S/PV.2337 Security Council

Members of the Council have before them document S/14927. which contains the text of a letter dated 25 March from the Representutivc of El Salvador to the Ilnited Nations, addressed to the President of the Council. I. Adoption of the agenda Provisional agenda (S/Agenda/2337) 4. The first speaker is the representative of Cuba. I invite him to take tl place at the Council table and to make his statement. 2. Letter dated 19 March 1982 from the Permanent Representative of Nicaragua to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General (S/14913)

Madam President. I thank you and the other members of the Council for giving me the opportunity to speak today in my capacity as representntive of Cuba. Adoption of the agenda 6. We live in uncertain times. Irresistible winds are blowing. This Council is meeting to consider, nlmost simultnneously, the persistent violation of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people by the Zionist rCgime of Israel on the illegally occupied West Bank of the Jordan and the grave threats of intervention -direct, indirect or covert-hanging over Central America and the Caribbean. Letter dated 19 March 1982 from the Permanent Representative of Nicaragua to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General (S/14913) 1. The PRE:SIDENT: In accordance with decisions taken at the 2335th meeting, I invite the representative of Nicaragua to take a place at the Council table and the representatives of Angola, Argentina, Cuba, Honduras and Mexico to take the places reserved fat them at the side of the Council chamber. 7. Yesterday morning [233Sth wvtin!: 1, Commander Daniel Ortega Saavedra, Co-ordinutor of the Governing Junta of National Reconstruction of Nicaragua, in a calm, responsible and well-founded manner, exposed the plot that is being hatched against the fatherland of Augusto Cdsar Sandino. That plot is reflected in the economic pressure and diplomatic harassment of recent months and by the more recent armed provocations nnd aggression he described to the Council. which, furthermore. are publicly known. He also reiterated the well-known commitment to peace of the Sandinist revolution and its readiness to contribute to the achievement of negotiiited political solutions to the serious crisis in Central America and the Caribbean. 2. The PRE<SIDENT: I should like to inform members of the Council that I have received a letter from the representative of Viet Nam in which she requests to be invited to participate in the discussion of the item on the Council’s agenda. In conformity with the LIsu~II practice, 1 propose, with the consent of the Council, to invite that representative to participate in the discussion without the right to vote, in accord- 8. An attempt has been made-in a vklin outbuI’st of hackneyed wonder-working-to have us believe that the origin of this crisis lies in an alleged surge of 9. Where in fact lie the causes of the political and social upheaval now jolting Central America? They lie in the existence-among other things-of a 36 pet cent illiteracy rate: in the nearly 2 million children who die before their first birthday: in the 7 million people searching in vain for employment: in the I2 million who lack adequate housing; in the 8 million -nothing less than 40 per cent of the Central American population-who, according to recent studies by the United Nations Economic Commission fol Latin America. live in conditions of extreme poverty: in the external debt of almost $IS billion which painfully burdens their frail economies: and in the removal from those countries by the transnational corporations of profits of more than 100 per cent on every dollal invested. IO. For those who like to back up their statements with academic quotations, it would be useful to ponder the following statement by William M. Leogrande, the Director of the Political Science Department in the School of Government and Public Administration of the American University in Washington: “The idea that these insurgencies”--and. of course, he is referring to insurgencies in Central America--“could be truly indigenous and that there might be no solutions to the crisis of the region without the involvement of the insurgents is drowned in the cacaphony of anti-Cuban rhetoric. Washington disregards the true origin of Central American insurgency: decades of economic inequality and political oppression.” It. A curious unidentified flying object-a UFOcame yesterday into the calm atmosphere of the Council in the strange concept of the “paranoia” of revolutionaries of alI stripes. Thirty-one United States interventions in Central America from 1855 to the present time -not counting the tirades we heard in this room, which constituted one more unprecedented interference in the internal affairs of Nicaragua--u11 of a sudden became psychotic “projection”; on the other hand. no serious consideration was given to the points made in this forum by someone whose simplicity needs no subterfuge: Commander Daniel Ortega. 12. We have not come here to give a historical account of the interventions and acts ofaggression which 13. What we wish at this time is to know. in a clee~ and unequivocal manner. whether the present United States Administration is willing to recognize the vital need for far-reaching changes in the economic and social structures of Latin America: if it is willing to rocognize the right of our peoples to choose and freely rule over their destinies: if it is willing, in brief. to develop its relationship on an equal footing, on the basis of mutual respect and reciprocal benefit. 14. Of course this is not an idle question. I can only vividly recall that from the very outset of the Cuban Revolution-not to go back to the end of the last century. when we were robbed of our independence by means of the Paris Treaty and the subsequent military occupation by the United States-the then President of the United States, General Dwight Eisenhower. firmly opposed our carrying out such changes in 0111 country. He arbitrarily suspended our sugar quota in the United States market and initiated invasion plans that ended in the ignominous defeat at the Bay of Pigs: I can only recall that since then, six [Jnitcd States Administrations have maintained a criminal economic blockade against Cuba and iI policy of harassment, aggression and intolerance that indeed reveals incredible reactionary paranoia. 