S/PV.2521 Security Council

Mr. President, I should like to begin by congratulating you on your accession to the presidency, expressing the confidence which my country and its Government have in your judgement, your skill and the sense of justice with which you can be relied upon to conduct the affairs of the Council, and, indeed, our satisfaction with the efficiency and fairness with which you have already this month conducted the affairs of the Council. 47. I should also, like other speakers today, like to express the deep grief of my Government and myself at the untimely and unexpected death of President Stkou TourC of Guinea, and our profound sympathy with the Government and the people of that country. President SCkou TourC’s distinction as an African leader, a leader in the struggle for independence, a distinguished nation-builder, is very well known. We share that worldwide evaluation of his great gifts. We are certain the world will be poorer for his departure. 52. Efforts to sow doubt about the identity, origin and ownership of the plane serve as one more example of the practice of wrapping aggression in lies designed to obscure the aggressor’s role and deprive the victim of deserved sympathy and redress. It has become a familiar pattern: a violent assault, a denial of complicity, a suggestion that the violence is of purely internal origin, a vicious attack on anyone who seeks to aid the victim; Soviet weapons, Libyan planes, dead civilians, disinformation and intimidation. 48. We are here today to consider yet another sad development in the contemporary history of Africa. We are here today to consider another episode in Colonel Qaddafi’s escalating war against the world: the unprovoked attack against the Sudan on 16 March. Despite the web of lies and fabrications presented to the Council this morning, the facts surrounding the dismal attack are clear. Ample evidence is available to support these facts. 53. What happened is clear. It is also possible to understand why. Colonel Qaddafi denies the bombing at Omdurman, but he admits freely and frankly his plans. “The battle has now become overt, and not covert” between him and his enemies, he told the world on the 2 March anniversary of his current regime. The speech on that occasion is fascinating; it deserves attention. In it, Colonel Qaddati brags, celebrates, gloats, threatens. He is full of self-congratulation for those who worked to subvert the independence of Lebanon and its legitimate Government: “We worked for months, day and night. We and the Syrians and the Palestinians and the Lebanese . . . have been working . . . to achieve this victory.” So much for the theory of purely Lebanese dissension. If things do not go as desired, he comments, “the struggle will continue with guns, with machine guns, with bombs . . . until the last man and woman.” So much for the idea of a political rather than a military solution in Lebanon. He gloats: “A great victory”, he said, was achieved against America, France, Italy and Britain. Listen to his words: 49. On 15 March, two Libyan TU-22 bombers flew from their home base at Umm Aitiqah in Tripoli to Kufra. On 16 March, one of these TU-22s conducted an unprovoked attack on the Sudan’s second largest city, Omdurman, which is well within the combat radius of Libya’s TU-22s. This bombing attack, which was conducted from a very low altitude, was witnessed by several qualified observers. The radio station was damaged and five persons were killed. The bombs utilized were an export model of a Soviet 500-kilogram general-purpose high-explosive bomb, the M-62, with AVU-series impact-detonating nose fuse. Flying over the north-western Sudan, the TU-22 bomber returned to Libya. The next day, both TU-22s, which had deployed to Kufra, had returned to their home base at Umm Aitiqah. “The defeat which the Americans suffered in Lebanon is not less than its defeat in Viet Nam, and the strike which was directed against the French forces in Lebanon is not less than the historic strike which was directed against them at Dien Bien Phu.” President Reagan, he said, “lost his nerve”, was “forced to concede defeat”, to “flee like a rat”. 50. The TU-22 is a very distinctive plane. It looks like no other aircraft in the region. Libya is the only country in the region which possesses the Soviet-built TU-22 bombers. There is no way to disguise any other plane to look like a TU-22. Its range is entirely adequate to make the trip from Kufra to Omdurman. It was closely observed, both in travelling and in bombing. It was photographed. 