S/PV.2361 Security Council

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

I thank you, Sir, and the members of the Council for giving me this opportunity to say a few words while the Council remains seized of a most important matter, which in my opinion not only involves the security and independence of one country but also constitutes a threat to the maintenance of harmony in international relations and the preservation of international security. 49. It is a privilege for me to associate myself with other speakers in expressing my sentiments of good wishes to you as you assume the presidency for the month of May. In the same breath, 1 congratulate the representative of Zaire for the appropriate manner in which he performed the same task during the past month. 50. My statement today is prompted by a deep feeling of concern as the Councii deliberates on the subject involving the Republic of Seychelles--concern because my country also had some experiences relating to foreign mercenaries in early 1980. Although it was not as bitter as that of the Republic of Seychelles late last year, our experience and the subsequent information that we were able to gather helped us gain a wider perception of the dire threat that confronts the international community if it fails to take appropriate action to curb the growing numbers of groups of people in various parts of the world who remain ever ready to sell their fighting skills, regardless of the objective for which they do so. 51. While I do not wish to take up too much of the Council’s time, I cannot help but mention that a more detailed revelation of the distasteful facts of mercenary activities could hardly be found than that in the cover story of the magazine N~\I* Africtrn of March 1982, under the caption “Mercenaries: Target Africa”. I shall quote just one sentence from the article: “For a fist full of dollars they will kill or get killed. That is the name of the game.” Even if this directs the reader’s attention to only a limited area of such activities, we should not be so naive as to believe that they are or would be restricted to that area. I sincerely feel that such activities should be viewed as a dangerous reality throughout the world. 57. Countries like Maldives rely to a considerable extent on the United Nations for the preservation and maintenance of their security, independence und territorial integrity, We have trust and confidence in the functioning of the United Nations system in a timely and effective manner so that the lofty principles enshrined in the Charter may be upheld, respected and acted upon, irrespective of whether a nation is big or small. strong or weak, rich or poor. 58. The PRESIDENT (i/ltl’lprrtotir,n ,f>om (‘hi- 53. The report of the Security Council Commission of Inquiry established under resolution 496 ( 1981) is. as we all know, not quite complete or conclusive. But this is certainly not, in my opinion, the result of any lack of effort on the part of the members of the Commission. Indeed, they should be highly commended for the careful and conscientious work they have done, What stands out clearly is the extent of the economic loss suffered by the victim of this act by the mercenaries. My delegation thereforr sincerely feels that the least that could be done noti would be to initiate the necessary steps to take every possible action to alleviate the tremendous economic burden that has befallen our sister nation. 170s~): The next speaker is the representative of Algeria. I invite him to take a place at the Council table and to make a statement. 59. Mr. ABADA (Algerin) fi17tr,pr.rrufion ,fiw77 Frc~nch): Mr. President. allow me first of all to express the satisfaction of the Algerian delegation at seeing you preside over the Council at a time when the international situation requires so much attention, so much competence and so much effort to prevent the destiny of mankind from moving towards more violence, more confrontation and more suffering. 60. Being a representative of a country with a long history and an age-old civilization, a country so sensitive to the freedom and the progress of peoples, with which Algeria is honoured to have strong bonds of friendship, I am convinced that you will assume yout mission with authority, conscientiousness and effectiveness. 54. In the view of my delegation, the other aspects of this sad episode must receive the fullest attention of this body and should be considered with utmost seriousness. I shall not quote extracts, in order not to take up too much of the Council’s valuable time; suffice it to mention the following articles which appeared in Thrj N~II’ York Ti1nc.r on the following dates: 22 April, under the headline “South Africa Tied to Abortive Coup”: 4 May, under the headline “Testimony Links South African Arms to Coup”: 10 May 1982, under the headline “Trial Gives Peek at South Africa Intelligence Web”. 61, I must also say how much my delegation nppreciates the significant work achieved during a particularly burdensome month by your predecessor, Mr. Kamanda wa Kamanda. 62. In speaking today on behalf of Algeria--and I thank you for having allowed me to do so-my delegation wishes to carry out a mandate entrusted to it as well as to other African countries by the thirtyeighth session of the Council of Ministers of the OAU, held at Addis Ababa from 22 to 28 February 1982, to make a collective contribution to the Security Council concerning the study of a particularly serious aggression, and at the same time to show the support of Africa for the Republic of Seychelles. 