S/PV.2295 Security Council

The Soviet deiegation would like to express to you, the Minister for External Relations of Panama, our congratulations on your assumption of the responsible post of President of the Security Council. Your great diplomatic experience, particularly here at the iJnited Nations, will undoubtedly ensure the successful performance of your duties as Council President. At the same time, we wish to express our gratitude to Mr. Oumarou of the Niger for the great contribution which he made to the work of the Council as its President in July.

First of all. Sir, 1 should like to express my heartfelt congratulations to you on your assumption of the presidency of the Security Council for the month of August. I am sure that our deliberations will be conducted smoothly and eficlently under your able guidance. 28. The delegation of the Soviet Union supported the proposal mah by the representative of-ihe Niger, in his capacity as Chairman of the Group of Nonaligned Countries members of the Security Council. that this meeting of the Council be convened in order to prevent a fresh crime on the part of the South African racist rkgime against those who are combating the inhuman policy of crpcrrthdd. We also support the proposal of the non-aligned countries that the President of the Security Council make a statement on this topic on behalf of the Council. 21. I should like also to pay a high tribute to Mr. Oumarou of the Niger. who exhibited his diplomatic skill and political wisdom in presiding over the Council meetings during the month of July. 22. Now, with regard to the agenda item before us, my delegation cannot help expressing its grave concern over the death sentences recently passed by the Transvaal Division of the Supreme Court in Pretoria on three young men of ANC. My delegation would also like IO associate itself with the other delegations in appealing to the South African Government to spare the lives of these three young men in order to avert a further aggravation of the situation in South Africa. 29. The Security Council, the General Assembly and other bodies of the United Nations have frequently and decisively condemned the policy of trpc*~t/witl as a crime against humanity and have urged the adoption of the most effective measures to put an end to that policy. The United Nations has frequently confirmed the legitimacy of the struggle being waged by the ol:;s:cssed people of South Africa and its n:ltional libcralion movement by all means available to it in order to do away with the qmdreid regime and so as to implement its inalienable rights. 23. I wish that the concern expressed by members of the Council be conveyed immediately to the President (II‘ IIIC Republic <If South Africa. 24. Mr. LlNG Qing (China) (i,c,p,./,i.C,,ct/ic,II jiwn Clrir~c~sc): At the outset, allow me to congratulate you, 31, Repression within the country and South Africa’s murderous acts against neighbouring African States are manifestations of one and the same policy: to suppress the aspirations of the peoples of Africa to freedom and independence, equality and social progress. There can be no doubt that the rulers of South Africa could not have been so stubborn in carrying out this irrational policy had they not received comprehensive support from the forces of international imperialism and reaction. 32. The Soviet Union, as is known, has spoken consistently in support of the struggle of the pkoples of Africa for their freedom and independence and for the immediate elimination of the inhuman policy of ~cpctr/lwid. Our sympathies lie fully on the side of those who are strugp,ling for this just cause. 33. Mr, SCHLEGEL (German Democratic Republic): First of all, I should like to congratulate you, Sir, on your assumption of the presidency of the Security Council for the month of August. We express our heartfelt welcome to you as the Minister for External Relations of a State which is playing an active role within the Movement ofNon-Aligned Countries and with which my country, the German Democratic Republic, maintains relations of friendship. We are convinced that your great diplomatic skill and experience will enable the Council to carry out its responsible task. 34. At the same time we express our admiration for your predecessor, Mr. Oumaiou of the Niger, who so skilfully and effectively guided the work of the Council during the month of July. 35. Once again the Security Council has to deal with the inhuman and dangerous policy of the aparrhcid rkgime. We are confronted with another act in the continued escalating repression of that rkgime against freedom fighters in South Africa. It was with grave concern that my delegation noted the death sentences passed on the three young patriots of ANC accused of involvement in the fight against rrptrrthcid. Those death sentences not only are reprehensible but also are bound to have grave repercussions. 36. The Security Council and the General Assembly in many resolutions have chardcterized (~pW/wid as a crime against humanity and the dignity of men, and as constituting a serious danger to international peace and security. At the same time, those documents have recognized the legitimacy of the struggle of the South African people for the elimination of apurrhcid and for the establishment of a just and democratic society in South Africa. 38. Let me once again stress the firm solidarity of the Government and people of the German Democratic Republic with the brave fighters for freedom and human dignity in the southern part of Africa. 