1.5. Despite the enmity of the various United States Administrations towards Cuba-and, might I say, the present Government is no exception-my Government has always maintained the same position of principle with regard to its readiness to negotiate and normnlize its relations with the Government of the United States. Of course we can do that only on an equal footing. one where nationnl dignity i\nd the selfdetermination of the people of Cuba are not undermined-in other words, without compromising ;I single principle. 16. Much has been said recently about the will of the United States to negotiate its differences with Cuba imd Nicaragua. 17. In the dramatic light of the situation in Central America and the Caribbean. where the blood of patriots is currently being shed daily by the genocidal r&imes of BI Salvador and Guatemala-the Guatemala which has ngi\in been violated by the supporters of reaction and imperialism, after much-talked-about elections where the people were not seen: in a situation Where threats have been made und aggression carried out 22. We could not conceal that solidarity. born out of the crucible of ;I common Latin American fatherhind: to do so would be to betray our roots in Bohvar. Juarez and Mart!. Jose Mart1 himself reflected this when he said ‘*What was contains what is.” We would ;I thousand times over rather cease to be than cease to be what we were nnd are. IX. Cubu concurs in the noble desire of the Mexican President 23. It is. however, complezely false to say that Cubi1 is sending weapons to the Salvadornn revolutionaries -which does not mean that we do not have the right, the right that Bohvar had when he brought freedom to the peoples-to help in the liberntion of a brothel people. After all. the Government of the United States arrogates to itself the right to arm the counterrevolutionury gangs of the traitor Savimbi in Angola and to finance the destabilizntion of various revolutionary countries, in addition to being the acknowledged ncconiplice of Israeli misdeeds and an “intimate friend” and ally of the South African racists in open violation of intern:ltional law and of the resolutions of the United Nations. Cuba. I repeat, is not sending weapons to El Salvador. “to guarantee for our region of Central America and the Caribbean a situation of peace based on the right of peoples to full sovereignty, complete selfdetermination and the achievement of the political and social changes which they may themselves choose democrntically”. 19, But while this is Cuba’s attitude, some representatives of the United States Government continue to maintain an ambivalent and unacceptable policy, On the one hand, they proclaim their wish to negotiate with Cuba and Nicaragua in accordance with the Mexican proposals: on the other, they refuse to rule out the use of force as one of the options which, ille- &itimately and without any respect for international law, is used exclusively to “punish” Cuba. destabilize Nicaragua and impede a real solution to the Salvadoran tragedy. 24. In this connection, the statements contained in the so-called United States report on the role of Cuba and Nicaragua in the rebellion of El Salvador published on 21 March 1982 in Tl~r N~II- Yo1.k Tir?~c~.r are pure fabrications: they constitute a deliberate distortion of reality. 20. In its insane decision to freeze the historical processtaking us all the way back to the Neanderthal period of the diplomacy of gunboats and the so-called cold war-the Government of the United States. which refuses to listen to its own public opinion. to that of a growing number of Congressmen. Senators and other leaders of American society. as well as to that of not a few of its allies in the world in general. attributes the rebellion of the Salvndoran people to :i sinister Cuban-Nicaraguan plot in the puy of who knows what interests of the Soviet Union -which. might I say in passing, has no transnational corporations in this part of the world or elsewherea plot in which even Viet Nam and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) seem to be involved in one way 01’ another, with the purpose of establishing in that territory of our Americas-small in size but great because of the heart of its patriots--a terrible threat to the nutionul security of the United States. 2s. I clearly proclaim before the members of the Council that the statements referred to there are nothing other than a series of lies. falsifications and deliberate distortions. 26. They deliberately distort the statements mnde by President Fidel Castro to Mr. Wishniewsky, leadel of the German Social Democratic Party. its they distort the statements made by Vice-President Ctu-Ios Rafael Rodriguez to the West German weekly Dar Spirgi>/. The accusation that we have used the Moni/71/)0 and other vessels in “arms trafficking” to Nicaragun reveals :I brazen attempt--in keeping with their threat of a naval blockade, recently adduced by one of the better-known minor figures in its neo-colonial &arpieceto impede or to hinder normal commercial trnffic between Cuba and Nicaragu;k. 27. This misnamed “report”, which, :IS the United States press itself recognizes, adds nothing new to the fi\bles already put forth on the Cuban-Nicaraguan “connection” with the Salvadoran revolution, is, as everything previously published to that same end, empty of any proof. Its authors do not offer any evidence, resorting to the crude pretext of “protecting their sources” , since they of course know that they could not confirm or corroborate what does not exist. 2 I. We Cuban revolutionaries feel the deepest admiration and respect for the Salvadoran patriots of the Farabundo Mart1 Front for National Liberation (FMLNI and the Revolutionary Democratic Front (FDR). the legitimate heirs to the independence leaders and to the mnssucred peasants of 1932. those who fell at the hands of the stooge of oligilrchy and servant of the Yankee monopolies, Maximilian Herm’mdez. 29, As President Fidel Castro stated at the 68th Inter- Pnrliamentary Conference. held at Havana from I3 to 24 September 1981, “With weapons one can kill the hungry and the exploited in El Salvador. but one cannot kill the hunger. illiteracy, ill health and in.justice which prevail in that country. nor can one kill the just and centuries-old right of peoples to rebel against tyranny.” 30. The Governing Junta of National Reconstruction of Nicaragua has addressed this Council for “serious and extremely urgent reasons”. to use the words in the statement of Commander Daniel Ortega [ihid., penal. 281, and-we must say this-on the basis uf a right firmly est:lblished in the Charter of the United Nations. 