S/PV.1599 Security Council

In my capacity as President of the Security Council for the month of November, it is both a pleasant duty and a great honour for me to address a welcome to the permanent representative of China, Mr. Huang Hua, as well as to his colleagues, at a time when they come to occupy in the Security Council the seat which is theirs as the representatives of one of the five permanent members of the Security Council. 2. We have all present in our minds the terms of resolution 2758 (XXVI), adopted on 25 October 1971, by which the General Assembly decided to restore all its rights to the People’s Republic of China and to recognize the representatives of its Government as the sole legitimate representatives of China to the United Nations. The fact that today China returns to the Security Council is unquestionably an event of great importance for the United Nations and for the Security Council in particular. With the restoration of the rights of the People’s Republic of China, justice has been done and political realism, which is an essential quality for the United Nations organ primarily responsible for the maintenance of international peace and security, prevails. 3. In extending a weIcome to the representative of China I am particularly privileged in greeting Mr. Huang Hua here. I am convinced that all the members of the Security Council are gratified, as I am, that the People’s Republic of China has chosen so distinguished a personality to represent the great people of China in the Security Council because, indeed, Excellency, you do not come here as an unknown. Your reputation as a diplomat who, together with great experience, has a deep knowledge of history and of the practice of international relatjons, has preceded YOU. I am certain that I am interpreting the feelings of the members of the Council in expressing the hope that the People’s Republic of China will make its full contribution to the realjzation of the tasks and the mandate of the Security Council and therefore to the maintenance and strengthening of international peace and security, in compliance with the United Nations Charter. Excellency, the Council relies upon your active contribution for the attainment of these tasks. As President, may I assure you that my co-operation will always be at your disposal. 4. I hope, Gentlemen, that you will allow me to exercise the privileges of the Presidency to add a few words on behalf of POLAND. During the last 22 years Poland has constantly and firmly defended the lawful rights of the People’s Republic of China in the United Nations. In our opinion, therefore, the decision of the General Assembly constitutes the recognition owed for so long to political reality, as established by the revolutionary change that took place in China in 1949. This decision is a victory over the irrational policy of certain States which attempted to isolate the great Chinese people and to deny the rights of the People‘s Republic of China in the United Nations and in the international community. 5. I would wish on behalf of the Government of the People’s Republic of Poland to offer our cordial congratulations to the People’s Republic of China upon the restoration to it of its rights in the United Nations and in connexion with its coming to the, Security Council. The Polish delegation wishes to express the conviction of its Government that the participation of the People’s Repubhc of China in the activities of our Organization in general and in the Security Council in particular will contribute to the attainment of the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter, namely, the strengthening of international security and the promotion of co-operation among nations in the interests of peace and progress in the world,

When my delegation raised the question of the legal representation of China ln this Council at the 1565th meeting, on 9 February last, it drew attention to the absurd situation caused by the Council refusing to recognize dramatic political changes that had taken place on the China scene following the successful revolution of the Chinese people in October 1949. By the Council’s action in continuing to accord recognition to representatives of a regime that no longer exercised any authority over the affairs of the Chinese people it created a 8. No one can say with complete assurance what might have happened in the past had the United Nations treated the issue of China’s representation in the me correct manner in which it had treated other cmes of rival representation that had come before it. But there can be no question that for 22 years the United Nations was deprived of the presence of a nation whose counsel was vital for the satisfactory solution of grave problems involving questions of war and peace. Without the presence of the most populous nation in the world, the true balance of power in international affairs was not reflected in the United Nations. Without China we were deprived of the voice of a country in which the wisdom and discipline of one of the world’s oldest and most respected civilizations had been transmuted through a tremendous national effort to serve the. needs of the twentieth century, a century whose outstanding feature has been the struggle against entrenched privilege and for the rights of the common man. 9. If the United Nations has profited from the lessons learned from the China question, it wilI go on to deal with other issues such as southern Africa and the Middle East with the same honesty and the same respect for the principles of the Charter that have triumphed in recent days. 10. My delegation believes that the collective wisdom of the United Nations, which is now closer to the goal of universality, will be brought to bear more successfully than in the past on the solution of the many problems that still threaten international pace. Certainly the Security Council will be strengthened and better able to carry out its central peace-keeping and peace-making role now that there is no question about the legality of any of its members. IS. Mr. ORTIZ DE ROZAS (Argentina) (interpretatiorz from Spanish): I would address my first words to the representative of Nicaragua, Mr. Sevilla Sacasa, and extend to him our warmest congratulations on his brilliant presidency of this body during the month of October. During that month the Council held several meetings on items 115 important as they were difficult, and it was because of the endeavours, sagacity and character of Ambassador Sevilla Sacasa that the respective negotiations and discussions were brought to a successful conclusion. We are therefore most grateful to him. 11. One of the more significant aspects of the presence of the representatives of China in the United Nations is that for the first time since 1949 the Security Council will be properly constituted. It will be a realistic reflection of the world power structure, and it will have an unquestionable basis for its authority. This is an opportune time for ail Member States, and more particularly the permanent members of the Security Council, to examine the attitudes that have been prevalent regarding the nature and function of this Council, which alone can ensure the effectiveness of the United Nations. The effectiveness of this Organization has often been seriously impaired-for example, by the tendency of members of the Security Council to feel they are not bound by majority decisions if they have voted negatively or abstained on some matter. That type of attitude is inconsistent with a full commitment to the rule of international law. Once a decision has been taken by this 16. May I also express to you, Mr. President, the c( best wishes of the delegation of Argentina on accedir the Presidency of the Security Council. We are convil that your experience and the wellknown attributes of: personality will once again come to light in guiding debate. 1 Legal Consequences for States of the Continued Presen South Africa in Namibia (South West Africa) notwithsta Security Council resolution 2 76 (1970), Advisory Opinion, I ,, Reports 1971, para. 116. States which are not members of the Security Council rnmt consider themselves bound by its decisions. 12. A pertinent commentary on this question was given bY the International Court of Justice, It was given in the context of the question of Namibia, but it applies generally to the nature and function of the Security Council. ‘I-he Court considered that “when the Security Council adopts a decision under Article 25 in accordance with the Charter, it is for member States to comply with that decision I including those members of the Security Council which voted against it [or abstained] . . . To hold otherwise would be to deprive this principal organ of its essential functions and powers under the Charter.“’ 13. At Iong last the United Nations has acted in accordance with the letter and spirit of the Charter in deating with one of the most controversial issues of the past two decades-the restoration of the rights of the PeopIe”s Republic of China in the United Nations. In welcoming the representatives of China to the Security Council arty delegation looks forward to a new era characterized by right attitudes by all nations to the purposes and principIes of the Charter of this Organization.