54. Colonel Qaddafi invoked Arab nationalism to justify his attacks on Arab nations. He affirmed in the clearest words his intentions with regard to the Sudan: 51. The facts are clear, despite a certain international effort to obscure them. Truth is not a matter of political will, nor can reality be obscured by the will to confuse, humiliate, destroy. The Libyans have demonstrated in the last decade that they are masters of violence. Today, they demonstrate that they are promising apprentices in deception. Their leader speaks frankly about his commitments and his plans. His representative today has sacrificed candour to strategic obfuscation. An “We tell the agents in the Sudan that we are allied with the popular revolution in the southern Sudan for the sake of liberating the Sudan inch by inch”, just as Lebanon was liberated. The United States cannot save that mean man who is hiding in Khartoum. This is because we and the revolutionary force in Ethiopia, in the Arab homeland, the revolution in Libya, “The morale of the popular masses has strengthened as a result of America’s defeat in Lebanon at the hands of the Lebanese popular resistance and the steadfastness of Syria and the Iranian-Libyan revolutionary alliance with the Lebanese revolution. “The peoples will march forward and will develop the people’s war of liberation in the Sudan, and tomorrow in Egypt, and in every part that America seeks to dominate, to use for serving the interests of the American people.” 55. Colonel Qaddafi threatens war “on a hundred fronts all over the earth”: “We must escalate the people’s liberation war in Latin America and in Central America, so that we may force America to fight there . . . ” and in Lebanon, the Sudan, Somalia, Chad and southern Africa. He celebrates violence: “Let the masses’ march begin to give a push forward to the revolution and consolidate the concept of the master people and the commanding people . . . *’ “All shall ” carryarms . . . . “We carry the shovel in one hand and the gun in the other.” Women will not be kept from military training, and anyone who opposes women’s military training is “an agent of imperialism . . . whether he knows it or not.” 56. Even in this violent age we are not accustomed to hearing such bold assertions of the intention to use violence, world-wide, to achieve political goals. The practice of terror and violence is more familiar in our time than is its frank affirmation. But in the case of Colonel Qaddafi, such frank affirmation of violence is not new. As we pointed out three years ago, he is quite forthright. On 2 March 1981, he said: “It is the duty of the Libyan people constantly to liquidate their opponents. The physical and final liquidation of the opponents of popular authority must continue at home and abroad, everywhere.” 57. The announcement made in Tripoli in August 1981 of the desire to “undertake the physical liquidation of’ hostile individuals, “beginning with Ronald Reagan”, defies either response or comment. But the words of March 1984 echo and expand it. They were not idle words. They were part of a new, violent phase. Despite certain foreign policy successes and his continued ostensible accommodation with a few of the moderate Arab States, Colonel Qaddafi has within the past few months begun to devote more energy to using terrorism and subversion against his domestic and foreign enemies. The outright use of terror was observed on 10 March in two widely separated areaskBritain and Chad-followed by the bombing of the Omdurman radio/television station on 16 March. Twenty-six persons were wounded when several bombs exploded and others were defused in London and Manchester on 10 58. In his pursuit of expanded power and influence, Colonel Qaddafi has repeatedly employed tactics of assassination and violence, demonstrating that he is unconstrained by international law as he is by accepted standards of international conduct. He has sought the assassination of moderate leaders and Libyan exiles by financing known terrorists and by providing terrorist training in Libya on a continuing basis. The habits are of long standing. 59. The appeals of hatred, however, have their limits. After 10 years in power, Colonel Qaddafi had still largely failed to stir the popular support he continually invokes. In 1977, he had established “revolutionary committees”, groups charged with injecting the appropriate revolutionary fervour into the existing “people’s committees” and into the armed forces, but they have never been particularly active. In 1980, Colonel Qaddati sought to use them to orchestrate massive purges and corruption trials involving thousands of arrests, including influential businessmen, high Government officials and senior military officers. Those arrested were tried before special tribunals composed of revolutionary committee members and sentenced; some, after dramatic televised “confessions”, were released; others vanished. 60. At the same time, the regime launched a campaign to intimidate dissidents abroad. Libyan hit squads embarked on a series of murders of exiled Libyans in an overall effort to enforce their views at all costs. Eleven people were killed-four in Rome, two in London, one each in Bonn, Beirut, Athens, Milan and Manchester. Several others were wounded, including a student in the United States and two children in England. In October 1982, Colonel Qaddafi once ‘again publicly warned Libyan exiles to repent and return home or face a renewal of the murder campaign. 