S/PV.2048 Security Council

In accordance with the decision taken by the Council at its 2047th meeting, I invite the representatives of Cuba, Guinea and Madagascar to take the places reserved for them at the side of the Council chamber. At the invitation of the President, Mr. Alar&n (Cuba), Mr. Kondc! (Guinea) and Mr. Rabetafika (Madagascar) took the places reserved for them at the side of the Council chamber. 2. The I’RESIDENT: 1 should like to inform the members of the Council that letters have been received from the representatives of Algeria, the Congo, Mali and Viet Nam in which they requested to be invited to participate in the discussion. 3. In accordance with the usual practice, I propose, with the consent of the Council, to invite the representatives of those States to participate in the discussion, without the right to vote, in conformity with the relevant provisions of the Charter and rule 37 of the provisional rules of procedure 4. In view of the limited number of places available at the Council table, I invite the representatives of Algeria, the Congo, Mali and Viet Nam to take the places reserved for them at the side of the Council chamber, on the usual understanding that they will be invited to take a place at the Council table when they wish to address the Council, At the invitation of the President, Mr. Bouayad-Agha (Algeria), Mr. Mondjo (Congo), Mr. Kant& (Mali) and Mr. Dinh Ba Xhi (Viet Nam) took the places reserved for fhem at the side of the Council chamber.

The first speaker is the representative of Viet Nam. I invite him to take a place at the Council table and to make his statement.

Mr. President, I should like to begin my statement by expressing my sincere thanks to you and to the other members of the Security Council for having enabled me to participate in the debate on the complaint of the People’s Republic of Benin, a debate the importance of which does not need to be underlined. I should also like to join previous speakers in congratulating you warmly on your assumption of the presidency of the Council this month and to express to you my admiration for the calm and objective way in which you are conducting our work. I also have the very special pleasure of greeting in you the representative of a country whose active contribution to the cause of the emancipation of peoples is an indisputable reality and with which my own country maintains relations of friendship and fruitful co-operation. 7. My delegation listened with special attention to the statement made yesterday [2047th meeting/ by the representative of the People’s Republic of Benin, Ambassador Boya, and carefully studied the report assessing the damage and losses caused to Benin during the armed aggression of Sunday, 16 January 1977, which has been circulated in document S/12415. g. The Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, which has shared with the People’s Republic of Benin a painful past and which has just emerged from a war of imperialist aggression that lasted for many years, is particularly aware of the serious consequences, moral, material and economic, that the barbarous aggression of 16 January 1977 brought to the people of this African country, which fought tenaciously and heroically to preserve its national independence and which is determined to overcome every difficulty SO that it may continue on the road of development in dignity and in keeping with the aspirations of its people. 10. The aggression perpetrated on 36 January this year against the People’s Republic of Benin is not an isolated act. It is part of the manoeuvres of international imperialism against the newly independent countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America which have resolved to put an end to colonialist and neo-colonialist domination, to protect their independence and national sovereignty and to be masters of their natural resources. The imperialists and reactionaries have stopped at nothing to achieve their evil ends. In the African continent, apart from Benin, armed aggression, retaliatory policies, and economic blockades have been inflicted upon the Republic of Guinea, the People’s Republic of Mozambique, the People’s Republic of Angola, Zambia and Botswana, and armed conflicts have been provoked or stirred up in various regions. 11. The Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the Co-ordinating Bureau of the Non-Aligned Countries, at’ their conference at New Delhi last April, denounced and condemned in the clearest terms these doings of the imperialists and reactionaries: “In their attempts to destabilize African countries and affect their right to sovereignty, the forces of imperialism have increasing recourse to interference and intervention, to the use of mercenaries, political assassinations and causing conflicts between friendly neighbouring countries.“’ Thus the peoples of Asia, Africa and Latin America must redouble their vigilance and strengthen the solidarity and co-operation among themselves and with other forces that cherish peace and justice in the world so as to thwart the murky manoeuvres of imperialism. 12. In conclusion, my delegation would express the earnest hopes that at the end of this debate the Security, Council will take concerted action that will satisfy the People’s Republic of Benin.