3 1, Therefore there can be no whimsical interpretation of Article 52 of the Charter as limiting in any way the sovereign right of Membor States. No regional orgnnization, no pact or simitnr treaty stands above. or can be invoked to the detriment of. the supreme authority which the Charter confers on the Security Council in connection with the maintenance of internntionul peace lmd security-and even less when the regionul orgunization in question lacks universality, excluding some and denying entry to others while admitting a Power that has nothing to do with the Latin Amcr-ican region. 32. In our view, the question of Centr;ll America and the Caribbean-in the context of and at the level referred to by the Head of State of Nicaragua-is fully germane and legitimate in the proceedings of the Council, a body which must reiterate, with the full force of its iluthority. the cardinal principles governing the Organizntion and which we applicable to this situntion, among them the principle of non-intervention and non-interference in the internal affairs of States. the right of every people to self-determination and indcpendence and to the determination of its own destiny. and the principle of the peaceful settlement of disputes, 33. The Council must urge the United States Covcrnmcnt explicitly to rule out the use of direct. indirect or covert force i\g:linst Central American and Caribbean countries ;Ind, in the settlement of its diffcr- 34. Cuba will unalterably maintain its decision tu support the peace proposals of the President of Mexico u-d to contribute to the solution of problems in Central America and the Caribbean through peaceful and negotiated means. with the same firmness with which we have rejected and will reject definitively any attempt tu intimidate us. blackmail us and impose conditions or ultimatums on us. As stated by President Fidel Castro in his message to President Lopez Portillo: “Faced with tiny act of aggression. we will know how to defend our dignity. WI‘ sovereignty and our principles nt any price, to the last man and woman of our revolutionary people and to the last drop of our blood.” 35. The PRESlDENT: The next speaker is the representative of Mexico. I invite him to take ;I place at the Council table and to make his statement. 36. Mr. MUNOZ LEIXI (Mexico) Iintc~/pl.rffrtir~ll $YJU~ Sptrnislr): Madam President, first of all. I should like to congratulate you on your assumption of the presidency of the Council, whose proceedings have thus come to benefit from the intelligence and dedication that are your hallmark. I am especially pleased by the impartiality you have shown in expediting the handling of this delicate matter. You have. unqucstionably, honoured the democratic tradition of you1 country. 37. Mexico is ugnin taking a plnce at the Council table. in keeping with its duty ;IS ;I member uf the community of nations and as an integral part of :I region deeply in the throes of social turmoil and very much in need of peaceful means of resolving its conflicts and of assuring its independence. 38. The Council has met to hear the Co-ordinator of the Governing Junta of National Reconstruction of Nici\ragui\. Commander Daniel Ortega Suavedra. and to examine facts and circumstances which could conhtitute :\ grave threat to the independence and soveroignty of the nations of Central America and to intern;ltional peace and security. 39. Yestcrday we heard accounts of the affronts and threats directed against Nicurugua since the victory of the Sundinist Revolution. affronts and threats which have built up to the point of bringing its people to 21 atnte of nntional emergency. WC have ~SO heard the considered analysis by ~1 major political leader who does not seek confrontation but dialogue, provided the right of his country freely to decide its own destiny is rcspecttld. To Commander Ortega-through the Minister for Foreign Affairs 0% Nicaragua, who is present--an d to the young Nicaraguan revolution. I offer once ;lgain, and no matter what may happen. the whole-hearted solidarity of the people and the Government of Mexico. 47. The strict respect -for the rules of international I;IW which my country has invariably maint;rined testifies to the sincerity of its position in this case. We have spoken unequivocnlly against :my violutions of the sovereignty and integrity of States wherever they halve occurred. We have firmly upheld the right of peoples to self-determination and its logicul conscquence, which is political pluralism at the region i\nd world levels. We have struggled to make relations between North and South follow in path of internntionul economic co-operation ;md to keep them from being distorted by the effects of confrontations between ideological blocs. We have actively promoted the denuclearization of Latin America within the framework of the Treaty of Tlatelolco’ so that the nations of our region will not become instruments of foreign interests. In short. we have opposed the use of third-world nations as chips on the table of ~lobi\l strategic interests. 41. Few regions of the world have seen so many recurrent examples of ull forms of foreign interventinn and interference. Perhaps in no other area has the cncircletnent of domination been so persistent and the internid systems of oppression that perpetuate backwardness :md dependency so persevering. 42. This is not the time to open up the painful record of ikggression committed against the peoples of Latin America: r;lther, it is the time to reaffirm in precise terms the busic principles of international coexistence: the right to self-determination of all peoples, nonintervention in the internal affairs of other States and the peaceful settlement of disputes. We must see to it th:rt these principles are respected everywhere, in particular in itreas contiguous to the super-Powers. as these areas are the most vulnerable. 43. This is also a time for us to use our imagination and Our political will in the search for negotiuted alternatives to a crisis which, if it worsens, would have irrepantble consequences for all the States involved. It would compromise the efforts of many developing Miens towards independence and jeopardize the precarious political balance of the world. As President Ltipez Portillo has requested: let us all &ive ourselves one lust chance, and let us make good use of it. 48. Consistent with that tradition. and coupled with the excellent relations of friendship it maintains with the States of the region. Mexico has promoted constructive solutions ti, the Central American crisis. SOIUtions that would safeguard the rights of all parties. We have done so in LI most open manner, while trying to avoid the verbal belligerence of either side. which in itself becomes an obstacle to understanding. 