39. In view of the seriousness of the situation and of the grave threat to the lives of the three freedom fighters, the Security Council should feel obliged to take unanimous and urgent action against the death sentences of the crprrrtheid r6gime to spare the lives of the young patriots. The delegation of the German Democratic Republic very strongly favours a statement of the President of the Council expressing the deep concern of all its members. The Council should act before it is too late, in the name of humanity and of the suffering and fighting people of South Africa. 40. Mr. LEPRETTE (France) lintcrpwtation jwn Frunck): First of all, on behalf of my delegation and on my own behalf, I wish to express gratitude to Mr. Oumarou, the representative ofihe Niger, for the wisdom, skill and courtesy with which he presided over our meetings during the month ofJuly. In addition, I should like to thank you, Mr. President, for having agreed, despite your heavy duties as Minister for External Relations of Panama, to come to preside over the Council for the month of August. Your well-known qualities as a skilled diplomat and your reputation as an experienced statesman assure us that our work will be successfully concluded. Personally, I have a very vivid recollection of your excellent contribution in the past to the activities of the Council. 41. We have heard several speakers who, with feelings we share, have expressed their grave concern over the death sentences passed recently by the Transvaal Division of the Supreme Court of Pretoria against Anthony Tsotsobe, Johannes Shabangu and David Moise. 42. In view of the grave situation, this is clearly not the time for lengthy statements. The French delegation believes that the Security Council should unanimously, through its President, express our concern at our forthcoming meeting. In my opinion, we should appeal to the South African Government, in order not to further aggravate the situation, to take into account the concern that has been expressed here this evening in regard to the fate of these three young men. I am convinced that a merciful decision would produce an outcome in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the Security Council.

Mr. President, I should first of all like to add to what has been said by other speakers the congratulations of my delegation to you, Sir. on your assumption of the presidency of the Security Council and the admiration of my dele- 44. My Government has noted with concern the death sentences which have been passed in South Africa on three young men and which have been drawn to our attention by our colleague from the Niger. My Government’s understanding is that the judicial process in this case may not yet be complete. As, however, the Council has decided to meet on this question this evening, my delegation wishes to take the opportunity to put very briefly on record our view that. on humanitarian grounds alone, these death sentences, should they be confirmed, should call for clemency. SO. Apwtheid is a transgression of the basic principles of the Charter of the United Nations and the most dangerous contemporary threat to human dignity. Its repercussions are profound and cover every aspect of the lives of the mejority of the African people. Furthermore, apcrrtkkd reflects and sums up the oppression of which the peoples of the third wodd havd been the victims. This reprehensible r&me is the sinale and true cause of thk death sentences imposed on those three young ANC patriots, Anthony Tsotsobe, Johannes Shabangu and David Moise. 45. Mr. O’CONNOR(Ireland): Permit me to begin by congratulating YOU. Sir, most warmly, on behalf of my -delegation,-on your assumption bf the office of President of the Security Council for the month of August. Be assured of the full co-operation of the Irish delegation. I wish also to express the congratulations and admiration of my delegation to your predecessor, Mr. Oumarou ofthe Niger. We were filled with admiration for the skilful and courteous manner in which he guided our work during the month of July. 51. In only a few months the Security Council has had to act twice to try to prevent the execution of sentences passed for political reasons. These new sentences prove that Pretoria despises international public opinion, because it systematically denies United Nations principles. The appeal for clemency is made not only for humanitarian reasons; it is also a logical consequence of the decisions previously adopted by the Council which repeatedly have condemned the apurtheid regime. The struggle against this reprehensible system is one for freedom and justice. To acknowledge defeat would have dangerous consequences for the causes of the developing-countries and for the moral authority of the United Nations. To accept such acts by Pretoria without taking any action against them would make easier the repetition of such acts and the denial of the right of peoples to seek forms of social organization which are compatible with human dignity. 46. My Government was deeply shocked and concerned to learn of the death sentences which were imposed on 19 August by the Transvaal Division of the Supreme Court in Pretoria on Anthony Tsotsobe, Johannes Shabangu and David Moise. This, as representatives are aware, is the second such seutencing of three members of ANC in six months. Such actions, in our view, can only further aggravate the situation within South Africa and diminish the prospects for early and peaceful change in South Africa, which we wish to see come to pass in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the SecurityCouncil. 