I should like to thank the representative of Viet Nam for the kind words that he addressed to me and to my country, and to assure him of the friendship of my people, who have followed with admiration the struggle of his people for their liberation, progress and unity.

The attention of the Security Council has again been drawn to events which have proved to be a serious trial for the People’s Republic of Benin. As can be seen from the copious documentary 1 A/32/74, annex I, pa. 10. 15. The delegation of the Soviet Union must note too that the just cause of the People’s Republic of Benin has the firm support of African and other countries which are insisting on the creation of conditions in which the very possibility of the commission of such acts against independent States of Africa and other continents would be prevented. The representatives of a whole series of countries have already indicated in the Council that they regard attempts to overthrow the lawful Government of Benin not only as an attack on that Republic but as aggression against the whole of Africa. 16. It should be recalled that at an earlier time the Council adopted a resolution [&5 (1977)j categorically condemning the act of armed aggression committed against Benin. In that resolution, the Council expressed serious concern at the violation of the territorial integrity, independence and sovereignty of that country; it condemned the use of international mercenaries and appealed to all States not to allow their territory or nationals to be used for the recruitment, training and transit of mercenaries designed to overthrow the Government of any Member State. 17. As the Soviet delegation has already noted, the armed attack on Benin was the latest link in the chain of criminal acts of international neo-colonialism and imperialism on African soil which are designed to get rid of inconvenient Governments. We see that far from all the obstacles raised by outside forces to the independent development of Benin and other liberated countries having been removed and having become matters of past record, these forces are having recourse to acts of armed aggression to prevent African countries from independently controlling their natural resources and freely developing along the road they have chosen. 18. That is why events like those which took pIace in Benin have caused deep indignation in the Soviet Union. It is why we, as in the past, consider that the international community has a duty to take effective measures to ban the use of mercenaries for crushing national liberation movements and restoring colonial and neo-colonial domination. 19. The efforts made in recent years by the Party of the People’s Revolution of Benin and by the whole people of that country are convincing evidence of their firm determination to fight to the end against all forms of exploitation and to build a genuinely democratic society. 20. In August this year, a special session of the National Council of the Revolution approved a new constitution and the first development plan of the Republic. The adoption of those two documents was a turning point in the history of Benin. The constitution provides for the establishment of a national State, whose main goal is proclaimed to be the building of a socialist society. 22. The delegation of the Soviet Union confirms its support Of the just CaUSe Of the people of Benin, The Soviet Union has given and will continue to give it appropriate support within the framework of existing bilateral agree. ments. 23. In our view, the Security Council must give effective assistance to Benin in defending its independence and territorial integrity from attacks from outside and h binding up the wounds which it suffered as a result of the armed aggression. We believe that such a decision by the Council would serve the cause of strengthening the political and economic independence of the People’s Republic of Benin and help it to make successful progress on the road to independence. 24, The PRESIDENT: The next speaker is the representative of Algeria. I invite him to take a place at the Council table and to make a statement. 2.5. Mr. BOUAYAD-AGHA (Algeria) (interpretation from Frerlclz): Mr. President, the satisfaction I feel at seeing you preside over the Security Council this month is founded both on the conviction I have of your personal qualifications as a wise and skilful diplomat and on the fraternal bonds which unite Libya and Algeria, our two countries, our two peoples and our Governments resolutely committed to one and the same struggle to establish a world of justice and progress, I should like also, through you, to thank all members of the Council for having kindly authorized me to take part in this third phase devoted to a consideration of the complaint by the People’s Republic of Benin. 26. When Benin addressed the Security Council asking it to assist it in shedding all possible light on the armed aggression of which it had been a victim on 16 January 1977, some countries had doubts as to the nature and the purpose of that aggression. But one of the first conclusions found in the report 2 of the mission of inquiry in which you, Mr. President, played an important role, was the irrefutable proof of aggression conducted against the People’s Republic of Benin by other Governments. That report has therefore definitively ended the self-;ntnr:sted, if not suspect, scepticism of some. 27. Today, the revised report on the evaluallon of the damages and losses of various kinds caused to the People’s Republic of Benin during the aggression of Sunday, l6 2 Officfal Records of the Security Council. Thirty-Second yearp SPdol Supplement No. 3. 28. The consequences of the armed aggression of 16 January 1977 are still a problem for the international conscience: that of the threat to our countries which finds its most dangerous and pernicious form under the cover and by means of attacks by mercenaries who are sufficiently well-paid to remain silent concerning the name of their employers. Such a phenomenon should be of concern to all and calls for vigorous and concerted action. This is the only way to guard against the danger. 29. Members of the Security Council will understand how justified our apprehension is, given the threat posed by professionals in subversion who are ready to serve any Government which is free from considerations of international morality, This danger is a real one and Benin continues to be directly affected by it because the same ones who organized and financed the aggression try to throw discredit on the State of Benin. In order to do this, they attempt to stifle its economy and to sabotage the realization of its development projects by using their influence ir, all fields, and particularly with the international financial institutions. 30. Immediately following the armed aggression, countries were implicated directly or indirectly by the report of the Security Council mission of inquiry. Benin asked those countries to contribute to a clarification of the situation. In its resolution 405 (1977), the Council also asked all States to provide it with any information they might have in connexion with the events at Cotonou on 16 January 1977 likely to throw further light on those events. It was the least we could expect. But the countries which were implicated continue to lend a deaf ear. Are we to interpret this reticence on their part as an avowed complicity in an aggression whose scars and consequences are still harshly felt by the people of Benin? 31. The revised evaluation report estimates the damages suffered by the People’s Republic of Benin at $28 million. This is merely an indicative figure and is far from compensating for all the sacrifices which the people of Benin will still have to endure if it wishes to safeguard its independence and its sovereignty in the face of direct or indirect foreign interference. 32. Aggression against a smJ1 country such as Benin is not something that is geographically limited and politically harmless. It is part of a vast plot aimed at destabilizing African States, The Security Council must no doubt be concerned over the practice of some Governments of resorting to mercenaries for political ends in other countries, International peace, needless to say, will continue to be jeopadized-we have already stressed this-as long as