49. My Government hns repeatedly declared that ;I new intervention by the United States in Central America would represent LI gigantic historical error that would send us back to the bitter days of continental relkltions. We have proposed, instead, realistic negotiation alternatives that would prevent ;I conflict of unpredictable consequences. 44. The question of Centnil America has become a question of conscience for all mankind. The unaccusturned interest thut the region’s problems have aroused on :III continents is an unambiguous signal of theil seriousness and overriding importance. The great mitjority of public opinion, in the North as in the South. in the East CIS in the West, recognizes the iluthenticity of the Latin American revolutionary movements and hopes that those peoples will not be hacked into :I corner and that their rights will not be trampled upon by policies of force that lend nowhere. SO. On 21 Fehruury of this year, in Mi~nagua, the President of Mexico set out ;I series of steps that could ftlvour ;I relaxation of tensions and stability and development in the Central American Basin and the Caribbean. This requires systematic dialogue among the interested pLu’ties and a genuine readiness on their part to grant mutual concessions without abilndoning thei! essential principles and their legitimate interests. 45. Today the distinctive feature of our region is the struggle to chunge centuries-old conditions of poverty and exploitation. Just as the battles for political independencc in Africa, Asia and Latin America were not imd have not been by-products of conflicts of interest between the major Powers, the social revolutions of wr own day cannot be encompassed within the framework of East- West rivalries. 51. From all evidence, the solution of our problems requires a substantial improvement in relations between Cub:\ and the United States. The Cuban revolution is Lln irreversible historical fact. Keeping Cuba out of regional decision-making forums is a mistake, and constructing strategic hypotheses based on the isol:ltion of thut country and on the rhetoric of aggression only leads to ;I poisoning of the continental politicill clim;lte by importing the cold war. 46. No evidence of outside support could cancel out one fundumental truth: revolutions are made by peoples using all the means at their command, It has ;I~K’:IYS been thus. But it is not those me:ms that deters3. With regard to Nicaragua, we have stated that the Government of the United States should rule out any threat or use of force against that country. We believe-‘ ,md the President of Mexico has so stntedthat any such design would be dangerous, unworthy and unnecessary. Invoking the close friendship between Mexico and its neighbour to the North, the President of my country has directly and respectfully called upon President Reagan to refrain from any action along those lines. Fortunately, the American Chief Executive has given assurances that he does not propose to undertake any military action in Central America. 51. The Government of Mexico has stated also that it considers it both feasible and desirable to create a system of mutual non-aggression pacts between Nicaragua and the United States, on the one hand, and between Nicaragua and its neighbours, on the other. We are confident that such agreements would make a significant contribution to peace in the region and would eliminate the anxiety arising from threats and the waste involved in unproductive military buildups. 55. Mexico’s Secretary for Foreign Affairs recently held intensive talks successively with the United States Secretary of State, with the President of the Council of State and with the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Cuba, and with the members of the Governing Junta of National Reconstruction of Nicaragua, in order to expedite dialogue and understanding as regards the fundamental questions that up to now have divided their respective countries. 56. The result of those meetings has been highly satisfactory, and my Government is in a position to state that there are logical and objective bases on which to reach a series of agreements among the purties involved in the conflict. We harbour the hope that a process of substantive negotiations will commcnce shortly on the situation in Central America, 57. At the proposal of our country, the United States and Nicaragua have agreed to meet at a high political level at Mexico City in the coming month of April in order to discuss the main questions that separate them. There is no doubt that in order for these talks to produce the results that all of us desire, it will be necessary to set aside the threats and recriminations which. unfortunately, have increased in recent weeks, 49. The Council hns before it u serious and comp1e.u problem that by any reckoning could represent :\ threut to international peace and security. Under the Churter. its function is to see to it that tensions are reduced and catastrophe avoided. Its primary responsibility in this area could not be called into question without running the risk that, in the future and in the face of similar conflicts in other parts of the world, its jurisdiction would also be questioned. 60. The Security Council hus indisputable jurisdiction over the investigation of any dispute or any situation that is likely to lead to international friction. Similarly, every Member State has an absolute right to bring before the Council uny matter of this nature. 61. Member States that are members of :I regional organ or parties to a regional agreement are not ohligated under those mechanisms to deal with such matters before submitting them to the Council. The option of whether or not to resort to a prior authorily becomes a sovereign decision of the States--as sovereign as the search for a direct solution between the parties to a dispute, or the utilization of any of the peaceful procedures provided for in the Charter. 62. We are calling upon the Council to contribute. using the means it deems most suitable, to promoting a climate of dialogue that will encourage I\ negotiated solution to the Central American conflict. The Council could not in any event waive its essentinl functicms. On the contrary, it must employ all its authority and its preventive powers in a prudent and timely manna that will avoid polarization while there is still time to prevent the irreparable.