Mr. President, it gives me great pleasure to associate myself with you irl welcoming to the Security Council the representatives rlf the People’s Republic of China. This is a development WC’ have long felt to be overdue, and we feel it is right that the true balance of the memberstip of the Security Council should be restored. My delegation looks forward with pleasure to working with our new colleagues. 24. A little over a week ago I had the opportunity to extend, on behalf of my Coyernment, an official welcome to the delegation of the People’s Republic of China, at the eventful 1982nd plenary meeting of the General Assembly at which it occupied its rightful place in the United Nations. I shall therefore not repeat what I had to say on that fateful occasion. But this is indeed a momentous day in the life of our Organization, a day when, by formally occupying its permanent seat and joining us in the Security Council, the People’s Republic of China gives a new dif”ension to the very existence and activity of this essential organ of the United Nations, 18. The conversations that commenced in Bucharest almost three months ago between the representatives of Argentina and the People’s Republic of China with a view to normalizing diplomatic and trade relations between those countries arc characterized by frank and positive dialogue. With that same frankness we now wish to state that we arc confident that the participation of that State, which has the largest population on earth, not only will fill a void and bring us closer to the desired universality of the United Nations but will have a really constructive signi!% cance in attaining the great purposes and principles laid down in the San Francisco Charter. People are weary of sterile divisions and yearn for peace. One of the primary responsibilities of each country represented here, whatever its size or potential, is to contribute to the elimination of those divisions, making efforts to find genuine joint solutions to the serious problems besetting the international community within harmonious coexistence and the framework of the most complete respect for the conditions, characteristics and systems prevailing in each nation. 25. I, therefore, share the views which you, Sir, and previous speakers have expressed in stressing the historic significance of this event, convinced a’s I am that the more closely the composition of the Security Council reflects the reality of today’s world, the more effective its action can become in support of peace and security, An important and long-overdue step has thus been taken today. It is certainly most welcome, and I am sure its full importance will be appreciated by the general membership, in particular by a number of States that have long maintained that the Security Council’s composition directly affects the prospects of strengthening peace and security throughout the world, a task for which the Council bears the primary responsibility. 19. The United Nations has achieved a great deal in its first 35 years of existence? both in the field of’ concrete achievements and in the establishment of a propitious atmosphere for overcoming differences. In the long and difficult road that still lies ahead for the attainment of those objectives, the People’s Republic of China is called upon to play a historically decisive role. In welcoming among us its representatives, headed by Mr. Huang Hua, we wish to offer in advance the co-operation of the Argentine delegation in that great enterprise. 26. I should like at the same time to join you, Mr. President, and the representatives of Somalia, the United Kingdom and Argentina in giving a heartfelt welcome to the new colleague at our table, Ambassador Huang Wua. He comes here with impressive credentials both as a man and as a diplomat; as a man, because he, a militant patriot, proved his attachment to principles by not yielding to any pressure, even physical; as a colleague, because his record speaks for itself. Envoy of a great nation and of a millenary civilization, he has lived up to the high responsibility of representing the new Chinese reality in a number of highly important diplomatic posts at Geneva, Accra, Cairo and Ottawa, I think all of us will benefit from the wisdom, experience and skill of Ambassador Wang Hua. 20. On this day when the delegation of the People’s Republic of China takes part for the first time in the work of the Security Council, I believe it most timely to address a special message to our esteemed Secretary-General, U Thant, who worked so hard for the restoration of China’s rights in our Organization, and to offer our most cordial wishes for his quick recovery so that we may see him soon again among us.

I wish to thank the representative of Argentina for the kind words he has said about me. 27. With this bright prospect in mind, my delegation and I are looking forward to co-operating closely with our Chinese colleague and his collaborators, in this body as well as in all the other bodies of the United Nations.

The special occasion of today’s meeting leads me to break a long-standing practice of my delegation, that of dispensing with complimentary remarks. I shall start, Mr, President, by congratulating you. We feel indebted to you for the tact and discretion which the exceptional circumstances of the moment have demanded and which you have shown yourself to possess in such a high degree in conducting our affairs during the month of November, now approaching its end. 28. Finally, I should like to associate myself with the good wishes our colleague from Argentina has extended to our Secretary-General, whom we hope to see back at a very early date.

I wish to thank the representative of Italy and assure him that I 31, I should also like to express deep appreciation and thanks to Ambassador Sevilla Sacasa of Nicaragua, the out-going President, who presided with utmost tact and dignity over one of the fullest months of our Council. 32. I should like to associate myself with the previous speakers in extending, on behalf of the Japanese delegation, our warm welcome to the delegation of the People’s Republic of China, a great Power and our close neighbour in Asia. My delegation is confident that the presence of the People’s Republic of China will strengthen the functioning of the Security Council and will further the cause of international peace and security. The constructive contribution of the Government of the People’s Republic of China to the future activities of the United Nations will be a great asset in our continuing effort to achieve lasting peace for the whole world. 33. I should also like to add that my delegation looks forward to the contacts between our two delegations, to a deepening mutual understanding, and the furtherance of friendly relations between our two countries.

I thank the representative of Japan, for the kind words he has said about me.