I thank the representative of Algeria for his statement and for his kind words addressed to me and to my country. I should like to assure him, on behalf of my people and my country, of our fraternal sentiments towards our Algerian brothers who were always in the frontline in the fight against imperialism and colonialism and who have paid a high price for freedom and progress. 35. The next speaker is the representative of Mali. I invite him to take a place at the Council table and to make a statement, 36. Mr. KANTE (Mali) (interpretation porn French). Mr. President, allow me first of all to convey to you the warm and fraternal congratulations of my delegation on the occasion of your accession to the presidency of the Security Council. We could not be better served at a time when the Council is dealing with African problems. You eloquently proved this when you successfully conducted the debates of the Council on the question of South Africa at the beginning of this month. One could expect no less from an intransigent militant in the cause of freedom who so worthily represents the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, one of the most prestigious centres of the African revolution. 37. I should Iike to stress on this auspicious occasion the excellent fraternal relations between our two countries, based on strict respect for their sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity. Linked by history as well as by geography and by their uncompromising commitment to freedom, the peoples of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya and of the Republic of Mali work hand in hand for the total liberation of Africa, 38. My delegation pays a tribute to the exceptional contribution which your beloved country is making under the dynamic leadership of its prestigious leader, brother Muammar Al-Qadhafi, to the cause of the struggle of the peoples of Africa and the third world in seeking a world of justice, peace and progress for all. 39. I should also like, through you, to thank the members of the Council for having allowed my delegation to take part in this debate. 40. Under paragraphs 7 and 10 of resolution 405 (1977), the Security Council was convened to continue its discussion of the armed aggression perpetrated on 16 January last by a horde of international mercenaries against the People’s Republic of Benin. This time the members are called upon 41. The damage caused by the aggression has been estimated at $28 million. This can only be an approximate figure since the moral damages and the long-term implications of that criminal expedition for the economy and the life of the courageous people of Benin cannot be measured in figures. The Security Council must, therefore, unanimously approve the report to avoid any delay in the implementation of the relevant provisions of paragraph 8 of resolution 405 (1977). 42. As 1 have just said, it is not a question of compensating for losses suffered by the People’s Republic of Benin, but rather of an expression of solidarity with a State Member of the Organization, which has been the victim of armed aggression, for you will undoubtedly agree with me that much of the harm done cannot be compensated for materially. I am thinking of the permanent physical handicaps unfortunately suffered by many patriots of Benin, of the shock, the moral anguish, the loss in human lives and many others. 43. ,This is why the contributions which some will make in implementation of paragraph 8 of resolution 405 (1977) can only be symbolic compared with the lasting effort which the courageous people of Benin must make under the leadership of its vanguard party, the Party of the People’s Revolution of Benin, to overcome the serious after-effects and grave repercussions of the criminal aggression. 44. What the Government of the People’s Republic of Benin and the peoples of Africa expect of the international community, represented here by the members of the Council, is the elimination of the odious phenomenon of mercenaries whose hordes have since 1960 been continously violating their sovereignty and their existence. 45. The latest target of these thugs is the peaceful Republic of Togo, a neighbour of Benin. The People’s Republic of Angola, for its part, is attacked daily by mercenaries at the service of international imperiaiism and of the racist and fascist regime at Pretoria. 46. Despite the relevant United Nations resolutions and the statements of good intentions by representatives of the Governments of Western Europe, nothing has been done in those countries to discourage the soldiers of fortune and paid killers who threaten the lives of our peoples. Accordingly, the Organization must implement resolution 239 (1967) and paragraphs 6 and 10 of resolution 405 (1977). 48. My delegation spoke at length on the question of mercenaries during the Council debates in April [2005th meeting], and there is no need to repeat here what we then said. We venture to hope that during the present meetings of the Council vigorous decisions will be adopted, with everyone’s consent, in order to stamp out this modern form of buccaneering.