Madam President. my delegation welcomes your assumption of the presidency of the Council for the current month. You bring to this high office-in addition to your well-known brilliance-your methodical. efficient manner and Your domination of the art of diplomacy, which together give an assurance that under your stewardship the Council will effectively and successfully discharge its responsibilities, 64. 1 must ;IISO take this opportunity to express tr, Your immediate predecessor. Sir Anthony Parsons of the United Kingdom, my delegation’s appreciation of 69. The problems of Central America are not susceptible to military solutions, especially where such solutions are encouraged from without. The providing of military material, the encouragement of violent confrontation. the rhetoric of intervention and threats of destabilization do nothing but lead to greater tension and instability in the subregion and the widening of the arena of conflict. There can be no solutions imposed on Central America from outside. The only viable solutions to the problems of the region are those which emerge from within the region itself and which correspond to the interests and needs of the people as determined by them. Those solutions must respect the peoples’ right of self-determination and the political independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the States of the region. 66. My delegation therefore believes it appropriate and timely that the Council should have been convened now at the request of the Government of Nicaragua-in exercise of its right under the Charterto consider the worsening situation in Central America and the threat that this poses to the independence and sovereignty of Central American States, to Nicaragua’s own peace and security and to international peace and security in general. We deemed it OLII mature duty to support that request. We believe that in supporting that request and in participating in this debate we are rendering a service to the cause of peace in Latin America. 70. ]n the relations between States, the principles of international law must be inviolate and must be scrupulously respected. That is our only guarantee of peaceful and stable inter-state relations. The international community long ago outlawed intervention as an instrument of State behaviour. More recently, in 1970, the General Assembly adopted the Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations.’ That Dechlration, taking the Charter as its point of departure, solemnly proclaims, infr/’ o/if/ 1 the principle that States shall refrain in their international relntions from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State. or in any other manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations. The Declaration also sets forth the principle that States shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security and justice are not endangered. 67. Long enough have the shrill voices of intervention and belligerence dominated the air. It is time that the voices of moderation, of calm, reasoned dialogue and of peace be heard, There must be-and there isanother way in Central America. My delegation sees the request by the Government of Nicaragua as a plea on behalf of the millions of people in Central America for whom peace and stability do not have to be achieved at the price of blood and destruction. 68. Central America is undoubtedly experiencing :I process of internal change, and any external attempt to dictate or influence the nature, direction or extent of that change or to frustrate it constitutes an nbr-idgement of the inalienable right of self-determination of the peoples of Central America. That process of change is evolving against the backdrop of particular politicd, economic and social factors which have been a real part of the history of the peoples of that region. The people of Central America are responding to impulses which no one can pretend to interpret for them, for it is they and they alone who have experienced these forces. The struggles of the peoples of Central America are struggles for an improvement in the quality of their lives and for fuller participation in the polit- 71, As recently as December 1981. the General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Inadmissibility of Intervention and Interference in the Internal Affairs of States. That Declaration sets out in pellucid language the duties comprehended in the principle of non-intervention and non-interference. Those duties include: “The duty of States to refrain in their international re]ations from the threat or use of force in *. . . . “The duty of a State to refrain from armed intervention, subversion, military occupation or any other form of intervention and interference, overt or covert, directed at another State or group of States. or any act of military, political or economic interference in the internal affairs of another State, including acts of reprisal involving the use of force: . . . * . “The duty of a State to refrain from any action or attempt in whatever form or under whatever pretext to destabilize or to undermine the stability of another State or of any of its institutions.“.’ 72. This Declaration enjoys the total support of the member countries of the Non-Aligned Movement, because its principles are principles which have historically been the cornerstones of our Movement. We felt it was necessary to set them out in lucid declaratory form as another protection for small States which are invariably the victims of aggression and intervention. 73. Those lofty instruments are not intended for the adornment of the archives of the United Nations or of chancelleries in State capitals: they are conceived of as embodying guiding principles for the behaviours of States in their relations with one another. in accordance with the system of international relations based on the rule of law as contemplated in the Charter, Their only value lies in strict observance of them, The lesson of recent experience in Central America is that departure from these principles endangers peace and stability and leads to needless human suffering. 74. My delegation would like to express its support for the Government and people of Nicaragua in theit efforts to consolidate and defend their revolution, to strengthen their political and economic independence and to orgunize their internal affairs in such a manner as they themselves, in exercise of their sovereign right, shall decide upon. 7.5. The other foc;rI point of Guyana’s concern with regard to Central America is El Snlvador. The Government of Guyana profoundly regrets that change must come in El Salv;rdor at such a high price in human life and suffering and material damage. It is in the context of this increasing concern that I here reiterate the support of the Government of Guyana for the positions expressed in thejoint Frnnco-Mexican Declnration on El S:rlv:tdor of 28 August 1981 (.y/1465Y, 76. The need for discourse and negotiation in Central America was never more urgent, nor the moment more propitious. In this context, my delegation welcomes the peace plan recently made public in Managua by Mr. Jose Lopez Portillo, President of Mexico. We believe that this plan offers 21 sound. practical basis for negotiated solutions to the problems which the States of Central America have with one another as well as with the United States-solutions that would respect the independence of the countries concerned and also take account of their needs and of their concerns. We express the hope that this plan will provide a mechanism and a basis whereby belligerent postures will once and for all give way to constructive dialogue with a view to the introduction of a regime of peace and of stable, harmonious relations among the States of Central America. 77. My delegation has taken note of the willingness expressed by Commander Daniel Ortega Saavedra to improve the climate of relations with the United States on the basis of mutual respect and uncondi.. tional recognition of Nicaragua’s right to self-determination and to begin immediately direct and frank conversations with the Government of the United States. even in a mutually agreeable third country, with the objective of reaching concrete results through such negotiations. 7X. We have also noted the indication he gave of the willingness of the Salvadoran patriots of the Fwnbundo Mart1 Front for National Liberation and the Revolutionary Democratic Front to begin immediate negotiations without preconditions, as well as that of the revolutionary Government of Cuba to begin negotiations with the United States without delay. 79. My delegation has noted with satisfaction the stated commitment made by the United States in this chamber yesterday [2.?35th mwting 1 regarding its rendiness to engage in dialogue and negotiations, as well as its assurance that it has no intention of invading anyone. We also note the positive disposition of the Government of the United States to the Mexican initiative for peace in Central America. 80. The current situation in Central America has provoked such wide international preoccupation that it was proper that this Council, in the discharge of its 86. I do not want to enumerate ag:lin the long list of large-scale espionage operations by air and destroyers off El Siilv:Idor and Nicaragua and the gross campaigns of lies launched by the United States. by means of the most sophisticated techniques, against those small countries. All the media from Enst to West h:ive spoken much of this. 1 should just like to stress that this policy of blackmail. war and intimidation cannot frighten the heroic people of Nicaragua or the Sulvudornn fighters. Furthermore, it has given rise to ;I swell of energetic protest. not only among Govcrnmerits and peoples throughout the world. but also among the Amcricnn people itself. C:uguntuan demonstrations have been heId in many United States cities. under the bnnnel “No more Viet Nams”. Sabrcrattling and arrogant declarations are out of step with our times, when the vast majority of peoples arc’ taking their destinies into their own hands.

