S/PV.2370 Security Council

I should like to begin by joining other delegations that have spoken before me in welcoming the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Seychelles, Mr. Jacques Hodoul. It is an honour to have him with us. 5 - . The report before the Council contained in document S/ 1490S/Rev. I is a very good and useful report. I should like on this occasion to pay a very special tribute to Mr. Azores Typaldos of Panama, Chairm:ln of the Commission of Inquiry. and to Mr. Craig of Ireland and Mr. Sezaki of Japan, the other members of the Commission. The members of the Commission have worked hard and thoroughly to produce the present report. My delegation is most grateful to them for their efforts. 6. The basic facts of the case before the Council are that on 25 November 1981 the Republic of Seychelles, ;I non-aligned and peace-loving Member of the United 7. The findings of the Commission confirmed what many of us suspected all along: namely, that the immediate preparation and planning, including the recruitment of the mercenaries, took place in South Africa: that among the mercenaries were a number of reservists in the South African army who had been issued with call-up papers, and a South African intelligence officer, Mr. Martin Dolinschek: that the weapons used in the invasion were acquired and tested in South Africa before the mercenaries departed for Seychelles: and that, given the tight security control in South Africa, the Commission believes that the South African Government had knowledge of the preparations. 8. By definition. mercenaries are agents recruited to execute the purpose of a paymaster. For this reason, wc often refer to them as soldiers of fortune, The first question that comes to mind, therefore, is who was the paymaster of this particular band of mercenaries: that is to say, who was responsible for the mercenary aggression against the Republic of SeychellCs. 9. My delegation is convinced beyond the shadow of :I doubt that the Pretoria rkgime was responsible fol this crime against the Republic of Seychelles. Our conviction is based on the findings to which I have just referred. Furthermore, Michael Hoare, the leader of the mercenary band. testifying before a South African court in N;ltnl. has since said that the South African authorities had approved the invasion plan at the highest level of Government and that it also supplied the weapons used in the invasion. IO. The second question that comes to mind concerns the motive for the attempt to overthrow the legal and legitimate Government of the Republic of Seychelles. The motive with regard specifically to the Seychelles is clear enough and is spelled out in pxtgraph 127 of the report. But it must be emphasized that the invasion of Seychelles was only part of a wider design by the Pretoria r&gime. That design consists of a programme for the destabilization of several independent African States, The objectives of this design are twofold. First, it is an attempt to weaken the economies of these countries in order to make them perpetually dependent on the South African economic system and therefore very vulnerable, I I. The work of the Commission of Inquiry is 4, incomplete, for reasons that were well beyond thr I control of the Commission itself, My delegation thcr+ fore supports the recommendation of the Corwuis4ic: that it be authorized to furnish a supplementary report, which would take into account all the developmcnrr that have taken place since work was completed on rk; present report. 12. The report of the Commission also reveal> th: material damage and economic loss suffered by !%k chelles as a result of this invasion, It is clear rh~f particular damar,: has been inflicted on the tourirm industry, which i , the mainstay of the nntionnl cctin. omy. We therefore strongly support the establishment of a special fund for Seychelles in order to help th;~t country recover from this grievous loss. We ndJrc++ an urgent and earnest appeal to all members of thi international community to rally behind the Govern. ment of Seychelles and support it in the difficult t~k of recovery, 13. The mercenary aggression against the Republi; of Seychelles has once again underlined the gril\‘itr of the phetiomenon of mercenarism and the urgent need to conclude as soon as possible the work noi\ ’ under way on the draft convention against the rccruit~ ment, use, financing and training of mercenaries. \Vc appeal to all Members ?f the LJnited Nations to COoperate fully to ensure the early completion of Ihic work. 14. i take this opportunity to express our total SllP port for and solidarity with the Government and PCC). ple of Seychelles, I also wish to convey the symp~~th~ and solidarity of my delegation to the Governmrnt and people of Swaziland, who were also victims of thi< aggression, in which they lost a commercial aircraft. IS. But we know that the Pretoria rtigime will lIltimately fail in its design against independent Africiin countries. The collective resolve of Africa is gro\Vin; and succeeding, and time is on our side. 16. Mr. AMEGA [Togo) fir7f(~r.l,r.r~ttrtioll ,/i’fJfjl Fwnd7): The draft resolution presented to this impurtant body bears the symbol S/IS 127 and today’s date. It is drafted and co-sponsored by all the non-aligned members of the Council: namely. Guyana, Jwh Panama, Togo, Uganda and Zaire. As the Council can imagine, this document is the fruit of very lensthY .work in the course of which we had to make CorUssions among ourselves. the non-aligned members. We were also able to benefit from the advice of other memhers of the Council, In particular. we took into accoljfit amendments which other members presented. With regard to those amendments, by this afternoon there 17. That having been said. what is the thrust of the text? In the preamble we have repeated resolution 496 ( 1981). which affirms the territorial integrity and political independence of the Republic of Seychelles and says that they must be respected. There is another reference in the preamble to that resolution, which established the Commission of Inquiry whose report is contained in document S/l490S/Rev. I. It is on the basis of that report that we drew up the draft resolution. 18. The draft resolution contains references to sorn~‘ of our concerns-the violation of the territorial integrity of Seychelles by the mercenaries and the loss of human life-and it also deplores the substantial damage to property caused to the Republic of Seychelles. The draft resolution also expresses deep concern over the danger represented by mercenaries, in the f(Jrm of the destabilization and weakening of small and already wcuk States, particularly the independent States of Africa. 25. Accordingly, I present the text on behalf of my colleagues for the approval of the members of the Council. Since the debates have shown that there is a certain consensus, I urge members to adopt the draft resolution by the same consensus. 15). In its operative part, the draft resolution contains condemnations, a request for additional infwmation, and provision for the setting up of a special fund and an ad lzoc committee to manage it. Finally, WC note that the report is not complete and say that it must be completed in the light of the trial under way in the Republic of South Africa.