I thank the representative of Mali for his kind words addressed to me and to my country, I should like to endorse what he said with regard to the fraternal relations between our two countries and our two nations, especially our common struggle for the liberation and progress of our two countries and our continent.

The Romanian delegation already had an opportunity to state Romania’s position with regard to the problem that we are again debating in the Council, namely, the consequences of the act of aggression perpetrated on 16 January 1977 against Benin, an independent and sovereign African State. 51. We have listened with interest to the statement made at the last meeting by the representative of Benin, Mr. Boya. That statement contained a comprehensive analysis of the measures adopted by the Council in its resolution 405 (1977) and of the political implications and the losses suffered by Benin as a result of the attack by mercenaries to which it was subjected. 52. The concern of the Government of Benin and the problems facing it at present have the complete sympathy and understanding of my country, which has always pronounced itself firmly against all acts of interference in the internal affairs of other States and against any violation of sovereignty and territorial integrity. 53. Romania fully supports the efforts made by the people and Government of Benin, which have committed themselves to a major effort to overcome the state of underdevelopment inherited from colonial domination, to ensure the country’s economic and social progress and to consolidate its national and political independence Ro- 54. We are against the practice and policy of using international mercenaries to thwart the heroic struggle waged by the African peoples to consolidate their national independence, a struggle against colonialism and neocolonialism. We believe that such criminal acts must be rejected most vigorously by the international community, The danger inherent in the use of international .mercenaries must be taken into. consideration by this forum which is charged under the Charter with the maintenance of international peace and security. 55. We are convinced that the African peoples, who after a long struggle and at great sacrifice have won their independence and their right to a life of freedom and dignity, are capable of solving their own problems. At the same time, it is the duty of the Organization and particularly of the Security Council to act to protect these peoples from all outside interference and to prevent any pressure or use of force on the part of imperialism and neocolonialism. 56. The Romanian delegation has in the past stressed the need for the Security Council to support Benin’s efforts to recover the losses it suffered from the act of aggression of 16 January 1977 and to rehabilitate its national economy following the material damage it sustained. In this spirit the Romanian delegation joins other States members of the Council in supporting Benin’s legitimate requests and the draft resolution to be presented to the Council.

The next speaker is the representative of the People’s Republic of the Congo. I invite him to take a place at the Council table and to make a statement.