The next speaker is the representative of Viet Nnm. I invite her to take il place at the Council table and to make her stntoment.

Madam President, the delegation of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam would like sincerely to thank you and the members of the Council for having granted it the opportunity to take part in this debate, although my country is not ;I member of the Council. 87. The Government of the Socialist Republic of Vict Nam. in the statement by the hpokcsman of its Ministry for Foreign Affilirs. has said that it considers that the war-like interventionist policy. the policy of intimidation and aggression, of the United States Government is entirely contrary to the interests of the American people and is contrary to the growing tide of protest from nearly all the peoples and Governments of Latin America and the Curibbcan. 83. Together with the whole of mankind, Viet Nam is deeply concerned at the extreme tension now prcvailing in Central America, where some young States, including Nicaragua, are confronted with the imminent danger of military aggression: this gravely imperils the peace i\nd security of thu entire Central American and Caribbean region. 8X. This interventionist policy in Central America and the Caribbean, in p:\rticular against El Si~lvador, Nicnragua. Cuba and Grenada, which directly violutes the independence, sovereignty. scourity and paace of those States, constitutes ;L clear example of the IIse of force in international reI:Itions in defiance of the fundnmental principles of the Charter of the United Niitions. And the unavowed goal of these policies is to liquidate the Nicaraguan revolution and the liberation movements of the peoples of that region. 84. I share the belief of previous speakers that the situation is a result of the policies of the United States. which has deliberately ignored the far-reaching c hangs in the social. economic and political situation that hod been imposed on the peoples of the region over the centuries by feudalism and underdevelopmerit, The people ol’ Nicaragun, like those of tll Salvador, Grenuda and Cuba. and their brothers in Asia and Africa. cannot tolerate the burden of poverty, oppression and humilintion that has weighed on them for too long, and they must struggle to change the internal and external structures of their societies, whether they be colonial or neo-colonial in form. 89. The people and Government of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nnm vigorously condemn that plot and the adventurism of the Reagan Administration, so fraught with consequences. We resolutely support the cause of the defence and reconstruction of the country, people and Government of Nicaragua. as well as those of Cirenuda and Cuba. 85. After the triumph of its revolution, the people of Nic~agua is dediciiting itself to the work of reconstructing its country in the way it hns itsc1.f chosen. Wc greatly regret that this revolution and ith ;iLtcndant chmges ---changes that hi~vc :~lways cxihtcd. as long iIS the history of mankind. :md which are ~1s impossible to prevent as ;I pregn;int wommn’s giving birth-are 90. Wvc are convinced that the just struggle of the people of t:l Salvador for democracy, freedom and 4t~/i‘-~i~~ti~I.i~ii!.l;Ili!lll \,vill 2riiirrlpll. 91. W/e arc firmly convinced that. whutrvcr philu- \,ophic. religious or political differences may exist, 92. In my delegation’s view, the only alternative to the present tense situation in the Central American region and the Caribbean is the assumption by the Reagan Administration of its duty to put an end to its policy of intervention and aggression and to respect the right to self-determination of the peoples of that region. It is to be hoped that there will be a positive response to the five-point proposal of the Government of Nicaragua, as set forth by Commander Daniel Ortegn. 93. My delegation calls upon the Council to do everything in its power, within the framework of its mandate, to help to bring about a settlement of this situation by fruitful negotiations between the two parties. for the benefit of peace and the security of that region nnd of the whole world.

I shall now make :I statement in my capacity as the representative of the UNITED STATES: it will be made in exercise of the right of reply. 95. I should like to begin by thanking the various Member States of the United Nations who have spoken today in support of the principles of national self-determination, national independence, strict respect for territorial integrity, and non-intervention in the affairs of other States. Those are principles which are very dear to my country and which the United States in its foreign affairs does its very best to honour in a serious and consistent fashion. 96. I should like also to express the sincere agreement of the United States with the principles of international law that were cited by the representative of Guynnn and various other speakers today, particularly with reference to the use of force and threats of force in the affairs of nations. The United States is very profoundly committed to the principle of the non-use of force in international relations and committed also to following and abiding by the principles of the Charter of the United Nations concerning the use and nonuse of force. 97. I should like also to express the soljdarity of the United States with all those peoples which hope for change, for democracy and development in Central America. 98. I cannot forbear noting that today there have been some rather odd disjunctions between some aspects of 99. Yesterday I found it interesting to listen to the representative of Angola paying homage to the principle of respect for national independence, since Angola is a nation whose national independence is in some sense subject to the will of 30,000. 25,000. 20,000-however many thousand-foreign troops who occupy that land. with the consent of that Government which is invoking the principle of national independence. 100. I find it, I suppose, particularly interesting to listen to the representative of the Government of Cuba commenting on peaceful affairs in this hemisphere nnd respect for the principles of national independence and non-intervention. Cuba is a very strange nation which today. as members of this Council know, maintains some 40,000 soldiers in Africa illone, where those troops dominate two countries, doing for the Soviet Union there what the Gurkha mercenaries did for nineteenth century England. 101. In Central America, Cuba is attempting to export aggression. subvert established Governments and intervene in :I most persistent and massive fashion in the internal affairs of more than one nation in that region. In Nici\ragua alone, it maintains no fewer than 1,800 to 2,000 security and military personnel. 