55. Furthermore, the unambiguous statement of the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Seychelles is still very fresh in my mind. Taking into consideration the statements recorded by the Commission of Inquiry relating to South Africa, and the fact that the rigime in Pretoria still endeavours to prolong the inhuman policy of q,wtkrid. my delegation earnestly appeals to the Council not to relax its vigilance nnd its efforts to implement fully its resolution 496 ( 198 1) and asks that it take whatever action may be found necessary, 63. In doing so. Algeria is also fulfilling the duty of friendship and solidarity with a friendly brother country whose independence and sovereignty were so seriously threatened, It is also an opportunity for us to indicate the special esteem that we have for the 56. From our experience of the past and the events connected with the Republic of Seychelles. we believe that the problem of mercenary activities should 7 - 64. That small country, which everyone rightly describes as a paradise, ought to have been allowed to move along an easy path by exploiting all the advuntage.s of its geographical situation. Indeed, although situated in a very important strategic area, which arouses great covetousness in others, this country has., preferred, ,to turn resolutely along the road of social progress for all its people, to practise a policy of national independence and choose non-alignment. with all that that entails in terms of commitment and devotion 50 the just causes of the world. 65. Such options, in terms of both domestic and foreign,affairs, affirmed with conviction by a peaceful people, unfortunately make the Republic of Seychelles seem an easy target for the enemies of the freedom of peoples and of peace, for the enemies of Africa. 66.’ The ,qggressors who appeared once again against the. SeJcheiles on 25 November 1981 aimed at nothing less’ ‘than challenging those options, obtaining the submissi&n,of the Seychelles people and leading them into G’new form of servitude. 67.‘. Whil& we’ were delighted at the new victory won by the pedple of the Seychelles, who managed to foil an Operation that was minutely planned and powerfully organized and carried out, we must do everything possible to shed light on this affair. to expose a&l cbndemn its authors and instigators and to make godd the losses suffered. 68. For Algeria, as for Africa as a whole, this criminal a’ct had a familiar ring to it, a!; did those other aggressions of recent years against Angola, Zambia, Botswana and Mozambique. Everywhere, in the whole of southel+n Africa. it is the Pretoria rCgime that we find challenging the independence and sovereignty of,Africnn peoples, challenging the OAU, challenging the United Nations, in order to establish its imperialist strategy of domination, destabilization and the weakening of free Africa. 69. Having received its mandate from this body, the Commission of Inquiry whose report we are studying at .the -present time had of course to move with ,wisdom and perhaps with caution in conscientiously establishing the facts, and seeking out and canfirming the. various elements involved before instituting ,what, in view of this consummate act of aggression and mercenarism, can be no less than a criminal trial., 7d: ke understand and respect the steps taken by the Commission, and Algeria wishes to pay a tribute to the Commission and particularly to its Chairman; but we remain convinced that the continuation of the Commission’s activities would enable us to place international responsibility on those who are the ~OLII’CC of the aggression, who prepared and financed it. 72. What the Commission’s report does not contain is, moreover, significant, and the limitations with which. in this first stage, the inquiry met. in fact reveal the composite sketch of the criminal. We need not wait for the additional elements of the inquiry called for in this first report in order to point the finger at the Pretoria rigime and to denounce it all the more forcefully since it sought to harm a non-aligned African country-one of the smallest and most vulnerable among us, a country that so deserves to live in freedom, dignity and honest labour. 73. But as if in itself the crime of aggression was not sufficiently hateful, it was necessary to entrust the carrying out of that aggression to mercenaries with a long record of misdeeds committed against other African peoples. Let it be understood why Africa bristles with anger and revulsion and is so demanding of the international community. 74. In the aggressive implementation of an imperial racism, the Pretoria rigime is today attempting to give new life to mercenarism. The intolerable effluent of a psychology and a behaviour that for centuries made it possible to justify colonial conquests and to establish relations of domination and enslavement. mercenarism could become. because of the unbridled will to hegemony motivating the racist Pretoria leaders, a disturbing reality in the entire southern part of our continent, if the international community does not take the necessary radical measures to eliminate it. 75. The fact that the area of destabilization should have been extended to Seychelles, through the secular arm of Pretoria-the mercenaries-confirms quite clearly the perilous designs against the security of the African continent and emphasizes the urgency of an organized international riposte to the constant challenges of the (~purfh~id rCgime. 76. The growing awareness by the United Nations of the danger of mercenarism is established, and a consistent doctrine has been progressively built up. Prohibited by the Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations,’ the use of mercenaries is 77, For its part, the Council has in similar situations duly added to this doctrine by establishing and describing facts and by recognizing the right of victims to reparation. specifically during the consideration of the aggression against the People’s Republic of Benin in I%‘7 ]rr.st~///fion 40-5 f/977)].