It is my understanding that the Council is ready to proceed to the vote on the draft resolution submittcd by Guyana. Jordan. Panama, Togo. lJganda and Zaire, which is contained in document S/15127. Unless I hear any objection. I shall put the drilft resolution to the vote now. 20. We strongly condemn, as might well be imagined, the who’le phenomenon of mercenaries. for reasons that I do not need to go into here because they are very familiar to the Council. WC also reaffirm resolution 239 (1967). which condemns any State which persists in permitting or tolerating the recruitment of mercenaries and the provision of facilities to them, with the objective of overthrowing the Governments of States Mcmbcrs of the United Nations. We also condemn illegal acts against the security and safety of civil aviation.

My delegation wishes to +)in in extending a cordial welcome to these proceechngs to the Minister i’o~ Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Seychelles. We also extend to him our warm thanks for his faithfulness in attending these proceedings and in contributing substantially to them. 2 I. The operative part of the draft resolution also contains a request for assistance. All States and international organizations. including the United Nations specializcd agencies, are called upon to provide all the necessary assistance to repair the various kinds of dnmnge caused to the Republic of Seychelles. To this end, a special fund is to be set LIP, to bc supplied by voluntary contributions. It will be managed by an aci /lot committee composed of four members of the Council, to be chaired by France. Finally, as the report is not complete, as I have already cmphasized, we request that the Commission of Inquiry resume its work in (order to complete the report in the light of the 28. The United States Govcrnmcnt shares the concorn gencrully expressed during these proceedings over the events that took place in Seychelles last 2.5 November, This concern was personally conveyed to President Ren6 by President Reagan, and my GOVcrnment promptly contributed a modest amount of emergency assistance for the repair of the Seychelles airport. 29. We strongly condemn the use of force and every form of external intcrferencc in the sovereignty, 23. We have -jointly-since the text is not simply our own doing. but is also the fruit of the advice given to US by other Council mcmbcrs-taken part in the production of the draft resolution. We abandoned all pride and any chauvinistic spirit that could have brought the text to naught. Our diversity. in the Council itself, requires of LIS ail a degree of tolerance. 24. As I have already said. we accepted I I of the 12 amendments proposed, which shows that a major step was taken towards tolerance and the acceptance of a common will. which is that not only of the sponsors of the text but of the whole membership of the Council. 30, WC equally and unequivocally condemn violntions of civil aviation safety regulations and, most particuku’ly. the hijacking of civil aircraft. 31. At the time of the attack on Seychelles, we expressed these views in the strongest terms and urged that those responsible for the attack and the subsequent hi.jacking be prosecuted. That is exactly what has happened: the trials are now taking place. G 32. On 15 December 19X I IZ.i/#fh mwfi/~g), the United States joined in the adoption of Security Council resolution 4% ( I98 I ), which created a three-member commission of inquiry to establish, as far as possible, the facts surrounding the events of late November. The members of that Commission-Mr. Carlos Ozores Typaldos of Panama, Mr. Jeremy Craig of Ireland, and Mr. Katsumi Sezaki of Japan-have performed a hard task exceedingly well. We owe them our thanks fol their diligence and for the high degree of objectivity that marks every page of their thorough, painstaking report. 33. That report contains several recommendations. One is for the creation of 11 voluntary fund to assist the Government of Seychelles in its work of reconstruction and recovery from the severe economic impact of the November attack. My Government supports the creation of such u fund and notes with special satisfaction the willingness of the Government of France to administer it. 34. Another recommendation is that the life of the Commission of Inquiry be extended for u fixed period -until I5 August 1982-to allow for the preparation of 11 supplemental report as additional facts emerge. We did not and do not oppose this recommendation. But we must express our doubts that such a report -once the trial records ilrc complete-will prove to be any more conclusive than the one before us. As we have already noted, the Commission lacks the powers end competence of :I court of law; its findings, necessarily, must he limited and tenttltive. Indeed, the members of the Commission are well aware of this ---as the scrupulous manner in which they have prepared their report so clearly demonstrates. We are confident that they will exercise the same cure, the same standards of ob.jectivity, in any supplemental report. 