Mr. President, first of all allow me to express the apprcciation of my delegation for allowing me to make a statement during this debate and to address to you our warm congratulations on the personal contribution which you have made in a decisive manner to unravel the shameful case of the aggression perpetrated against the People’s Republic of Benin. In considering the evidence with all the objectivity and patience which are characteristics of your unfailing commitment to the defence of just causes, YOU imbue the concept of African solidarity once again with its full worth by replacing words with living reality. That fearless constancy and militancy do honour to your country, the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, of which you are so worthy a representative and with which the People’s Republic of the Congo, my country, has always maintained relations of fraternal co-operation based on OUT common ideals. . 59. But the world we live in is not the one we would like it to be, Africa in particular, following the infamous period 60. My brother and comrade, the representative of the People’s Republic of Benin, in enumerating yesterday the long list of African countries which have been the victims of mercenaries, inadvertently I am sure, omitted the aggression by mercenaries directed against my country in January 1977. The People’s Republic of the Congo, need I recall, was the victim of a barbarous attack aimed at disorganizing our national economy in order to paralyse the Congolese revolution. The site of the great project of realignment of the Congo-Ocean railroad, which as everyone knows is the backbone of our economy and that of other brother States in central Africa, suffered enormous material damage estimated at several billions of CFA francs, thus increasing the initial cost of that project which is so vital to our economic development, What is more, mercenaries in the pay of imperialism summarily executed 15 courageous railway workers. I must say therefore that the Congo has known the phenomenon of mercenaries in all its brutal and subtle manifestations. It was distasteful to us to bring this matter before international organs for we had irrefutable proof of the degree of connivance among the mercenaries and their imperialist masters, the enemies of our revolutionary cause, 61. The People’s Republic of the Congo furthermore has had experience with mercenaries through the participation of a Congolese magistrate in the international trial at Luanda according to the ruling of which mercenaries were deemed to be criminals and henceforth to be treated as such. One remembers the public protest made in the name of so-called human rights following that historic decision. It is symptomatic that it should be precisely the countries where mercenaries are recruited which shouted the loudest. 62. We wish to say here that all those who ask for a more active search for peace with justice and security must strive with all their might to stamp out the phenomenon of 64. Thus, the danger is not only that of the serious aggression against Benin which, if I may say so, illustrates and confnms the continuance of a vast plot directed against the progressive regimes of Africa and elsewhere, because those regimes are the most ardent foes of the agents of neo-colonialism and imperialist exploitation of peoples. 65. The use of mercenaries is a system of reactionary terror, fashioned and maintained by inconsolable minds whose major concern is nothing other than taking over the whole of Africa. In that regard, the symmetry with the manoeuvres of the same mercenaries, provided by the same countries in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia is perfectly clear. 66. At a time when we are all concerned about the daily increasing extent of terrorism, the “enemy of freedoms”, we firmly request that measures should be taken without delay with a view to eliminating this form of international terrorism which is all the more dangerous because, in its plan for keeping peoples enslaved and protecting selfish interests, the mercenary system carries out its criminal activities against the sovereignty of States Members of the Organization. 67. In this strategy of the destabilization of progressive regimes, the mercenaries believe they must take advantage of the contradictions that set African States against one another. However, the African peoples never confuse their true interests with those of adventurers prompted by motives that have nothing to do with patriotism or total national liberation. That very often explains the lamentable failures of these attempts at neo-colonialist reconquest. 68. There is a point to which my delegation would Iike to draw the Council’s attention: the legitimacy of the obstinate fight of the people of Benin to guarantee its sovereignty and territorial integrity. By bringing this question before the Council once again, in keeping with resolution 405 (1977), the delegation of Benin wants to be assured, and at the same time to assure the delegations of several Member States, that the Council will adopt effective measures on at least three points: to prevent mercenary aggression in order to ensure international peace and security; to commit the United Nations effectively to an action against mercenaries as a danger to peace; to make international public opinion aware once again of the serious prejudice caused to the nation of Benin and to its courageous programme of national reconstruction. In brief, to respond to the request of the people of Benin. 70. The international community, I am certain, will support the struggle being waged by the people of Benin, which is so proud, so worthy and so committed to the ideals of the Charter of the United Nations. The Congo, for its part, wishes to express once again to the delegation of the People’s Republic of Benin its highest esteem and militant solidarity. 78. Operative paragraph 1 would reaffirm the previous resolution, that is resolution 405 (1977). 79. Operative paragraph 2 would take note “of the report on the evaluation of damages contained in document S/1241 S”, which has been circulated to the members of the Council.