Sir. I should like first a# alI to join the previous speakers who hnvr cwgralulated YOU on your assumption of the presi+wy 1~ the month of May. I wish you much SUCWYS in &ji~ the work of the Council at this delic:& rim, tikn tk international situation is particularly complic;Ilrd, 78. Similarly, an NL/ /zoc committee, over which Algeria hus the honour to preside. has received the mandate to draft an international convention against the recruitment, use, financing and training of mercenaries. And today we can see how necessary it is to speed up the carrying out of this task. 86. 1 am grateful to you and the other members d the Council for affording my delegakn this uppwtunity Lo make a statement during the discuwiuu UC the report of the Security Council Cummissiun uf Inquiry on the attack by South African mercenwk!, against the Republic of Seychelles, seriously iHeelim international peace and security. 7’9. But over und above all the actions undertaken and the logical stands taken, there remains the political need for the exercise of the prerogatives of the Council in the maintenance of international peace and security. Indeed. in order to be reliable and dissuasive, the system of collective security established by the Charter of the United Nations requires the condemnation of any act of aggression and the naming and condemning of the perpetrator of such an act. 87. This unlawful act of aggression planned by the highest circles of the Government of South Africa end carried out by professional killers trying to hide their links to the racist rigime by using various methuds of deception was condemned by rhe vasl mujority uf the international community. On 14 December IYIII. the members of the Council unanimously CO&& the mercenary aggression against Hte Republic d Seychelles and the subsequent hijacking OT UN Air India aircraft [I.P,W/UT~O~ 4Y6 (I YR/)I. / 80. Although there is no doubt that the Pretoria ; r&ime deliberately organized and financed the aggrcssion, the Council, on the basis of paragraph 282 of the report of the Commission of Inquiry, which rec- Ognizes that the South African authorities could not help but be aware of the preparations, is duty-bound to draw the minimum conclusion that the Pretoria rCgime is at the very least an accomplice in this aggression. 88. Since then, a great deal of evidence bus beefi produced by the Commission of Inquiry eslublished by the Security Council. In the course of the invesligaliun conducted by the Commission, the mercenuries cup tured by the authorities of the Republic uf Seyckks revealed that the authorities of South Africa gave Ihe order to their National Intelligence Service to W&W nize a weep ~l’c:tot against the Government of kychelles. It was the National Intelligence Service d South Africa that recruited 44 mercenaries from eif# countries, most of them from South Africa, gave Ikm arms and money and sent them to the Republic uf 81. In addition to the political and moral condemnation that the Council must level at the perpetrator of the aggression, reparation for the damages caused is an important element of what is expected from the Council. Seychelles with the aim of overthrowing Ihal COLMtry’s legitimate Government. * 82. The system of international responsibility makes this reparation the responsibility of the perpetrator of the aggression. Consequently, it would be appropriate for the Commission of Inquiry to be able to continue its investigations along these lines and to give the Council a supplementary report on the basis of which the elements of the final verdict could be determined. 89. This illegitimate act of aggression he3 MW again directed the attention of the interNiIIiU@UIl CUW munity to the true nature of the racist rkgime uf %tuh Africa, which continuously disregards Ihe nWS( &* menta1.y norms of international law. It has underlined once ;lgain that if the international WfllIllWi~y is ti going to t&e urgent measures in order tu stOp thr dungerous international Crimintd ilCb Of the rib&t +gime, tomorrow any poor and weak cuuntry c&d fall victim to Pretoria’s armed aggression. 83. However, given the fragility and vulnerability of the economic situation of Seychelles, and given the Scope of the damages which the Commission CWreCtlY assessed, international solidarity with Seychelles must be immediately organized so that the consequences of the uggression can he quickly eliminated. In this regard, the creation of a special fund for Seychelles is required as un urgent measure. and all States must be invited to contribute to it. ,4lger-i;l will give its full support to any initiative along these lines. y(). The armed aggression against the Re@lic ti Seychelles represents il new feature Of the N&’ purslled by the racist I‘igime. It WBS an HltemD( 10 ovcl.thI-o\v ;l legitimate foreign Government. II WUI Ul attempt that put civil aviation into SerioUs duW&Y by 9 1. It was no accident that the mercenary attack was carried out against a non-aligned country whose in&- pendent foreign policy displeases some Governments by standing in the way of the success of their endeavours in the strategically-important region of the Indian Ocean. 92. As has been emphasized many times in the United Nations. the racist rCgime of South Africa could not pursue its policy of rrprrrth~id without the collaboration and active support of its Western partners and allies. The same is true of the foreign adventures of the racist rtgime, of its acts of armed aggression against the front-line States and of all the attempts aimed at destabilizing the whole region. Consequently, the responsibility attaches also to those countries that maintain ties of co-operation and support with the Pretoria rCgime. 93. The year I982 has been declared by the United Nations as the International Year of Mobilization fol Sanctions against South Africa. We urge once again that those countries which have not done so cease every kind of collaboration with the racist rigime, in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the General Assembly and the Security Council. 94. As a member of the Special Committee against Aptrrthcid since its inception, Hungary resolutely condemns the policy of oportlwid as well as the aggressive foreign political course of the racist rCgime and supports all practical measures aimed at putting an immediate end to them. It is in this spirit that our Government has condemned in the strongest terms the attempted (*or/p d’c;rt/t by South African mercenaries against the Government of Seychelles and has reiterated uur full solidarity with the people of Seychelles. We hope that the international community will see to it that such attempts do not happen again and that the Republic of Seychelles will be fully compensated for the damages caused by the attack, 95. Let me say in conclusion that although we highly appreciate the work of the Commission of Inquiry for having thrown light on a great many aspects of the attack against the Republic of Seychelles, we share the view of Foreign Minister Jacques Hodoul of Seychelles-whom we wholeheartedly welcome in our midst-that the Commission has yet completely to fulfil its mandate by making a more comprehensive approach to this many-sided issue, shedding a clearer light on the origin, background and financing of the aggression and establishing more unequivocally the responsibility for it. 96. We support the extension of the mandate of the Commission of Inquiry and the request for a supplementary report.