102. In others words, as Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Enders noted yesterday in his testimony before the United States Congress, “Cuba is a wouldbe foreign policy giant superimposed on an economic pygmy, whose people have had to sacrifice all hope for 11 rising standard of living in order to gain advantages in foreign affairs.” Those advantages are largely purchased for it by some $3 billion nnnual economic ad from the Soviet Umon-an d ;I great deal more military aid of course. 103. My country, however, welcomes any move of the Government of Cuba towards greater concern for the economic development and well-being of its people, 104. Finally. commenting on the use of language and the realities of politics, it occurred to me that members of the Council might be interested in 51 recent article concerning Sandino and Sandinismo in Nic- ~II*U~UU, since we are discussing here the letter of the Co-ordinator of the Nicaraguan Junta. A prestigious writer. Pablo Joaquln Chamorro y Cardenale, WS 106. I now resume my functions as PRESIDENT. 107. The representative of Cuba has asked to speak in exercise of the right of reply. I invite him to take :I pluce at the Council table and to make his statement. 108. Mr. ROA KOURI fintoprv~ttrtiorl ,fjw~ Spm id?): It is not, of course, to engage in polemics that I have requested to speak once again, in the exercise of the right of reply. In my previous statement I said that we have come to the Council precisely to seek. through the action of the members of the Council. to prevent a new act of intervention in Central America and the Caribbean, to prevent the use of force against the countries of our region. Actually, I should like to clarify several concepts expressed by the President of the Council in her capacity as the represent&ive of the United States Government. “Sandino should be exalted precisely as a contrast to the Communists, who obey signals from Russia and China, Sandino fought against the United States Marines, but he did not bring Russian Cossacks to Nicaragua. as Fidel Castro did in Cuba. There is a great difference between the Communist Fidel Castro, who in his false battle for the independence of his country has filled it with Russian rockets, soldiers, planes and even canned goods, und a Sandino. who defended the sovereignty of his ground with home-made bombs but without accepting the patronage of another Dower. For this reason. Sandino was great-because he was not handed over to Communist treason like Csslro. but fought within an Indo-Hispanic limit. 109. In the first place, it seems to me that the representative of the United States has today used a new -or at least it seems new to me-form of the wellknown Orwellian “double-speak” when she says that the principles that guide the foreign policy of the United States are precisely the non-use of force, respect for the territorial integrity of nations, non-intervention and non-interference in the internal affairs of other States. The non-use of force-l repeat. Perhaps I suffer from historical myopia or blindness, but I seem to remember that it was not the Republic of Cuba that invaded Viet Nam or Laos or Kampuchea: that of course it was not the Republic of Mexico that took :~wny from the United States 40 per cent of its national territory: that obviously it was no small Latin American country which intervened, from the middle of the last century up to very recently, in 1965, in the Dominican Republic-where, curious as it may seem. the Interamerican Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance” was invoked, but only after 42 United States Marines had disembarked in Santo Domingo and then some 500 soldiers were brought in from some Latin American countries to somewhat legalize that state of affairs. Nevertheless, I am very pleased to see the representative of the United States Government stating before the Council that those principles embodied in the Charter of the United Nations are the ones which guide the foreign policy of her Government. We hope that that is the cnse, at least in the future. “Naturally the Communists who attacked and slandered Sandino when he was in the mountains now try to use him, because they have no moral scruple to restrain them. Sandino was a pure product of our land, very different from the products exported by Russia or China, and as such we must exult and preserve his memory. The value of his exploits has ;I Nicaraguan value. not Soviet, and his nutionmlism is indigenous, not Russian. “S.andino is a monument to the dignity of our country and we must not permit the Communists, with whom he never communed, to besmirch his memory in order to use his prestige and to succeed some day. on the pretext that they are fighting imperialism, in delivering our land to Russia, as Castro did with Cuba”. 105. Finally, I should like simply to mention that there has been a good deal of talk of change in Central America today and there has been a good deal of invocation of the hope of change for the people of Central America, The Government of the United States hopes very much for change in Central America: we hope it will be as peaceable as possible and bought at as low a price to the people of Central Americ;, its possible. We believe that an example of penceable change may be observed this very week-end in Ef Salvador, where free elections with a free press, with competition among the parties, will take place. The risks of ;I free election are. as every office-holdel knows, very great, When a Government risks a free I IO. The representative of the United States said that Cubn was a strange nation. That surprises me. coming, as it does, from someone living 90 miles from th:\t strange nation and because for many, many years, very close ties existed between our two peoples. II I 12. However, for four years after the end of the war :\gninst Spain, the United States military interventionists never concerned themselves with holding elections in Cuba. And when they were held. it was in order to elect ;I President who accepted the Platt amendment-in other words, who accepted a urpitis tl~nli/lntio Republic of Cub;~: he accepted an amendmcnt allowing the United States Government to intervcne whenever it considered its interests to be affected. That wils done by the Government of the United States. I I?. It is said that we maintain 40,000 soldiers-a figure which I huve never heard in my own countryin occupation of two African countries. Really, I find it unique that such language should be used in the Security Council by the President of this body-even though she used it in her capacity as representative of the United States-to refer to ;I presence agreed to between independent and sovereign States, Members of the IJnited Nations. I believe that this is truly offensive Iungllilgtl. I do not think that the Government of the United States can improve its relations with African countries by insulting independent and sovereign nations. 