Mr. President, permit me to express to you, the representative of a fraternal socialist country, Poland, our sincere congratulations upon your assuming the exalted post of President of the Security Council and to wish you all success in discharging the functions entrusted to you. Your outstanding diplomatic talents and your great experience in the work of the United Nations, together with your personal qualities, will undoubtedly have a positive influence on the work of the Security Council. Permit me to assure you that in carrying out your important tasks as President of the Council YOU will have the full support and collabbration of the Soviet delegation. 36. I should also .Jike to express my gratitude to your predecessor, the distinguished Mr. Gutiermo Sevilla Sacasa, for his active and wide-ranging work as President of the Security Council and to point to the important decisions that were adopted by the Council under his leadership last month. 37. Permit me also, on behalf of the Soviet delegation, to associate myself with the words of welcome and the good wishes that you expressed to the distinguished represenlar 38. There are forces, blinded by class hatred towards socialism, which are continuing to prevent certain socialist countries from having official representatives at the United Nations, I have in mind the German Democratic Republic, which has thus far been denied an opportunity to have an official observer here. That is a flagrant injustice, a relic of the worst days of the cold war. Within the United Nations there are still forces that are continuing along the road on which they set out in the worst years of the cold war, unmindful of present-day reality and despite the fact that that course has long been condemned by history. Official representatives of the German Democratic Republic are denied United States visas. Official representatives of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea are denied an opportunity to attend sessions of the General Assembly during discussion of the Korean question or of matters relating to Korea, The way is barred to them. To this day they have received no opportunity to state the official position of their Government on questions discussed at General Assembly sessions that directly affect Korea, “ 39. Those who are opposed to affording them this .l. opportunity and are still following the path of cold war ,. should serjously reconsider their position and take account ~ . of present-day realities and the sorry lessons of the failtub ‘.I. of their struggle to prevent the restoration of the rights of $ the People’s Republic of China in the Unjted Nations; they should reconsider also their preconceived positions with .’ ‘ regard to other socialist countries. 40. On 15 November, at the 1983rd plenary meeting of the General Assembly, the Soviet delegation welcomed tf 41. Permit me to express the hope that the Security Council will benefit from the effective and positive cooperation of the representative of the People’s Republic of China, Mr. Huang Hua.

1 thank the representative of the Soviet Union, Comrade Malik, for his statement and the kind words he has been good enough to address to me.

Mr.Presidcnt, may my first words be addressed to you to congratulate you most cordially on your well-deserved accession to the Presidency of this highly respected international forum. We are aware of your outstanding abilities, your diplomatic tact and your inter. national experience and are therefore completely certain that you, Mr. Kuraga, wiI1 succeed to the satisfaction of all in guiding the debates of the Security Council. I congratulate you most cordially as a friend and a colleague. 44. Now I should like to express my gratitude to the representatives of Argentina, Italy, Japan and the Soviet Union for their words of cordial praise for me personally and their kind references to me as President of the Security Council during the past month of October, I accept those statements for my country, which gave me the privilege of representing it in this forum, where such eminent personalities as all of you doubtless are, dear friends and colleagues, take part, 45. I too take great pleasure in respectfully greeting the representative of the People’s Republic of China, Mr. Huang Hua. He is a person whose name is respected and who is known throughout the world. I greet him by recalling what only yesterday I said on behalf of my country before the General Assembly in regard to his Government and his people. I said then: “Nicaragua does not deny, nor could it deny, that more than 700 million people with a governmental rCgime which, for more than 20 years, has proved its effectiveness and control over a major part of the territory and the 46. As he joins this Council, it is for me a satisfaction rather more than a diplomatic duty to greet Mr. Huang Hua most respectfully with the hope that his action here in this forum will, in many ways and in different forms, contribute to the strengthening of international peace and security.

I wish to thank Mr, SeviIIa Sacasa and say that I was particularly moved by the very generous words that he addressed to me.

Last week on behalf of my delegation and of the host Government, I made a statement of welcome in the General Assembly tq the delegation of the People’s Republic of China and I join with our other colleagues here today in welcoming Ambassador Huang Hua and Ambassador Chen Chu, his deputy, on their first appearance in the Security Council, this very special body of the United Nations. 49. In doing so, I want to confirm that all of us in the United States Mission look forward to co-operating here, as in other chambers of the United Nations, with the members .of this new Chinese delegation in our efforts to find constructive solutions to the important issues of peace and security which concern us all. 50. Mr. Ambassador, we bid you and your delegation welcome.

My delegation is very pleased to see you, Mr.President, occupy the office of President of the Security Council during this month of November, which promises to be particularly difficult, confronted as we are by important and numerous problems and the fact that peace is threatened throughout the world. We are familiar with aII your qualities because we have seen you in action both in the past and now and we have full confidence in your competence. We have every good reason for expecting fruitful results from the work that the Security Council will perform during this month. 52. My delegation would likewise wish to thank you for the important role you have played in various missions in Africa on behalf of the Security Council and in its name, and we know how strongly attached you are to the African cause with which you have identified yourself in spite of the distance which separates Africa from Poland, a country with a long and rich history both of culture and civilisation. 54. At the time when the United Nations has finally crossed the Rubicon and that it is thereby, like Julius Caesar, able to utter the words jucro alca est.-the die is cast-we do not wish by our present statement to comply with a traditional ritual of expressing welcome, 55. This meeting assumes symbolic significance and a character which is both unique and historic inasmuch as it is attended, for the first time since the creation of the United Nations, by the five permanent members who henceforth are to sit side by side in this organ in order to safeguard the welfare of mankind. 59. At the present juncture it is necessary for Washington, Moscow, Paris, Peking and London to return to the letter and the spirit of the Charter, as they did when they founded the United Nations, in which the world has placed so much hope for aiding the solidarity and progress of all peoples. And now in this Council we see collaboration in the maintenance of peace among these same five Powers, to whom their weapons, their economies, their policies and their influence have attributed world-wide responsibility. 56, This event signifies that one era has passed and another has dawned, one which the world hopes will be brilliant. Would it really be indulging in hyperbole to say that a general sense of universality has accompanied the People’s Republic of China to the United Nations? Is it necessary, on the other hand, to emphasize that the hopes of States were based on a number of criteria? As far as the Republic of Burundi is concerned, a small country of 5 million inhabitants, it learned with interest that China had recovered its rightful seat in the international forum. But the Burundi people have heard with even greater satisfaction the ardent plea of the People’s Republic of China in favour of the lawful rights of the small nations within the United Nations. It became incumbent upon the Burundi delegation to have the honour to hail the presence of their Excellencies Mr, Chiao Kuan-hua, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and Mr. Huang Hua, Permanent Representative, and their collabq@ors. We believe that we are fulfilling this task on behalf of Burundi, but also on behalf of the African group as we have the privilege and the happiness of being one of the three mandated spokesmen in this Council for that group, 60. It was perhaps because 1 was taken up with my habitual passion for the future destiny of our institutionlike Teilhard de Chardin for the destiny of the human race-that last May. while I was President of the Security Council, I described the monumental task of the permanent members of the Security Council in the following terms: “It is the giants who, in the last analysis, bear the full brunt of the destiny of mankind and the primacy of peace. , , . the United States, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, France, the People’s Republic of China and the United Kingdom . . , by dint of the nuclear weapons at their disposal as also their overwhelming might in all political, economic and military fields . . . are best able to ensure the salvation of mankind if they are determined to make of this Council a powerful instrument for peace.” [See 1567th meeting, pams. 110 and III.] . “Invested with unlimited powers, when in harmony they could act as dependable and supreme guarantors of peace and the authority of the United Nations.” [Ibid., para. 112, J 57. A far more significant element justifies the enthusiasm of our Organization, namely that the new membership of the Security Council is now in the last analysis the literal application of Article 23 of the Charter, which establishes the number of permanent members at five. 61. The present situation inaugurates an era of diterrr’e because ideological conflicts no longer raise any obstacles to harmony among the five giants and the invisible gap left by the absence of China has now been filled. We are therefore entitled to hope now that efforts towards unity will continue to grow and.will take tangible shape in the form of actions so that little by little it may be possible to solve the crucial problem of peace and security. We finally see what weight could and should be attributed to this Council, on condition that it makes full use of its rights and powers, We can also see now how lofty the ideals and 58. If the lion’s share belongs to the Member States in the Organization it is not excluded that bilateral and parallel talks between the American and the Chinese Governments have constituted a decisive supplementary contribution to their happy resolution of the situation. Accordingly, the participation of the two great Powers in the Security Council provides them with an additional channel of communication at a time when they have launched a policy of ardently desired rapprochement since the two parties will be able now to speak together face to face on both