35. Nearly iill of the previous speakers have made substantial reference to the testimony that is emerging from the trials now under wny in Seychelles and in South Africa. And, curiously in our view, many of the speakers have upparcntly accepted as gospel the testimony of men who face pcnaltics of up to 30 years’ imprisonmcnt-men who understandably wit1 do or say 36. Finally, my delegation believes that this pm. ceeding has already served a most important purpca~: it has signalled unmistakably that the internation:rl community will neither tolerate nor condone any form of external interference, including the use of mere+ naries, in the internal affairs of sovereign States. l%r its part, the United States will continue to purticip;a fully in the work of the Ad Hoc Committee on [ht Drafting of an International Convention against the i Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of hlercenaries, with a view to the early completion of an appropriate and effective convention. 37. The PRESIDENT ~~~lf~~l~~J~~~‘~t~f~(l,l ,fi~m (‘hinrjsra): I now call on the Minister for Foreign Affair% of Seychelles, Mr. Jacques Hodoul. 38. Mr. HODOU L (Seychelles) li/lfc/./l”c’tr,tic~rl frr~rl Fwwh1: Mr. President. once again you have given me an opportunity to speak, this time at the conclue sion of this discussion. which has been mosl comforting and enlightening for my delegation. 011 the interim repot-t of the Commission of Inquiry on thrt aggression perpetrated on 25 November 1981 :igilin+t the sovereignty of Seychelles. I most sincerely thank you for this. 39. My delegation has been deeply touched by the : unswerving solidarity with and profound friendship for the people and Government of my country manifested by the representatives of no fewer than SO Mmber States of the United Nations. This has been COOmunicnted to the capital of my country. and I sh&l , like to tell the Council how happy and proud the P~(Jple of Seychelles are to be able to count upon so many friends at this very trying time. 40. During this discussion. the people of S have once again received the assurance that nut alone on the difficult path that they have I chosen, that of true independence, justice an progress. 41. My delegation is delighted that the draft ~~~11~. tion submitted to the Council at the conclusion uf deliberations that took up several meetings hns been adopted unanimously. This resolution esseflti;lllY reflects the proposals of the Government of SCYchelfes which you, Mr. President, authorized me t,o communicate to the Council at the opening of this debate-that is to say: first, that a special fund. QlPplied by voluntary contributions, should be e@ lished to assist the Republic of Seychelles to rePi\lf 42. MI.. President. I would request you to be so kind as to permit me to express warm thanks to, in particul;.r our brother and friend Mr. Archibald Mogwe. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Botswana and current President of the Council of Ministers of the Organization of African Unity (OAU). who travelled so far to participate personally in this discussion on behalf of the Council of Ministers of the OAU: Mr. Abclel Meguid. representative of Egypt. who spoke on behalf of the Group of African States in the United Nations: and Mr. Atsu-Koffi Amega, representative of Togo, who, on behalf of the non-aligned countries members of the Security Council, undertook with skill an’d competence the task of co-ordinating the efforts of all the delegations that contributed to the preparation of the draft resolution that was submitted to the Council and unanimously adopted. 43. I should like to thank also the representatives of eight African countries-Algeria, Angola. Benin, Botswana. Uganda. Tanzania, Togo and Zaire-fat I 44. I should like also to tell members of the Council that the Republic of Seychelles deeply appreciates the generous gesture made by France. which has undertaken to play ;I primary role in the special fund for assistance to Seychelles. to be supplied by voluntary contributions. In that gesture we note a new readiness on the part of France. an industrialized country of the North. to deal with the pressing needs of the developing countries of the South. We al-e most gratified by this development, and we would request the representative of France to convey our gratitude to his Government. 45. Mr. President. it now remains only for me to thank you personally for the support you have lent on behalf of your country to the just cause of the Republic of Seychelles. We congratulate you upon YOLII scrupulousness and the other outstanding qualities which have enabled you to conduct the proceedings of this Council with such competence and effectiveness. for which we express OLII’ appreciation. HOW TO OBTAIN UNITED NATIONS PUBLICATIONS United Nations publications ma) be obtained f’rom bookstores and distributors throughout the world. Consult your bookstore or write IO: United Nations. Sales Section. New Ynrk or Geneva. COMMENT SE PROCURER LES PUBLICATIONS DES NATlONS UNIES Lcs publications des Nations Units sont en vcnte dans Ies librairies et les agences dOporitaircs du monde entier. Inrormez-vous aupr& de votrc libraire ou adresse+vous B : Nations Unies, Section des vcntcs. New York ou Gen?ve. COMO CONSEGUlR PUBLICAClONES DE LAS NACIONES UNlDAS Las puhlicaciones de las Nacioncs Unidns cst&n en venta en librcrias y casas distribuidoras en todas partes del mundo. Consulte a su librcro o dirijase a: Nacioncs Unidas, Secci6n de Ventas, Nucva York o Ginehra.