61. Virtually all African and Arab moderate regimes are targets of Libyan-supported subversion. ‘Unable to persuade or bribe other States into submitting to a Qaddafi-led “Islamic revolution”, unable to use his army to force stronger States to submit to his will, he has armed, funded and trained a wide range of dissident groups to achieve his ends. Subversion has become the principal tool by which he hopes to fulfil his ambitions. 62. Libyan subversive activities range far beyond neighbouring States. Libya is a potential source of funds, arms and safe haven for virtually any group claiming to be anti-Israel or anti-United States. His focus is on the Middle East and Africa, but he has been active in Europe and the Far East and has recently supported antiUnited States regimes and subversive groups in Latin America. In some cases Libyan 69. Mr. President, since this is the first time I have spoken before the Council, I wish to congratulate you on your assumption of the presidency of the Council. My delegation is confident that, with your wide experience, accomplishments and diplomatic skills, you will handle the affairs of the Council creditably. 70. I should also like to congratulate your predecessor, the representative of Pakistan, on the able manner in which he conducted the affairs of the Council last month. 63. Beyond the Sudan and Chad, the most immediate objects of Libya’s aggression, lie Egypt, Algeria, the Niger, Tunisia, Morocco, Mauritius, Somalia, Togo, the Central African Republic, Liberia, the Upper Volta and every independent nation in Africa. All have at one time or another inspired the ambitions of this ambitious ruler. Each has at one time or another been a target. The independence of his neighbours is felt by Colonel Qaddafi as a personal affront. 71. The matter of which the Council is now seized is of great concern to my country since it relates to differences between the Sudan and Libya, two brotherly countries with which Nigeria enjoys warm and cordial relations. As a great champion and promoter of African unity and co-operation, Nigeria cannot afford to remain .indifferent to any developments in any part of our great continent that are likely to lead to further tension in the region or that may have possible repercussions for international peace and security. We accordingly feel strongly that any such developments should be addressed promptly, in a fair and balanced manner, before they assume dangerous proportions within the region. 64. Libya’s record of subversion, assassination, terror is clear. It is grim. It challenges civilization. The Libyan record provides an interesting example of the difference between ideology and process. Colonel Qaddafi’s creed of Islamic unity masks an overriding ambition for the expansion of Libyan territory and of his own power. 72. It is in this regard that Nigeria appeals to both the Sudan and Libya to seek solutions to their immediate differences within the established and recognized principles of international relations as well as in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and the charter of the Organization of African Unity. In particular we would urge both Libya and the Sudan to avail themselves of the existing mechanism for the peaceful settlement of intra-African disputes as established by OAU. 65. In organizing, promoting, recruiting, perpetuating violence and terror-against airline passengers, diplomats, civilian passers-by, heads of State, neighbouring peoples-with its pursuit of political goals by the methods of violence, Libya works to destroy the distinctions between war and peace, between civilian and combatant, between politics and crime. 66. The world should take careful note of these words and acts of the Libyan Government. They clarify the threats to peace, independence, self-government with which so many countries must live, the threats to peace and security with which we are all burdened. Meanwhile, we should offer the Sudan our support in its efforts to secure from this Council protection against aggression, to which the Charter of the United Nations entitles it. 73. My country would like to appeal to the international community not to exacerbate the tension between Libya and the Sudan by further exploiting and magnifying the differences that have given rise to it. We therefore urge all Member States to accelerate and contribute to a climate of understanding and dialogue between Libya and the Sudan. 74. In conclusion. I should like to convey. through you, Mr. President; to both our brothers inthe Sudan and Libya that Nigeria stands ready to be of any assistance ir, the search for a peaceful resolution of the present misunderstanding between them. 67. The PRESIDENT [interpretationfrom Spanish]: The next speaker is the representative of Nigeria. I invite him to take a place at the Council table and to make his statement.