Allow me first, Mr. President, to pay a tribute of gratitude to Mr. Sevilla Sacasa, who conducted our debates with so much tact, diplomacy and authority during the month of October. We benefited from his judicious counsel during the consultations which he successfully carried out. As a member of the Special Mission which went to Senegal last summer, we were particularly able to appreciate his qualities of impartiality. 64. Mr. President, may I avail myself of this opportunity to congratulate you on your accession to the presidency of the Council for this month. Mr. Ku/alp is known to US ! because of his lengthy diplomatic experience and his solid training. We are certain that all of this will guaranfee the Council success under his prcsidcncy. 65. My delegation is happy to associate itself with you, Mr. J’rcsident, and with speakers who have preceded me in addressing in turn our warmest congratulations to the delegation of the People’s Republic of China in the Security Council. WC hope to work in close co-operation with our colleagues from China and I can assure them that they will always be able to count on the co-operation of the delegation from Belgium,

r thank the representative of Belgium for the kind words which he has addressed to me. 73. Mr. JOULJATI (Syrian Arab Rcpublic)lirztaprefatior? from French): Mr. President, allow me to congratulate you, on behalf of the delegation of the Syrian Arab Republic, on your accession to the Presidency of the Security Council, a post which will make good use of your talents as a diplomat and your lofty conception of the principles of justice and equity, not to mention the human warmth of your personality. We feel certain that the task which you will accomplish will be an effective contribution to the work of the Council for the maintenance of international peace and security. 66. Belgium welcomes with great satisfaction the fact that the People’s Republic of China occupies its seat in the Security Council of the United Nations. The great people of China, which through the centuries has transmitted to the entire world the brilliance of a particularly glorious cultural heritage, will bring to mankind, as its President, Mao Tse-tung has promised, a much greater. contribution than before. We have also noted that in the spirit of Mao Tse-tung this conception means acceptance of “the challenge that military supremacy cannot decide the fate of man” and that LLman and man’s ideas are infinitely more important than the atom bomb”. 74. It is also an honour and a pleasure for us to congratulate Mr. SeviBa Sacasa of Nicaragua, who, during the month of October, assumed the heavy burden of the Presidency of the Council. Because of his vast diplomatic experience he was able successfully to guide our debates in the Council. The report of the Special Mission which this year visited Senegal under his chairmanship3 will remain a vibrant tribute to his qualities. 67. The great changes which have occurred in human society since the end of the Second World War have opened up new horizons. These transformations, which daily acquire ever vaster dimensions, by keeping in pace with technical progress, require new adaptations and a new fernlent. We have noted with particular interest the awakening and reawakening of the masses in Asia to their historic role and their international responsibility. In this context the power of China, its people, its vision of history, constitute a paramount factor in moulding the future. 75. At the same time, this meeting of the Council is marked by the presence among us for the fust time of representatives of the People’s Republic of China, who, after more than two decades, have taken the place which always should have been theirs. The importance of this event has no limits. Indeed, the majority of the Member States of our Organization have finally brought about the triumph of legality and right in a matter as important as the 68. We are convinced that in the Security Council the representatives of the People’s Republic of China will work constructively and in co-operation with the other me;&--(: 3 Officio1 Records of the Security Council, Twenty-sixth Yeczr, Spwial Suppletnettt No. 3. 70. Once again, Mr. President, allow me to extend a welcome to the delegation of China to the Council. 7.1. I should like to associate myself with my colleagues who have earlier expressed their sympathy with our Secretary-General. My delegation hopes that, soon, his state of health will improve enough to permit him to join us in our work again in the Security Council, as he has in the past. 76. We are certain that the delegation of the People’s Republic of China will make an effective and constructive contribution to our debates and will again bring the Council to the position which it should rightfully occupy as the supreme organ of the United Nations. We welcome the arrival of the People’s Republic of China as a crucial turning point in the life of the Security Council, a turnmg point jn the restoration of international justice. This in itself is sufficient to express the significance of this renewal and the possibility of having a rejuvenated, dynamic Security Council which will fulfil its mission with more courage, nlure firmness and greater faithfulness to the hopes of the masses of people who wish truly to see in it the apostle of a better w;lrld. 77. biure concluding. I wish to say Ilow much we regret the abscncc, because of an indisposition, of the Secretary- General, who has worked so hard for the restoration of the lawful rights of the People’s Republic of China. We address to him the most sincere wishes .for the recovery of his health.

I thank the representative of the Syrian Arab Republic for the kind words he said abour me.

Mr. President, it gives my delegation much pleasure to have you conduct the affairs of this Council in the capacity of President for the current month. We are well aware of your great skill and qualifications for the post and have witnessed your ability in the course of the frequent consultations you have held during your tenure of office. We have no doubt that under your wise leadership our work will progress with the utmost speed and sagacity. 80. To your predecessor, Ambassador Sevilla Sacasa of Nicaragua, I extend my delegation’s warm appreciation of the enormous tasks which he and his delegation grappled with and of the significant results achieved. Notwithstanding the fact that the twenty-sixth session of the General Assembly has fully engaged our attention, both you and your predecessor have found time to deal with the issues that face the Council. We thank you for your efforts.