114. It is true that my Government sent a limited military force to Angola. at the request of the Government of that country. in order precisely to prevent the racist regime of South Africa rind the so-called FLNA 1 N(rtioll(tl I;j.out ,fiJr t/lo Lihcrtrtion I$ .4ngo/rr I, under the leadership of someone known as Holden Roberto, whom the whole world knows to be an agent of the United States Central Intelligence Agency, from impeding the independence of that country. I IS. But it was the South African rncist Ggime which invilded Angola, II rigime which according to the President of the United States, is America’s ally. Furthermore. everyone knows that that invasion wns programmed by the Government of the United States in order to prevent the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola from attaining power and consolidating it in Angola. 116. I wish very clearly to state that the Cubnn troops which are in Angola and in Ethiopia to contribute to the defence of the independence of those countries arc there under sovereign agreements between WI‘ countries. in conformity with Article 51 of the Charter, and that they will remnin there for ;\s long as the Governments of Cubu nnd of those coun- 117. It is si\id Ihilt we interfere in the affi1iI.s of SL’vcKll countries of the hemisphere. This remains to be proven, sl) f;lr tI1el.c hns &n no real evidence that this is the ciise. 118. It is snid thnt in Nic;\r:\gui\ wt‘ hnvC bCtwcen l ,800und 2,000 security ilnd military personnoI. IieiilIy* I think thut figtires are being inflated with helium !$I\. Yeh. wc do have 3,000 Cuban technicians in Niti\r~\g~~i\. We cnn give the names of C;IC~ and t?VrQ one of them, wllert: they reside in Cuba. what their PI.+ fessions :~ly-cjoctol.s, teachers. builders-and, of course. we illstj have ;I small number of military iIdvisers theI-e at the request of the Nicaraguan Government. But this should come as no surprise to :ll~ycWW: it is normal practice in today’s world. It is not i\ crime. It is done on the busis of ngrecments between indcpendent und sovereign Governments. I 19. A gentlernun whose name I do not rec:~Il-I cclt~ld not take the name down-has been quoted i\s saying in the United States Congress that Cuhu WLIS a politicnl giant superimposed on nn economic pygmy [ptl~rr. 102). Well, I think that it is iIn ~si\gg~Wil~n tcj say that Cuba is a political giant-and. of cou~‘sc, it is also un exaggeration to say that Cuhn is an CCOnomic pygmy. We ill72 ii poor nation. in the pi*cXXss of development. But should the representative of the United States be interested in looking some time ilt the figures published by the Economic Commission for Latin America, the Food ilnd Agriculture Ot’giInization of the United Nations, the United Nation\ Educational. Scientific and Culturnl Orgnnization, iInd other organs of the United Nations system. she would see that W~Z have the highest life expectancy of almost alI developing nations, and certainly of Latin Amcricil: that our infant mortality rate per I.000 live birth> is comparable to thnt of the most developed cl>1111- tries: that protein consumption in our country is cl>mparable to that of the most developed countries: and thut public health in WI country is tl)tilIIy free crT churge. :IS is ~ISO public education iit all levels, In other words, while being ;I poor and underdcvclopcd country, our standard of living is much higher than that of’the vast majority of the sl)-cilllcd thil-d-world countries. And we have achieved this through (XII’ own efforts, in the face of an economic blockudc decreed by the most important and powerful cupitalist country in the world. which even prevents \I% from buying its medicine and food. not to speak of CilPitul goods or equipment. We hnve done this thr~~@~ our own efforts and. yes, 211~ with the nssistancc of the Soviet Union and the other sociuliat cotlntrieh. This is fraternal assistance for which we ure gr:lteftll: it is economic and commcrcinl exchange which WC pructisc on terms extremely f~lvollri\blc to over country. IL I2 t. However. concern over the presence of :I few thousand Cuban soldiers in two Africnn countries and ;t handful of advisers in Nicaragua is truly inconceivable coming from the representative of a country which has more than 360 military bases abroad. including one on Cuban national territory, in Guant5namo. against the express will of the Government and the people of Cuba. And the United States Government not being a friend of Cuba, it is really nonsensical for our people to have to tolerate a world Power having one of the largest military bases of the al’ea on our own territory. 12s. Hence, elections in El Salvador would appw to me to be only elections on paper. Even the results. whatever they may be, would appear to me in these circumstances to be very doubtful. 122. Finally. I should like to say that of course the ftzw thousand Cuban soldiers who are in two African countries to contribute to the safeguarding of the independence nnd sovereignty of these two countries are no threat to anyone. 126. That is all I wnnted to say. not to engage in polemics but merely to dot the i’s. 123. I wonder. given the record of successive United States Administrations, what we could say about the hundreds of thousands of American soldiers who are found all over the world, from Asia to Africa, in all hemispheres and in the Cuant$namo naval base. 124. Concerning the forthcoming elections in El Salvndor. I would simply say the following. It seems to me that it is being over-optimistic to think that in a country shaken by a deep civil war, :I country where hwman rights are nut respected--and the United Nations Commission on Human Rights itself recently 1 Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin Amer. ica (United Nations, Treaty Series. vol. 634. No. ‘9068). 1 General Assembly resolution 2625 (XXV), annex. t General Assemblv resolution 36/103. annex. part II. paras. ((I). I (c) and (c). I3 HOW TO OBTAIN UNITED NATIONS PUBLICATIONS United Nationa publicaritrns may be obtained from hookstorcs and distributors throughout the world. Consult your bookstore or write IO: llnited Nations. Salus Section. New York or Geneva. COMMENT SE PROCURER LES PUBLICATIONS DES NATIONS UNIES Lcs publications dcs Nations Unies sent en vente dans Its lihrairies et Its agences dPpositaires du monde cnticr. 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