47. The strong opposition of the Government and people of Ireland to apurrheid is well known. We will continue to support those efforts which are being made, both within South Africa and by the international community, to bring about an early and peaceful end to uprwtlwid, 52. The fate of the three young ANC patriots, because of its dramatic character and profoundly ideological nature, cannot fail to remind us of the multiple battles being fought every day on every continent for political self-determination and human freedom. What we have here, as in many parts of the world, is a struggle to recover the cultural integrity and national identity of peoples which for centuries have been denied them. 48. However, we are aware of the deep frustration felt by so many South Africans who are struggling to create a truly democratic society, a frustration which has led some to actions of the type which these particular three men are alleged to have committed, On behalf of the Irish Government, my delegation wishes to add its voice to those which have appealed to the South African Government to spare those three young lives; and we are also prepared to support an appeal by you, Mr. President, on behalfof the members ofthe Security Council. 53. The delegation of Mexico firmly supports the appeal for clemency formulated by States members of the Security Council and expresses its complete solidarity with the representatives of Africa as part of its position of principle of making common cause against racism, colonialism and exploitation. S4. Finally, we regret that no consensus has been reached on so important an issue, and we hope that those who have not been able to join in this condemnation will at least decide not to obstruct the search fol solutions in southern Africa which will lead to the 49. Mr. GONZALEZ Cl%AR (Mexico) lirrw-’ prr/tr/io/r ,fhr Sprrrlish): May I begin by expressing my delegation’s gratitude to Mr. Oumarou for the keen

Mu delegation is happy at seeing you. Sir, l&k in New York presiding over the deliberations of the Security Council. During the years that you have represented Panama in the United Nations we have come to admire Lnd respect your qualities as a colleague and friend, but most of all we have come to recognize your abilities as a diplomatist and negotiator. We were gratified, but at the same time not surprised, to see you rise to a prominent place in the service of your Government. Under your guidance and leadership, the Council is in very good hands. We wish you all the best in your future endeavours. S6. My delegation avails itself of this opportunity to commend your predecessor, Mr. Oumarou of the Niger, for the most efficient and effective manner in which he conducted the Council’s business during the previous month. He contributed a lot during his presidency to the Council’s work. 57. My delegation is particularly disturbed at the recent death sentences meted out by the Supreme Court of South Africa to Anthony Tsotsobe, Johannes Shabangu and David Moise, three members of ANC, which has been involved in the just struggle against the repressive colonialist and racist rdgime of South Africa. The fact that those sentences were passed at about the time when the situation in southern Africa had seriously deteriorated, in view of the latest act of aggression committed by South Africa against Angola, is indeed of grave concern to my delegation. 58. My delegation feels that the Security Council should give due consideration to the request of Mr. Makatini of ANC that the Council should urgently address an appeal to the South African regime to spare the lives of those freedom fighters. 59. My delegation shares the disappointment and astonishment of the overwhelming mt\jority of our colleagues at the fact that there has been opposition to the issuance of such an appeal by the Council. My delegation cannot comprehend the concerns proferred from such quarters. 60. The situation in which we find ourselves tonight is not any different from the situation in which we found ourselves in February of this year. My delegation unrcservediy supported that earlier appeal [ihid. 1. We believe, however, that while that appeal contains useful and valid elements, any humanitarian action on the part of the Council to spare the lives of the three ANC freedom fighters should fully reflect the realities of the existing situation in South Africa, a situation of heightened repression and subjugation of a majority of the population. It is within this context that my delegation feels that any expression by the Council of concern for human lives in the present cir- 61. In various resolutions of the Security Council, in particular resolution 473 (19801, which was adopted unanimously, the entire international community has recognized the legitimacy of the struggle of the South African people for the elimination of crpcrrrlwitl and for the establishment of a democratic society in South Africa. 62. We are meeting tonight in unusual circumstances, unusual because of the urgency of the matter before us. The lives of three men hang in the balance. An urgent request has been made to us to make an appeal to the authorities in Pretoria on their behalf. We cannot and should not be indifferent to such a plea.