I thank the representative of the Congo for the kind words he addressed to me and my country. I should like on this occasion to assure him of the fraternal relations and solidarity between our two countries and our two revolutions in our common struggle for the good of Africa and the progress of our countries. 80. Operative paragraph 3 would call upon “all States to work in close co-operation in order to gather all useful information concerning all mercenaries involved in the events of 16 January 1977, in compliance with paragraph 10 of resolution 405 (1977)“. 72. The representative of Mauritius has expressed a wish to speak at this stage in order to introduce a draft resolution sponsored by Benin, the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya and Mauritius, the three African members of the Council, and contained in document S/l 24.54. 81. Operative paragraph 4 would take note “of the desire of the Government of Benin to have the Mercenaries who participated in the attacking forces against the People’s Republic of Benin on 16 January 1977 subjected to due process of law”.

First of all I should like to express my delegation’s heartfelt condolences and sympathy to the delegation of India in connexion with the natural disaster causing extensive destruction and devastation, and especially the loss of several thousands of lives, of which southern India has recently been the victim. 82. Operative paragraph 5 would appeal “to all States and all appropriate international organizations, including the United Nations and its specialized agencies, to assist Benin to repair the damage caused by the act of aggression”. 83. Operative paragraph 6 would request the Sccretary- General “to provide all necessary assistance to Benin for the implementation of paragraph 5 of the present resolution”. 74. I should like now to refer to the document which has just been distributed to members of the Council under the symbol S/124.54. It is a draft resolution on the subject we are discussing and is, as the President has just pointed out, sponsored by Benin, the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya and Mauritius. It contains three preambular paragraphs and eight operative paragraphs. I shall go through it rather quickly. 84. Operative paragraph 7 would further request the Secretary-General “to follow closely the implementation of the present resolution, with particular reference to paragraphs 3, 4, 5 and 6, and to report to the Security Council not later than 30 September 1978”. 85. Operative paragraph 8 would have the Council decide “to remain seized of the matter”. 7.5. The first preambular paragraph refers to the statement of our colleague Mr. Boya, the representative of the People’s Republic of Benin, “especially regarding the threats of aggression by mercenaries”. I believe that there is general agreement, particularly among my African brothers, that the statement of Mr. Boya was not at all controversial. 86. This draft resolution is the result of extensive, constructive and positive negotiations conducted in a spirit of understanding and co-operation. It is simple, straightforward, modest and realistic, I strongly commend it to the consideration of members of the Council with a view to its unanimous adoption. 76. The second preambular paragraph would express concern “over the danger which international mercenaries represent for all States, in particular the smaller ones”. The meeting rose at 5. IO p.m. HOW TO OBTAIN UNITED NATIONS PUBLICATIONS United Nations publications may be obtained from bookstores and distributors throughout the world. Consult your bookstore or write to: United Nations, Sales Section, New York or Geneva. COMMENT SE PROCURER LES PUBLICATIONS DES NATIONS UNIES Les publications des Nations Unies sont en vente dans les librairies et les agences ddpositaires du monde entier. Informez-vous aupres de votre libraire ou adressez-vous k : Nations Unies, Section des ventes, New York ou GenBve. COMO CONSEGUIR PUBLICACIONES DE LAS NACIONES UNIDAS Las publicaciones de las Naciones Unidas estin en venta en librerias y casas distribuidoras en todas partes de1 mundo. Consulte a su librero o dirijase a: Naciones Unidas, Secci6n de Ventas. Nueva York o Ginebra. Litho in United Nations, New York Price: $U.S. l.OQ(or equivalent in other currencies) 77-70001-October 1978-2,200