At. the outset, permit me to pay a tribute to an illustrious son of Africa who has 75. Mr. van der STOEL (Netherlands): At the outset, allow me to convey through you, Mr. President, to the 76. Before I continue, may I add my voice to those who have congratulated you, Sir, on your assumption of the presidency of the Council and say how happy we are to see presiding over our debate today the representative of a country with which the Netherlands enjoys excellent relations in so many fields. In the brief period during which you have served on the Council, we, as other members, have already had ample opportunity to appreciate your great abilities as a diplomat and your qualities as a colleague and friend. _, 77. Equally, I wish to express our appreciation for the-may I say not unexpectedly-exemplary manner in which your predecessor, the representative of Pakistan, carried out his duties during the month of February. 78. The Council has before it a complaint by the Sudan concerning a bombing raid against the town of Omdurman carried out on 16 March. According to information provided by the Sudan [S/J6419 and S/Z6420], this tragic incident caused five deaths, as well as many wounded, among the town’s population; the attacking aircraft was identified as a Libyan Tupolev TU-22 bomber, which reportedly had taken off from an airfield near Kufra, in southern Libya. 79. In a letter dated 15 March [see S/Z642Z], the Libyan Minister for Foreign Affairs emphatically denied any involvement by his country in the air raid on Omdurman. This information was repeated in the statements made by the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the Sudan and Libya in the course of this debate [252&h meeting], to which we have listened carefully. 80. The Netherlands strongly condemns the bombing attack on Omdurman and deeply deplores the loss of life and the destruction of property caused by the raid. Clearly, there are many indications that the air raid was indeed carried out by a Tupolev TU-22, as the Sudan has informed us. Furthermore, we know that, of the countries known to possess Tupolev TU-22s, only Libya has airfields within striking range of Omdurman. In this connection, my delegation wishes to state unequivocally that the Netherlands considers all outside intervention in the Sudan’s internal affairs contrary to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations and completely unacceptable. The political independence; sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Sudan must be scrupulously respected. 81. Following his reply to the Sudanese complaint, the representative of Libya, in his letters of 20 and 22 March [St16425 and S/16431], alleged that the decision of the Government of the United States to send aircraft and weapons to a country adjacent to Libya constituted a violation of the Charter and represented a threat to international peace and security. In our view, 82. Regardless of the nature of the political dispute that pits two countries against each other, they are in duty bound by the Charter and the Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations [General Assembly resolution 2625 (XXV), annex] to refrain from threats or the use of force and to settle their disputes by peaceful means. These principles have lost none of their validity for being so frequently cited. In our opinion, it is the duty of the Council to infuse these principles with meaning by prevailing on the parties concerned to cease immediately all forms of outside intervention. 83. In the interest of regional peace and stability, all parties should carefully avoid fanning the flames of conflict with inflammatory statements and strive to solve their disputes in a spirit of good-neighbourliness and mutual respect. It is our sincere hope that it will be possible for the Council to make a significant contribution to that end during this debate. 84. Mr. TROYANOVSKY (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) [interpretation from Russian]: The delegation of the Soviet Union would like to express its deep condoiences.in connection with the passing away of the President of the People’s Revolutionary ,Repubiic of Guinea, Mr. Stkou Tour& who was known to the entire world as an active and consistent advocate of the final elimination of the remnants of colonialism from the African continent, for the unity and solidarity of the countries of Africa, and one of the founders, of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries. 85. The Soviet delegation would like to join in the words of welcome addressed to you, Sir, on your assumption of the presidency of the Council and the wishes for success in carrying out these activities during the remaining days of March. We should also like to pay a deserved tribute to the representative of Pakistan, Mr. Shah Nawaz, for the deft way in which he managed the Council’s work last month. 