Mr. President, my delegation wishes to welcome you to the presidency of the Security Council. It has been a pleasure working with you here and a privilege serving here under your leadership. I want also to express my delegation’s thanks and admiration to your predecessor, the representative of the Niger. I believe that he demonstrates and demonstrated here in July the sheer force in this world of character and judiciousness and decency. 64. I should like to say an additional personal word to you, Mr. President I wish through you to convey to your Government and your fellow countrymen the shock that my nation and my fellow countrymen felt at the recent tragic death of your former head of Government, General Torrijos, who had such a profound impact on the affairs of your country and of our hemisphere. 65. In recent days, three men tried and convicted of serious crimes were sentenced to death by the Transvaal Division of the Supreme Court in Pretoria. In almost exactly similar circumstances, in February of this year my delegation joined in a unanimous expression by the Security Council of deep concern regarding such sentences. It had beenour wish-indeed it continues to be our wish-that we might finally come to a similar unanimous expression of concern. 66. My Government strongly urges that the Government of South Africa take serious account of the concern we express not only regarding the lives of those three men but also regarding the need not to aggravate and enhance further the tensions within the Republic of South Africa, 67. The PRESIDENT (i,l/c~/,rc,rtrrio/r Jh/n Sprr~rislrl: I thank the representative of the United States for the kind words he addressed to me. On behalf of the Government and people of Panama I would express gratitude to him for his condolences on the death of General Omar Torrijos Herrera, the late head of GOVernment of Panama and at the time of his death Chief t& Mr. OTUNNU (Uganda): Mr. President, please il<ccpI the very warm congratulations of my delepution on your accession to the presidency of the Srcuritv Council. Since vou come here as the Minister foi’ Foreign Affairs oian important country within the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries and the third world, it is a great honour for my delegation to work under your leadership. 69. May I also take this ooportunity to nay a tribute to a very distinguished and beloved soi bf Africa. Mr. Oumarou of the Niger, for the distinction and wisdom with which he conducted the affairs of the Council during the month of July. We are all the more proud because he hails from a continent which is also our own. 70. This is a very sad occasion. It is .i very sad occasion because the Council is meeting in the shadow of the death sentences that were passed on 19 August by the Pretoria rbgime on three valiant freedom fighters. The occasion is all the more sad because those death sentences come within only a few months of similar death sentences passed by the same r6gime on other freedom fighters. We have heard reference being made and concern being expressed about the judicial process in South Africa. I fear that such expressions of concern may unwittingly lend dignity and legitimacy to a machinery of oppression and dictatorship, because the judicial process of which those delegations speak is not a judicial process that emerges from any system of law such as we know. It is not a judicial process which emerges from a legal system recognized by the civilized world. We are talking of a process which is part and parcel of the system of rrpcrrflr&, a system which has been constructed in order to perpetrate an international crime which has been condemned by the United Nations and the whole international community. 71. It is therefore not surprising that an essential element of that judicial process is torture. In this particular case. we have the testimony of ‘be surgeon who examined the three freedom fighters and found that they had been subjected to intense torture while in detention. It is not surprising that an elrrucnt of that judicial process is forced confession, as aas also the case in the particular case of the three freedom fighters about which we are speaking today. It is not surprising that abduction is part of that judicial process, because the Council will recall that the key defence witness in the prosecution case against the three freedom fighter5 was in fact a man forcibly abducted from Maputo. It is not surprising that ;- that judicial process the notion of common purpose and conspiracy has been broadened to embrace the general membership of the free- 72. Therefore it is important for the Council to make it clear to the international community as a whole that we are not dealing with a normal judicial process, nor are we today meeting to express concern about common criminals. The Security Council does not concern itself with common criminals, however compelling their particular cases may be. We are meeting against the background of a specific political situation, the political situation which has given rise to the oppression, which has given rise to the resistance and which has given rise to the death sentences. 