I thank the representative of Sierra Leone for the very kind words he was good enough to address to me.

France has already hailed in the Genera1 Assembly, with the solemnity that was appropriate to the 81. My delegation cannot allow this occasion to slip by without taking advantage of the opportunity it provides to 82. For over 20 years the People’s Republic of China struggled hard, in the face of several obstacles, to regain its lawful rights to sit side by side with us in the United Nations. These rights, we all know, were unlawfully taken away from this great nation by forces not only beyond China’s controf but also beyond the control of the United Nations. It is worthy of note, however, that there has been a change of heart on the part of those Powers that have for all these years been the contributory factors in suppressing the legal rights of the People’s Republic of China and completely denying it the opportunity of exercising such rights in the United Nations, 83. We cannot lose sight of the fact that the greatness and vast experience of the People’s Republic of China, its culture and rich civilization and its political wisdom, which has transcended thousands of years, will help create the balance that has always been needed to make the work of the United Nations an all-round success, now that it will play the role of one of the permanent members of the Security Council. 84. We listened the other day with rapt attention to the policy statement delivered by Mr. Chiao Kuan-hua, the leader of the Chinese delegation, and we are satisfied with a number of declarations he made. His Government’s powerful stand on questions of colonialism, disarmament, peaceful coexistence and international security leaves absolutely no doubt in our minds of the true intentions of his country and its leaders, whose presence will, we hope, encourage forthrightness within these hags and put a much desired end to prevarication and double-talk. 85. On behalf of the President, the Government and the people of the RepubIic of Sierra Leone, I welcome the distinguished representatives of the People’s Republic of China seated among us in the Council today and look forward to closer relations-official and otherwise-with them during the remainder of our term in this Council and afterwards. 86. Last but not least, may I be permitted to send to the Secretary-General, through you, Mr. President, the special greetings of my delegation, wishing him a speedy recovery and a quick return to us to join in carrying out the duties of the United Nations, to which he has been so dedicated. 89. A1I the speakers that have preceded me, each in turn with his talent, his temperament, his ideology and even his’ terminology, have said all there was to be said, For our part we shall limit ourselves to observing that the presence of the People’s Republic of China will bring to our Organiz&ion more realism, more balance and, we hope, more effectiveness. While this arrival was desirable and desired in all the United Nations organs, it was even more essential in the Security Council, which is primarily responsible for the maintenance of international peace and security. We are therefore happy to have among us-and, indeed, next to us-as eminent a diplomat as Mr. Huang Hua in the permanent seat of China. In bidding him a most friendly welcome, we assure him of our will to co-operate with him. We are convinced of the importance and the quality of the contribution which he will make to the work of the Council,

Allow me, Mr. President and fellow representatives, to express our thanks for the words of welcome that you have extended to the Chinese representative. It is a pleasure for us to take part, together with the other members of the Security Council, in the work of this Council. 91. After the Second World War, very profound changes took place in the world situation. Countries want independence, nations want liberation and the people want revolution. This has become the main trend of the present international situation, propelling the advance of history and social progress. However, the colonialists and neocolonialists, and particularly one or two super-Powers, have not ceased their activities in practising power politics and in carrying out aggression, interference, subversion and control against other countries and people. 97. Mr. SEVILLA SACASA (Nicaragua) {ir?tcrprefatior? from Spanish): Mr. President, allow me to express to you my most sincere gratitude for your words of undeserved praise addressed to me and for your generous references to my action as President of the Security Council during the month of October last. These expressions honour me and they please me deeply, my dear friend, Mr. Kuraga, not only because they come to me from the President .of the Council but also because you, Mr. Ku)‘aga, have addressed those generous words to me. AlI of your colleagues on the Council feel the greatest respect and esteem for you, and also for the noble country which you so worthiiy represent among us. As I just said, knowing your abilities, your human qualities, your tact, your great experience and your civic virtues, we feel sure that your presidency will be a complete success, to your satisfaction and to the satisfaction of your country, which numbers you among its most illustrious sons. You know, Mr. Kulaga, that we, your colleagues and friends, will share with satisfaction in the success that I predict for you. 92. The struggle of aggression versus anti-aggression, interference versus anti-interference, subversion versus antisubversion and control versus anti-control is becoming ever more acute. Since the end of the Second World War, although a new world war has not broken out, local wars have not ceased and tensions have occurred one after another. There is no peace on earth. The danger of a new world war still exists. The people of the whole world must be vigilant. 93. The Chinese people have suffered over a long period of‘ time from imperialist aggression and oppression; they have persistently opposed the imperialist policies of aggression and war and supported oppressed peoples and nations in their just struggles to win freedom and liberation, to oppose foreign interference and to become masters of their own destiny. The Chinese people have always received the sympathy and support of the people of various countries in our struggle for independence and liberation over the past century and more and in the cause of our socialist revolution and socialist construction. 98. I wish to express my most sincere thanks to the esteemed Ambassadors of Sierra Leone, Burundi, Argentina and France and to the President for what they have said about me. Their words encourage me in my career devoted to serving the interests of peace and in my ability to justify the friendship so generously offered by all of you-my friends whom I so greatly esteem and respect. Expression of thanks to the retiring President 9.5. The PRESTDENT (inTelprctation from French): Ekfore we proceed to the adoption of the agenda, it is a great pleasure for me to express the profound gratitude of the Council to Mr. Sevilla Sacasa who was President of the Security Council during the month of October. His tact, experience and diplomatic skill which we all recognize in him enabled him with brilliance and success to guide the work of the Council during the month of October. To this he added the living breath of a far-seeing and generous spirit that aimed at conciliation and co-operation. We are most grateful to him. 96. I am also certain that you will authorize me and the Under-Secretary.Gcneral to transmit to U Thant, the Secretary-General of our Organization, the wishes extended to him during this meeting, and 1 wish to add my own good wishes to them. Adoption of the agenda The agenda NUS adopted. 106. We express our gratitude to the Government of Senegal for its hospitality, its many courtesies and the facilities of every kind it gave us for the performance of our delicate mission. 100. In view of the limi!ed number of seats at the Cal~ncjJ table and in conformity with the usual practice, I would invite the reprcscntativcs of countries non-members of the Security Council wishing to participate in this debate to take their places in the Council chamber, on the understanding that they will be asked to take a seat at the Council table when their turn to speak comes, 107. As I also said yesterday, the Mission strongly deplored the fact that it received no invitation from the Government of Portugal to visit Guinea (Bissau) for the purpose of carrying out in that sector activities related to its task. At the invitation of the President, Mr. M. Fall (Serqa[) took a piace at the Council tab/e and Mr. E.-H, A. Touri (Guinea). Mr. S. Traore (Mali), Mr, M. El Hassen (hfauriianti), Mr. R. Rarnphal (Muuritius) and Mr. A. M. A. hxan (SU&IJ) look lhc p/aces reserved /or them in the Council chamber. 108. Having now submitted our report to the Security Council, and since its members are all familiar with that document, the members of the Mission are anxious to have a draft resolution which, inspired by the recommendations contained in the report-which are very clearcut, categorical and consistent-will further our work. The members of the Special Mission are also very willing to reply to any question that may be put to us in regard to the work we performed recently. As Chairman of the Mission, I in particular offer the Council my services to explain ideas and aspects that may flow from any part of’ the report.

