. Is the Republic of Haiti at war, and with what country in the Western hemisphere, since there are victims, dead and wounded, among the population? 57. In any event, these acts of aggression, aimed at forcing the Haitian Government and people to take desperate steps and to follow unfamiliar paths, have failed and the black people of Haiti and their leader, Franqois Duvalier, thinker, author and statesman, will keep the nation on the path of its destiny: the total emancipation of the black race from all servitude and slavery according to the ideals of Dessalines. 58. In view of the serious political crisis prevailing in the Caribbean, these acts of international brigandage constitute a threat to peace, both in the hemisphere and in the whole world. 59, All the international conspiracies which, since 1804, have been directed against the territorial sovereignty and integrity of the first independent black Republic in the world have already been judged by history and by all men who follow Christian humanist ideals as exemplified by His

Tile United States delegation has listened with care to the statement made today by the representative of Haiti. On all occasions in the past when a question such as this has arisen, the United States has promptly and thoroughly investigated all information or indications it has received of any activity on its soil, allegedly directed against the Government of Haiti which might involve a violation of United States law, and it has taken action in every caSe to punish any violation found. We are ready to live up to our record of the past, but of course can do so only on the basis of established facts, 62. Eager to be of assistance in establishing the origin and precise facts of the events of 20 May, my Government immediately offered to assist the Government of Haiti in an examination of those events. We offered the services of our Embassy in Port-au-Prince, as well as those of our Military Attach6 there, to examine the captured aircraft and fragments of bombs dropped on the Haitian capital on 20 May. We also immediately asked the Government of Haiti to supply us with the maximum amount of information available concerning the events of 20 May: information relating to the identity of the aircraft involved, the individuals participating in the events of 20 May, and the origin,‘background and purpose of their activities. 63. Our desire to give assistance in this connexion remains undiminished. However, our offer to help in such an examination, as well as our request for information which would make possible a thorough and meaningful inquiry On our part, remain outstanding and unhonoured. 64. It has been our understanding, from our information as well as from statements made by the Governme‘nt of Haiti, that the situation to which the events of 20 May gave rise is regarded by the Government of Haiti as being fal): under control. Under these circumstances, it is our belief 65. Mr, SETTE CAMARA (Brazil): The Security Council us seized today of a complaint by the Government of Haiti according to which Haiti has been the victim of armed aggression. In his letter to you, Mr. President, of 21 May 1948 [S/8.59.3], the representative of Haiti referred to the bombing of the National Palace in Port-au-Prince by a pirate aircraft, and to the flight of two jet planes over the area of the island of Gonave. Today we have heard a statement by Mr. Bonhomme, the representative of Haiti, about those facts. 66. At the present stage of our debate, the situation prevailing in the region is still far from clear. The information made available to the Security Council is too vague and fragmentary and does not provide a sound basis on which the Council could proceed to a full debate on the complaint, much less to ‘any decision on the matter. Particular mention should be made of the fact that the source of the alleged aggression has not been established, and that the Council, therefore, at this stage cannot even determine whether the incidents referred to in the letter of the representative of Haiti and stated here today represent an instance of aggression from outside or of internal conflict, in which latter case the Council would have to take into consideration paragraph 7 of Article 2 of the Charter. The Council should also bear in mind the fact that the Charter of the United Nations provides a whole range of methods for the pacific settlement of disputes, including negotiation, inquiry, mediation, conciliation, arbitration, judicial settlement, and-last but not least-resort to regional agencies and arrangements. Before the Council proceeds to a substantive debate or a decision, one or several of those methods should be tried, especially resort to the Organization of American States, of which Haiti is a member. 71. The second letter, dated 27 May 1968, also addressed to the Secretary-General is from the representative of the Dominican Republic [S/8599/; it is a letter written in Spanish and I shall ask the interpreter to read it out in English. The following interpretation into English of the letter was read: 47. Paragraph 3 of Article 52 of the Charter of the United Nations provides that “The Security Council shall encourage the development of pacific settlement of local disputes through such regional arrangements or by such regional agencies either on the initiative of the states concerned or by reference from the Security Council.” 68. In the light of these considerations, the Brazilian delegation is of the view that the Security Council should refrain from taking any action on this matter until those methods have been tried, especially those which are provided by the Charter of Bogota.

The Soviet delegation has listened with due attention to the statement made by the representative of Haiti. He has made a very serious accusation against a foreign State. The Soviet delegation “I have the honour to refer to document S/8592 of 21 May, circulated at the request of the Permanent Representative ad interim of Haiti to the United Nations. “In the sixth paragraph of that document Jamaica is named as one of the countries which hostile aircraft might have used as a base for aerial bombing of the Republic of Haiti. “My Government has instructed me to inform you that Jamaica was not associated in any respect with aircraft that attacked the Republic of Haiti. The Haitian Consul in Kingston has already been informed by my Government that Jamaica was not a base from which any aircraft operated for bombing the Republic of Haiti. “It would be appreciated if this letter could be circulated as an official United Nations document.” “I have the honour to address myself to Your Excellency and to refer to what’ the Permanent Representative of Haiti has said about the Dominican Republic in connexion with the incidents that occurred in that country, starting 20 May, ‘which threatens not only Haiti’s internal security but also international peace and security’. “In fact, in the letter of 20 May, the Permanent Representative ad interim of Haiti stated that it was probable that the Territory of the Dominican Republic had been a point of departure for armed incursions carried out against the territory of the neighbouring country. “To give you further information, may I refer to paragraph 6 of the document I mentioned earlier, which, according to our translation, reads as follows: ‘In all probability, the territories most likely to have been used for these criminal ends are those of the United States, Cuba, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic or the Bahamas’. “It is the hope of my Government that any uncertainty regarding our position on this matter which may have been in the mind of the Government of Haiti will be totally dispelled. “I should be grateful if Your Excellency would arrange to have this Note circulated to members of the Security Council.”

There are no other members of the Council that have expressed a wish to speak and consequently I should like to make a very short statement on behalf of the UNITED KINGDOM. 73. The representative of Haiti made in his statement one or two references to the Bahamas. I should like to tell the Council that immediately after the incidents had been reported careful investigations were made by the Governor of the Bahamas. As members of the Council will know, the Litho in United Nations, New York Price: $U.S. 0.50 (or equivalent in other currencies) 35542-September 1972-2,100 74. I merely wish to add that the Government of the Bahamas is, I know, most anxious that the Haitian Government and all concerned should be assured that aIl the resources available to the Bahamas wilI be used to prevent improper activities directed against another Government. 75. That concludes my statement on behalf of the United Kingdom. I speak again in my capacity as PRESIDENT, 76. There are no further members who wish to speak this afternoon, and, after consultation with members of the Council, I propose to announce the time of the further meeting of the Council on this subject in due course, and I shall consult members accordingly. If there is no objection, I therefore propose to adjourn this meeting. The meeting rose at 5.40 pm.