73. The men about whom we express concern today are nationalists, they are patriots, they are freedom fighters and their cause and their action compare well with those of George Washington when the people of this country were fighting British colonialism. It cornpares well with those of the European partisans who took UD arms to fight against Nazi oppression. Indeed, it is not surprising that the freedomhghters in South Africa should have consciously and deliberately made strategic installations a target of their sabotage activities. Therein they differ sharnly from the Pretoria rdgime, which hasmade childre&women and refugees the target of its bombardments and its assassination squads. 74. This meeting ought to have taken place earlier, and the concern we wish to express ought to have been expressed more promptly. My delegation regrets that, as a result of systematic opposition and obstruction from certain quarters, that was not possible. We are surprised that those who have erected monuments in celebration of liberty, those who have composed poems in praise of democracy and those who have made the combating of international terrorism their favourite international theme should be the ones to stand in the path of a simple and humanitarian expmssion of concern by the Council. Once again we are struck by the fact ihat when it comes to <he situation in southern Africa, the Council, through the action of certain members, is strangely visited by double standards. 75. My delegation appeals IO the Council as a whole and to the individual members to do nothing which would in any way give comfort to the forces of ccpcrrt- /wit/ and fascism in South Africa, IO do nothing which might be interpreted as equivocation, and to do everything in favour of the freedom fighters. For our part, we shalt snare no efforts in favour of the nationalists until the ideal of freedom and democracy becomes a reality for all the people of South Africa. We trust that the Council wilt do the same.

Mr. President, we are happy and encouraged to see you preside over this Security Council meeting, which is considering a case of extreme importance to our movement. Your country’s and your personal commitment to the struggle against npbrthejd is well known and deeply appreciated by ANC. Your tireless and unswerving contribution, not only in the forums of the United Nations but also in those of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries, have always inspired and encouraged us. It is for that reason that we are convinced that under your guidance the Council will, to the satisfaction of the international community, respond to the challenge posed by the apartheid rigime. 78. Comrades Anthony Tsotsobe, Johannes Shabangu and David Moise are members of ANC. ANC perhaps holds the world record as the liberation movement that, for over 60 years and in the face of evergrowing fascist intransigence, brutal repression, wanton murder of peaceful demonstrators, not to mention aggression against neighbouring States, has most persistently pursued non-violent forms of struggle in the fight against a system that has been condemned by the United Nations as a crime against humanity. 79. When on 16 December l%l, after consulting the entire oppressed population, ANC tool, the historic decision to close the chapter of non-violence and prepare for what had been forced upon it, it still hoped that limited sabotage would help to bring the Pretoria regime to sense and reason and make that regime join hands with the vast majority of the population in the application of the Freedom Charter.1 Members of the Council are no doubt aware of the fact that that document, which to this day remains the political platform of ANC and its allies, states in its preamble: “We, the people of South Africa, declare for our country and the world to know: “That South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white . . . . . . . * “That only a democratic State, based on the will of all the people, can secfire to all their birthright without distinction of colour, race, sex or belief.” 80. On its part, and in support of this struggle, the General Assembly has for a number of years-and particularly the last consecutive years-adopted resolutions recognizing the legitimacy of the struggle waged by the South African people in all forms, including armed struggle, for the seizure of power and the establishment of a democratic State. 