It uill be rccallcd that, following a complaint by Senegal to the Security Council. the Council last July decided in res~)lutir)n 794 (1971 ) to dispatch a Special Mission to Senegal. That Mission. consisting of six mcmbcrs, was presided over by Mr. &villa Sacusa. The Special Mission has submitted its report,4 which was formally introduced to the Council by Mr. Scvilla Sacasa al the 1586th meeting. The Council today continues its deliberations on the matter. 109. J thank you for allowing me to speak and for giving me an opportunity to express once again the satisfaction felt by six colleagues, distinguished ambassadors all, at having assumed a great responsibility and at having carried out with honour and dignity the mission that was a part of that responsibility.

As I said at the 1586th meeting, held on 29 September last, the report +o which the President has just referred contains several parts. These are: introduction, tasks of the Special Mission, conclusions and recommendations. In addition there are annexes which contain reports of the military experts of the members of the Special Mission and documents submitted to the Special Mission by the Government of Senegal. The recommendations are based on what we heard, what we observed and what we inferred; and furthermore they are based on Security Council resolutions.

I give the floor to the representative of Senegal.

On behalf of my Government I wish to thank you, Mr. President, and through you all the members of the Security Council, for having been good enough to allow me to participate in this meeting, at which the Council will discuss the complaint my country has lodged against Portugal. 112. Mr. President, I am doubly gratified to see you presiding over the Security Council at the time this matter has come before this body-first because you are a man whose loyalty and dedication to the cause of the United Nations is recognized by all and secondly because no one is more familiar with this whole matter since YOU have studied it in your dual capacity as member of the Security Council and member of the Special Mission sent to the spot. I take advantage of this opportunity to thank the Chairman of the mission for the kind words he just addressed to my Government. I shall not fail to transmit them to the. President of the Republic of Senegal. My Government has instructed me to reiterate to all the members of the Special 103. The Special Mission of which I had the honour to be Chairman has submitted its report to this Council for consideration in the knowledge that we, the members, discharged the mission mtmsted to us in a Constructive spirit, inspired by the interests of peace, the preservation of which constitutes the invincible goal of our OJganization, governed as it is by sacred principles which we must safeguard, 104. It was a signal honour for me to be Chairman of so important a mission, and I discharged my duties in the - .--.- 4md. l13. Before coming to the substance of my intervention J would like first to make a confession. Indeed, after the pertinent interventions that took place at the meeting of 29 September, during which the Mission introduced its report’, my Government, believing the matter had been sumciently considered, instructed my delegation not to intervene further at that stage in the debate. It wished thereby to indicate its total confidence in the Council. 114. Unfortunately, various subsequent events have obliged us to go back on that wise decision. First of all, this involves a letter the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Portugal addressed to the President of the Security Council on 29 September 1971, which was circulated as document S/ 10343. It is to this new element, or part of this new element, that I shall limit the essential features of my statement. It is indeed evident that the purpose of that letter is not to place in the files any elements likely to destroy the Senegalese theses or to contradict the assertions contained in the Special Mission’s report. That letter’s purpose is simply to create a diversion, to create doubt by alleging that Scncgal has been disloyal in seizing this Council of this matter after having come to a common agreement with Portugal on it. 115. My Government has instructed me formally and categorically to reject these insinuations. Of course, there has been an encounter between the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of SenegaI and Portugal, at the request of the latter. That encounter took place in May. If it did not lead to any official communique or any other form of publicity, it is because no positive decision was reached. My Government nevertheless informed the parties concerned of it in good time, in other words, the leaders of the national liberation movement of Guinea (Bissau). But since the representative of the Portuguese Government now wishes to utilize this iile, we shall help him to do so by reminding him of certain facts which he failed to mention in his letter. 116. As I have already pointed out, this encounter took place at the request of the Portuguese Government. Senegal accepted it for two reasons. 117. The first is that the President of the Republic of Senegal had already proposed a peace plan so as to put an end to a situation which has been tearing apart that part of the African continent for more than 10 years. The terms of that peace plan are well known to you, Mr. President. The President of the Republic of SenegaI brought them to the knowledge of the SecretarpGeneral of the United Nations. Our Minister of Foreign Affairs presented them to the Security Council at its 1569th meeting on 12 July last. That plan has, in addition, been approved by the leaders of the liberation movements of Guinea (Bissau). And those leaders are known to you, Mr. President. The Special 118. A second reason also made us accept this meeting: our complaint to the Security Council had already been introduced on 27 April in document S/10182. We thought that Portugal would probably take advantage of the opportunity given to it to seek with us a way out, making it possible for it to emerge from a trap into which it is slipping ever more deepiy. Our illusions did not last very long. From the very beginning of the talks we understood that Portugal was purely and simply trying a new manoeuvre with a view to making us withdraw our complaint before the Security Council. 