On behalf of the delegation of the German Democratic Republic, I congratulate you, Sir, on your assumption of the presidency for the month of May. It is OUI expectation that under your skilful guidance the Council will contribute to the solution of important international problems in the interest of peace and security. 99. I also wish to pay a tribute to the work of YOUI predecessor as President of the Council in the month of April, Mr. Kamanda wa Kamanda of Zaire. 100. My delegation is pleased to welcome the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Seychelles, Mr. Jacques Hodoul, who is participating in this important meeting. 101. The Council is meeting again in order to deal with the aggression committed against the Republic of Seychelles and with the resulting conclusions. My delegation has already, at the meeting last December [23/&l? mrrtirzg], taken up a position regarding this act of terrorism and has thoroughly condemned this aggression. The report submitted by the Security Council Commission of Inquiry confirms that this act of international terrorism, prepared long beforehand, was directed at the sovereignty of a Member State of the United Nations, All that violence, murder and destruction have been taken into account, Instructive information can be drawn from the report about the origin of the mercenaries, some of them having already been involved earlier in similar criminal actions on the African continent. 102. In this connection the delegation of the German Democratic Republic supports the view that great importance attaches to the speedy conclusion of a convention against the recruitment, use, financing and training of mercenaries. 103. In the meantime, many facts and connections have become known regarding the mercenary aggression against the Republic of Seychelles on 25 November 198 I. From the above-mentioned report. from the statements of the mercenaries and also from various publications of the international press, the fact emerges that the Government of South Africa as well as imperialist secret services were directly involved in the preparation and commission of this aggression. 104. According to Thc~ NPII- York Tirncs of 4 May. even the leader of the gang of mercenaries that committed the attack upon the sovereignty of Seychelles has testified “that the South African Government had approved the attempted takeover and supplied the weapons” /.SCJ~J SllSOS6, trnnr.~]. And on 10 May the 108. These events underline the urgency of resolute measures against the trpartl~itl regime. The aggression against the Republic of Seychelles considerably damaged that country. 105. Evaluation of these facts and naming of the forces responsible are all the more imperative because the irggression against the Republic of Seychelles is only one link in the chain of flagrant violations of international law by the rrpcwtkid regime. It is necessary only to mention the continuous aggression against the People’s Republic of Angola and the persistent #tempts to destabilize other sovereign States in southern Africa. For Pretoria, no measures are too dirty to implement aggressive plans. 109. The German Democratic Republic supports the legitimate demand of Seychelles that the forces responsible be brought to account and obliged to make compensation. It is in full solidarity with the Republic of Seychelles. 110. As already *,tated, only a few days ago. by the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany and Chairman of the Council of State of the German Democratic Republic. Erich Honecker, at Berlin, we sincerely wish all peoples of Asia, Africa and Latin America tu succeed in shaping their lives in their own way in peace and security. without imperialist intervention and interference. 106. For the aggression krgainst Seychelles, they mude use of purchasable unscrupulous mercenaries: in Nemibia, the illegal occupution is maintained through terror and violence and the right of self-determimttion of the people is denied: in London, bomb tutocks on the bureau of the African Nntionul Congress of South Afric;r ( ANC) are committed: in Moznmbique. members of the ANC are treacherously murdcrcd. 107. The resolutions ttdopted by the General Asscmbly ;rt its thirty-sixth session i~rc fully .justificd in refcrrinlf to the increasing Pretoria-induced threat to internutlonal pe:rce ;md security and condemning the complicity of those States which encourage South Africa to escalate its aggressive policy, provide it with ucnpons and xsist it in the development of its nucleirr II HOW TO OBTAIN UNITED NATIONS PUBLICATIONS United Nations publications may be obtained l’rom 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 UN IES Lcs publications des Nations Unies sont cn vcnte dans les librairies et Its agences depositaires du monde enrier. Informcz-vous aupres de votrc lihrnire ou adresser-vous g : Nations Unies, Section des ventes. New York ou Gentive. 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