86. The Soviet delegation has listened very closely to the statements made in the Council, including those by the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the Sudan and the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. The discussion which has 87. An unbiased look at the situation reveals that, if there were goodwill on the part of both sides and a genuine desire to approach it constructively, we could expect that a mutually acceptable resolution could be found to the questions which have arisen between these two neighbouring countries. However, recent events have confirmed something quite different. These events were immediately seized upon by those who are anxious to step up their military presence and political control in that part of the world in order to interfere in the affairs of sovereign States. 88. The main point is that the forces of imperialism are ready to utilize any pretext, any artificially contrived or provoked conflict, in order to flex their military muscle and impose their will on young non-aligned States. Without any delay, and as if completely affirming the version of the previously planned and co-ordinated operation, Washington announced that it was sending reconnaissance AWACS aircraft and other air forces to the region. Since new military preparations were embarked upon, large supplies of weapons had to be dispatched immediately to the countries of the region. It is no secret that part of the mission of the American aircraft is to carry out espionage operations against Libya. 89. All these actions have been accompanied by overt threats against, and blunt and abrupt verbal flagellation of, a sovereign Member State. An example of this is the statement made today by the representative of the United States. One gets the impression that some have develdped a sort of conditioned reflex: as soon as the word “Libya” is uttered, they start to bare their teeth and lose all sense of restraint. Of course, we shall have occasion to speak about this in more detail when the Council takes up the question raised by Libya [S/26432]. 90. The Soviet Union would like to see the fraternal Arab countries settle their disputes and differences first and foremost in the framework of regional organizations and, naturally, without any imperialist interverition from outside. We earnestly hope that future events will develop along those very lines.

I should like to follow other members of the Council and express my Government’s deep sympathy to the people of 92. Mr. President, it gives me much pleasure to congratulate both you and your predecessor on the outstanding way in which you have both conducted the affairs of the Council. I think that in the diplomatic alphabet, the letter P may justly stand for President, and I note that Pakistan and Peru uphold the highest standards of this P-for-President tradition. I should like to say in particular that both of you have shown outstanding skill in negotiations. That, I think, is something which the Council is very much in need of, and we should like to see it practised more. 93. The Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Sudan, a country with which the United Kingdom has traditional friendly relations, has brought a serious charge to the Council. He has placed it in the context of a long history of difficult relations between his Government and that of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. It is the duty of the Council to give his complaint and the answer to it a serious and reasoned hearing. 94. The Foreign Minister has stressed that the immediate cause of the Sudan’s approach to the Council is an s incident which took place on 16 March, when a Libyan aircraft bombed the Sudanese town of Omdurman. The bombing resulted in the deaths of five people and injury of several more, as well 9s significant physical damage. 95. This incident is quite clearly a most deplorable act of violence. The use of violence, not only in the Sudan but elsewhere in the Middle East, has, regrettably, become all too frequent. But there is no justification for it. My Government has no hesitation in condemning such violence. May I also convey our sincere condolences to the families of the innocent people who have been so wantonly killed and injured. 96. The existence of a dispute between the Sudan and Libya is self-evident. The applicability of Article 2 of the Charter of the United Nations in such a case is equally self-evident. There is a binding obligation on all Member States to settle their disputes by peaceful means. They are bound also to refrain in iheir international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State. But over and above Articie 2, we need to remind ourselves also of what is said in the Preamble to the Charter. It is worth quoting exactly. “We the peoples of the United Nations [are] determined . . . to practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another as good neighbours”. 98. Violence is the antithesis of this tolerance -and good-neighbourliness. It destroys the trust on which all neighbourly relations must be built. It seldom even achieves its own malevolent aims. As we have seen so often in the Middle East and elsewhere, it leads only to more violence. And it is the innocent who suffer. 99. In any lengthy disputethe facts will eventually speak for themselves. There may be doubt for some time, but in the end they become evident even to the most sceptical. Governments are rightly judged by what is revealed. Their reputations will gain or suffer by the outcome. The value of their word will be recognized by the extent to which it is found to be true. The value of their pledges will be measured by the extent to which they are seen to be kept. . 