1 J9. For the Portuguese delegation the acts of violence which Senegal has been complaining of are provoked by the troops of the national liberation movements, especjally the PAIGC, which arc allegedly supported by an international brigade with communist allegiance, Of course, our delegation did not accept this falsified version of the facts. On the contrary, throughout this meeting our delegation constantly stressed to the other party that the genuine problem, the substantive problem, remains that of the freedom of Africans, as of all peoples, to decide freely upon their fate and that the armed struggle undertaken today by the liberation movements appears to everyone as the only answer to the obstinacy of Portugal, which still remains deaf to the appeal of the United Nations to grant independence to colonial peoples. 120. The national liberation movements have resorted to violence because they have despaired of being able to persuade Portugal, which 1, more than ever attached to this obviously ridiculous view that considers territories in the African continent as an appendix of the Iberian Peninsula. To the Portuguese proposal to establish a joint commission containing a representative of each of the two parties, under the chairmanship of a personality of a neutral country, our delegation in the course of that encounter answered that Senegal was not in a state of war with Portugal and that if the latter truly wished to enter into discussions it must do so with those against whom it is fighting, in other words, the national liberation movements. Thus, my Government hcs never accepted the establishment of a joint commission, contrary to the statements made in the letter from the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Portugal, 121. These are the conditions in which the talks took place. The Council will have noted that the letter of Portugal accuses the Government of Senegal of having violated the terms of an agreement, by bringing before the Security Council the matter in question, whereas the talks between the two Ministers for Foreign Affairs took place in 122. Other acts reflecting the hostile attitude of Portugal vis-8.vis the Government of Senegal and its people have also been perpetrated since the Council’s 1586th meeting of 29 September last. I might point particularly to the most recent of them which were referred to in my letter of 1.5 November [S/l 03881. During those incidents, one soldier of the Senegalese army was killed and another was seriously injured. A herd of 200 cows was stolen. Moreover, on 30 October last, another incident had resulted in six wounded when a Senegalese military lorry was blown up by a mine in the village of Djibanar. Less than a week ago two persons in a lorry were seriously injured by the explosion of a mine near the Guinea (B&au) border, and it was stressed that this incident took place on the road from Kolda to Ziguinchor-that is to say the most heavily frequented of the region. All these facts, coming after the inquiry conducted by the Special Mission, prove, if proof were still needed, the scant heed that the Portuguese authorities accord to decisions of the Council. 123. I shall refer to the matter being dealt with in the debate today only in order to repeat something that I stated to a member of the Council a few days ago, one who had described as stupid the refusal of Portugal to receive the members of the Special Mission on the Territory of Guinea (Bissau). I did not share his assessment of the behaviour of the Portuguese authorities. On the contrary, you are well aware, Mr. President, that the membership of the Special Mission of Inquiry was such that neither of the two parties could, a priori, raise any objection whatsoever concerning its impartiality. The attitude of Portugal, in these circumstances, is far from stupid, because, if an enquiry on the Territory of Guinea (Bissau) itself would have been quite useful to supplement the information possessed by the members of the Mission, it is also beyond doubt that it would have enabled the Mission to discover, on the spot, the weapon of the crime, as policemen would call it. And that is what the Portuguese authorities wanted to avoid at all costs, even at the cost of an affront inflicted upon the mandated representatives of the Council. 124. My Government has carefully studied the report of the Special Mission. It accepts its conclusions and recom mendations. It believes, with the authors of that report, that it is more than ever appropriate to resolve the tragic problem of Guinea (Bissau) of which the aggressions perpetrated against Senegal are but one of the effects. 125. My Government recalls that the Security Council, in its resolution 273 (1969), has already said that it ‘%rongJy condenms the Portuguese authorities” for the same acts that are the substance of our complaint today. The same resolution declared that, “in the event of failure by Portugal to comply with paragraph 2 of the present resolution, the Security Council will meet to consider other measures”. 126. Portugal indeed refuses to comply with the decisions set forth in your resolution. You are gathered once again to 127. I know that there are some who always greet decisions emanating from the United Nations with a certain scepticism and doubt their effectiveness and indeed their usefulness. My Government, for its part, has always retained its confidence in our Organization. That is why, with renewed expression of its full gratitude to the Council, it awaits your decision with calm confidence.