82. To this day ANC combatants have strictly adhered to the instructions of their leadership-instructions to focus exclusively on guarded installations and police stations and thus avoid “soft targets”. It has presented to the International Red Cross headquarters a declaration in which it commits itself to the humanitarian conduct of war and calls on the United Nations and the international community at large to pressure the ctpartheid rbgime to accord prisoner-of-war status to all captured freedom fighters, in keeping with the revised Protocol II of the Geneva Convention.z 83. Aeain the Botha rbeime’s resaonse has been not or& a series of massacres, such ai the Soweto one in 1976. but also the Matola raid in which 12 ANC refugees were killed and some abducted. It has been the assassination of Comrade Joe Gqabi, the ANC representative in Zimbabwe; it has been the imposition of death sentences on captured freedom fighters like Lubisi last year, and now Tsotsobe, Shabangu and Moise. 84. In addition to the gross legal irregularities which surround the trial of those patriots-such as the ruling that the so-called confessions, extracted under torture, were admissible as evidence-the intention is to pave the way for indiscriminate prosecution and eventual execution of all opponents of the npcrrrheid rkgime. The blanket applicatibn of the so-calied principle of common purpose and conspiracy is designed to render every member of ANC liable for armed action committed in the country, regardless of personal knowledge or direct involvement in the commission of such acts. 85. It is for that reason that ANC appeals to the Council to make its voice heard in order to save the lives of these patriots and to halt this dangerous trend towards paving the way for mass judicial murder. In the eyks of the entire oppressed clack community in South Africa, in the eyes of the whole of progressive mankind the world oier, those men are freedom fighters who were captured while playing their role in spearheading what is perceived throughout the world as the international struggle against an inhuman system and for the establishment of a democratic society that would be in conformity with the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 86. The Council cannot afford by omission to encourage the further deterioration of the already explosive situation in South Africa, a situation whose explosion might poison race relations not only in Africa but throughout the world for decades to come. It is true the rCgime has not yet resorted to gas chambers, but it has resorted to its courts in order, as I have said, to pave the way for mass judicial murder. Therefore, we cannot consider this normal judicial process. It is for that renhon. and in the name of lhosc who WC nwuiling execution in Pretoria, thal \VC’ appeul IO the Council to tnkc nction. in the face ofthc cnpitnl punishment which it is intended to impose on three African pstriots because of their convictions rind dcmocrntic struggles. Quite clearly. those accused nre alleged to he ~hc authors of political crimes and not of common crimes. X7. The PRESIDENT fi,r/c,,./)/.',/o/ir,,r,/i'r,,rr .Yprrrri.\/r): I shall now make ;I statement us the rcprcsenlniive of PANAMA. 92. There cnn be no doubt that here in the Council there ib a common opinion in favour of interceding with the Pretoria Government lo spnre the lives of Tsotsohe. Shnbnngu and Moise and preventing the sentences weighing on them from being carried out. I’m~am;~ nssociates itself with the feelings expressed here in this chumber and expresses its full support foi the iden of achieving unanimous action by the Council to urge the Pretoria Government to respect the three lives threatened by sentences of denth, B matter that is justly of concern for the States represented here. XX. The Government of the Republic of Panama. in all intcrnntionel forums, hns endorsed the legitimacy of the struggle of the peoples of southern Africa for lhe exercise of their fundamental human rights. My country cannot. therefore. remnin indifferent to the fnte of the three freedom fighters. Anthony Tsotsobc. Johannes Shabangu and David Moist. who have been condemned to death by the Supreme Court in Pretoria. X9. The international community has good grounds to be alarmed nt the merciless repression unleashed by the South African Government against the native South African population which opposes the odious ccpc~r//wit/ system. That alarm reached ;I crescendo when the Council received an accusation IO the effect that the verdicts and sentences handed down in Pretori;\ against Tsotsohe. Shabangu end Wise were based on 5lalcmcnts cztracted under torture and force. 93. I now resume my role BS PRESIDENT of the Council. There arc no further speakers on my list foi this evening’s meeting. Since it has been decided that tomorrow we shall deal with another urgent matter. the next meeting of the Security Council to continue considcration of lhc agenda item will he determined after consultations with Council members. YO. On many occasion5 the Security Council hos zpoken out against the repressive South African rCgime and against iis continued persecution of African nntionalists who rightfully claim their just nspirntions. \\-hich arc wII knou-n here. 91. Even though lhe Council ih fully familiar uith the dclinn~ attitutlc of South Africa. whohe conduct i4 not in nccord with ihe principles mid purposes ot the Charter. we feel thet KC’ cannot remain impassive