100. States which practise subversion, even though they may deny it, are bound in the longer run to acquire a bad reputation. They may create risks for security. They are certainly damaging international relations and thus undermining the structure of the United Nations. 101. My Government considers that in this case, as in all others, it is the duty of Member States to uphold the Charter. This applies to Article 2 as to all other articles. We shall continue to follow the matter with close attention. We expect the Council to do so also. 102. Mr. CHAMORRO MORA (Nicaragua) [interpretation from Spanish]: First of all, we should like to express our condolences over the irreparable loss of Mr. SCkou Tour& President of the People’s Revolutionary Republic of Guinea, the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries and the third world have lost a tireless fighter for national independence and against colonialism:Let us hope that SCkou Toure’s spirit will illuminate us now as we deal with a problem in which two,African countries are pitted against each other. 103. Allow me to voice our pleasure, Sir, at seeing you occupying the presidency of the Council for this month. Your long diplomatic experience and the ability and intelligence you have shown in the conduct of your country’s foreign affairs are virtues from which the Council and the international community have begun to benefit and augur well for the success of the Council’s work. 104. Our thanks go also to Mr. Shah Nawaz of Pakistan for the wise and prudent manner in which he conducted the difficult affairs of the Council during his presidency last month. 105. While discussing the present item we cannot forget the many difficult, intractable problems facing Africa: The unresolved Namibian issue; the persistent 106. We do not wish to analyse in detail the Sudan’s allegations. The Sudan is a fraternal country, a member of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries and a Member of the United Nations. It is a, small, poor country like ours whose right to come to this forum cannot be challenged. Furthermore, our responsibility as a member of the Council is to try to foster a peaceful settlement of international disputes or conflicts and not to complicate them further. For that reason the.words uttered by Mr. Ali Treiki, Secretary of the People’s Committee of the People’s Bureau for Foreign Liaison of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, are encouraging. This morning [252&h meeting] he stated, inter alia, that his country had nothing against the Sudan and that he was perfectly willing to discuss the issue through peaceful and diplomatic channels. Nicaragua has excellent relations with the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. We are confident of the wisdom and maturity of the leaders of the Libyan Revolution and we trust their affhmations. If we add to that the legal instruments, experience and potential of the African continent, we do not have cause to be discouraged. 107. Recently the American press reported on the Congressional debate concerning the United States Administration request for the appropriation of $114 million to continue its policy of death and destruction in Central America: $21 million to continue its dirty undeclared war against my country through the use of mercenaries hired by the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States, and the remaining $93 million to increase military assistance to El Salvador. For my country and delegation it was doubly distressing to learn that these millions which the United States Administration is trying to get from Congress would in a sense be taken from the mouths of the millions of starving African children for whom that money was originally earmarked. 108. We hope that this simple example will help our African brothers appreciate who their true enemies are and where the basic cause of their problems lays. We know from our own experience the capacity of imperialism to provoke conflicts in neighbouring countries whenever it considers its political or security interests threatened, be it in Africa, the Middle East or Central America. 109. The PRESIDENT [interpretation fvom Span-. ish]: The next speaker is the representative of Indonesia. I invite him to take a place at the Council table and to make his statement. 111. Let me begin by extending to you, Sir, the warm congratulations of my delegation on your assumption of the presidency of the Council for this month. Your proven diplomatic skills and experience in various international forums gives us confidence that the Council’s deliberations on this issue will be conducted in such a way as to ensure their success. I should also like to pay a high tribute to Mr. Shah Nawaz of Pakistan for the exemplary manner in which he guided the Council’s work during the busy and difficult month of February. Allow me also to express our gratitude to the members of the Council for giving my delegation the opportunity to address this body. 112. Indonesia’s participation in the Council’s debate today is prompted by my Government’s deepening concern at the continuing deterioration of the international security