I thank the representative of Senegal and wish him to know that I am indeed moved by the very generous words he has addressed to me.

My delegation has already commented on the report of the Special Mission established under Council resolution 294 (1971) and so I will be brief in elaborating on the statement we made at the 1586tb meeting. 130. In reiterating its support for the recommendations contained in the report of the Special Mission, my delegation would like to emphasize the following points. 131. Permit me, first of all, to state a fact which may be obvious but which, in the opinion of my delegation, still needs to be stated. In the matter of Senegal’s complaint against Portugal, the Security Council has been called upon to do the kind of job it was established to do, namely, to ensure peace and security ‘for a people and Territory which have been the object of aggression, and to ensure respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of a State when those attributes have been attacked. The Security Council’s peace-keeping role has a particular significance when a comparatively small and essentially peace-loving State is the object of aggression. It is a reality of our times that nuclear Powers rely on the terrible potential of their nuclear armaments for mutual restraint, and the medium&zed Powers among the developed countries can reIy on a wealth of sophisticated armaments. The developing countries, for their part, can only hope that the Charter and the role it prescribes for the Security Council will afford them protection from aggression. 132. Up to this point the Security Council has acted quite correctly on Senegal’s complaint. As recommended by the Charter, it has made use of a fact-finding mission, aa essential measure if fair judgements are to be made aad effective action is to be taken to deal with any situation involving a breach of the peace. “Rendered desperate by the great victories our party has won this year the Portuguese colonialist criminals have, since August, been carrying out savage aerial bombardments of the peaceful populations of the regions we have liberated. By the end of October they had destroyed 38 villages, killed 7 women and 8 children, and wounded 28 persons. 134. Necessary as such a stand would be, it would still only be an attempt to deal with a symptom rather than with the root-cause of the violence endemic alorig the borders of Portuguese-held Territories in Africa, The Special Mission has quite rightly reduced the whole question to its simplest elements, namely, the need for the Security Council to ensure peace and security for the people of Senegal, and the need to ensure that the people of Guinea (Bissau) and, one may add, of all the Portugueseheld Territories in Africa, are given the opportunity to exercise freely their inalienable right to self-determination and independence. “Have the honour to inform you that, having failed to terrorize or demoralize our people in their determination to continue their just struggle for freedom, peace and progress, the Portuguese colonialists are feverislzly preparing to disseminate poisonous chemical products so as to destroy our crops before the next harvest, with the obvious aim of stopping our struggle by famine. In view of the sombre prospects created by these preparations we request you to take all measures within your power to denounce and condemn in advance this monstrous crime against Africa and mankind.” 135. It is, of course, the denial of their inalienable rights to the people of Guinea (Bissau) that is the underlying cause of the tension in the region we are concerned with today. This point is brought out forcibly in paragraph 127 of the report, where it is stated that the “acts of violence and destruction appear to be the consequence of the special situation prevailing in Guinea (Bissau), which. . . is in contradiction to the Declaration on the’ Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples”. 139. The Council should pay particular attention to paragraph 45 of the report of the Special Mission, in which the President of Senegal is on record as declaring that there was no fundamental dispute between Senegal and Portugal, but rather between Portugal and the nationalists of Guinea (Bissau). Senegal is prepared to engage in a dialogue with Portugal, not to settle the question of Guinea (Bissau), but to help bring about a dialogue between the Portuguese Government and the nationalists. That is how problems of this nature should be approached and settled; the alternative is war, and it is war which is being waged in Guinea (Bissau). 136. The report of the Special Mission would, of course, have provided the Council with a much deeper insight of conditions prevailing in the region had the Portuguese Government permitted the Special Mission to visit the Territory of Guinea (Bissau) so that some of the charges rnade against that Government could have been investigated on the spot. Unfortunately, and true to the defiant attitude which the Portuguese Government has displayed towards the United Nations on questions concerning those African Territories controlled by Portugal, the response was negative. That fact is dealt with in paragraph 122 of the report, which states: “The Special Mission strongly deplores this lack of co-operation which prevented it from implementing fully the mandate given to it under paragraph 4 of resolution 294 (197 l).” 140. To sum up, the Security Council must now do two things: it must validate the trust that a small nation has placed in its authority in appealing for redress and protection against aggression; and it must throw the ful1 weight of its moral, political and, if necessary, coercive authority behind every effort that the United Nations as a whole is making to bring about the application of General Assembly resolution 15 14 (XV) to the Territory of Guinea (Bissau) and to the other Portuguese-held Territories in Africa. 141. Those are the courses of action which are indicated by the recommendations of the Special Mission and those are the courses of action which my delegation would support. 137. My delegation is sure that members of this Council will draw their own conclusions at the refusal to allow a fact-finding mission of the Security Council to enter Guinea (B&au). 144. As the Council will recall, a report was introduced some weeks ago; and the draft resolution which I now submit is in fact fundamentally based on the main elements of this report, Accordingly, my delegation will limit itself to introducing the draft resolution and making a few comments. On a later occasion we shall speak to the substance of the problem which Senegal has placed before us. 145. This draft resolution has been discussed in the course of meetings held by the six members of the Special Mission which was sent to Senegal. I should like to place special emphasis on certain parts of the draft resolution. 146 First of all, as I have said earlier, it is based essentially on the report of the Special Mission; and I wish to emphasize that the report was unanimously adopted by the representative of Nicaragua-who was Chairman ,of the Mission-and the representatives of Belgium, Japan, Poland, the Syrian Arab Republic and Burundi. 147. Representatives will note that its operative paragraph 2 is in accord with the contents of paragraph 127 of the report. I refer to that paragraph because every Government is naturally motivated by certain contingencies which are peculiar to it and which, accordingly, in cases such as this may cause some apprehension and even some fears. 148. Operative paragraph 3 corresponds to paragraph 122 of the report. Here the draft deplores the lack of co-operation by the Portuguese Government. We even received a letter from the Government of Portugal refusing to co-operate with the Special Mission of the Security Council. YOU will thereby note the reasons which probably led the Government of Lisbon to refuse its co-operation, because had there been no guilt there would have been no reason to refuse to co-operate. Hence Portugal’s attitude towards the Security Council’s Special Mission is already a sign of its guilt, 149. Paragraphs 4 to 8 of our draft resolution-I wish to emphasize-are the recommendations of the Mission as they appeared in paragraph 128 of the report. You will notice that operative paragraph 4 corresponds to section A of paragraph 128 of the report, whereas operative paragraphs 5 and 6 are a reflection of the text of section B. Paragraphs 5 and 6 obviously reproduce what is a necessity for the Security Council and the United Nations-to recognize for all peoples in general and for the people of Guinea (Bissau) in particular-the right to accede to independence. Litho in United’Nafibn;, N&York Price: $U.S. 1 .OO (or equivalent in other currencies) 151. Again, we recognize that, in a desire to co-operate, and since the Security Council assumes collective responsi. bility, we were compelled to sugarcoat and even to weaken the draft resolution so as to make it acceptable to all members. Therefore I wish to say that it is in a spirit of co-operation and concession that we have drafted this and we hope that in return a spirit of unanimity will prevail in the Security Council. We rely, therefore, on the unanimous support of members of the Security Council in the voting on this draft resolution, which, after the consultations which were undertaken, required certain changes that have sweetened it somewhat. However, taking into account the realities in the Council, we were compelled to co-operate and consent to certain proposals which did not correspond exactly to the gravity of the situation as described in the report of the Special Mission. 152. In the event that any member of the Council has a question on the subject, my delegation, as well as the delegations of Somalia and Sierra Leone, will be ready to reply.

As one of the sponsors of the draft resolution, my delegation associates itself with the draft and, for that matter, with the able manner in which the representative of Burundi, Mr. Terence, has this day presented it to the Security Council. 154. My delegation spoke at length on the subject under consideration when the report of the six-man Mission to Senegal, was submitted a while ago [1586th meeting]. WC pointed out in no uncertain terms that the findings of the Mission and its military experts left absolutely no doubt in our mind that a number of attacks against the territorial integrity of the Republic of Senegal had been committed by Portuguese armed forces stationed in the neighbouring occupied enclave of Guinea (Bissau). We are convinced beyond any doubt whatever that the mines which caused death to individuals and destruction to property in Senegalese villages and roads were planted by Portuguese troops. This conviction is reinforced by our awareness-and, I am sure, that of the Council-of Portugal’s behaviour to countries bordering its African colonies. The Council has from time to time been seized with similar complaints of aggression from Zambia, the Republic of Guinea, Congo (Kinshasa)-now called Zaire-and Tanzania. The records can attest to this. 1.55. We would have very much liked to have had a stronger draft resolution presented for adoption by the Council but, taking into account the political equations derived from its composition, my delegation cannot help but settle for the present draft. The meeting rose at 6.10 p.m.