situation brought about by a rising incidence of conflict and strife in many regions of the world. The resort to force in settling disputes and in meeting perceived threats is assuming more alarming proportions than ever before, despite all provisions of the Charter of the United Nations to the contrary. Increasingly, regional conflict situations are being drawn into the cast of East-West rivalry among the major Powers, thus further complicating their eventual solution and enlarging the risk of world-wide escalation. Illustrative of this distressing trend is the situation obtaining in the region of north Africa, which continues to be embroiled in discord and dissension among neighbouring States. As a result, the struggle to consolidate political independence and sovereignty and to ensure truly autonomous economic and social growth is being seriously retarded. 113. The atmosphere of mutual mistrust and mutual recrimination and the increasing propensity to armed hostilities has turned regions such as north Africa into a focal point of international concern. The volatility, of the situation in the area is underscored by the latest act of violence involving the bombing attack against the Sudanese town of Omdurman on 16 March, which has only served further to aggravate the security situation in the region. We deplore the attack and deeply regret the resultant death and injury of innocent civilians and the destruction of property. 115. The world has witnessed time and again the inherent futility of the use of force as an instrument of conthct resolution. Indeed, incidents of this kind have in the past led to disastrous consequences which no one had foreseen or sought. The matter is now before the Council, the principle organ of the Organization on which all Member States have agreed to confer primary responsibility ‘for ,the maintenance of international peace and security. By substituting dialogue for armed hostilities, by providing channels of communication between contending parties, the Council on many occasions in the past has succeeded in limiting conflicts, thus opening the way towards finding more comprehensive and peaceful solutions. My delegation therefore calls upon the Council to marshal the wisdom and forbearance necessary to de-escalate the situation and ensure that genuine peace and greater security for all States can prevail in the region. 116. The PRESIDENT [interpretation from Spuni&z]: The next speaker is the representative’of Chad. I invite him to take a place at the Council table and to make his statement. 117. Mr; BARMA .(Chad) [interpretation from French]: It is said that misfortunes seldom come singly. This morning,’ as we were getting ready to come and denounce the unjustified murder of our peaceful Sudanese brothers, the media informed us of the sudden death of Mr. Ahmed SCkou Tout-t, President of the Peoplers Revolutionary Republic of Guinea, one of the founding fathers of OAU and of the Movement of Non-Aligned, Countries. With his passing, Guinea and Africa have lost one of their most eminent sons and a statesman of world-wide stature. Chad has lost one of the most ardent and reliable defenders of its sovereignty and territorial integrity. I should like therefore, on behalf of the people and the Government of Chad, to extend our profoundly sad condolences to the brother people of Guinea. I 118. Mr. President, before taking up the item on our. agenda, allow me on behalf of my delegation to.extend 119. I should also like to express my delegation’s satisfaction at the most competent manner in which the retiring President, the representative of Pakistan, fulfilled his duties last month. 120. Since this is the first time my delegation has spoken in the Council this year, I should also like to extend my sincere congratulations to the newly elected members and wish them every success in their difficult task. At the same time, I should like to express my delegation’s appreciation to those members who carried out their duties in the Council with courage and effectiveness and whose term came to an end on 31 December 1983. 121. Finally, it is a pleasant duty for me to thank you, Sir, and all the members of the Council for having allowed my delegation to speak in this important debate on the Sudan’s complaint against Libya. 122. The delegation of Chad would like first of all respectfully to welcome the presence here of Mr. Mohamed Mirghani Mubarak, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Democratic Republic of the Sudan. The fact that the Minister has come to New York to support his Government’s complaint in the Council is proof enough of the seriousness of the situation prevailing not only in his country but throughout the region as a result of the wanton and unprovoked aggression by a neighbouring country. Therefore we listened attentively to the clear and enlightened statement of Mr. Mubarak in the Council this morning [252&h meefing]. 123. MY delegation, I must say, is not surprised at this criminal -act against the peaceful city of Omdurman, near the Sudanese capital. On 22 March 1983, almost exactly a year ago, the delegation of Chad revealed to the Council [2419rh meeting] the warlike intentions of the Libyan regime, not only against Chad-a large part of whose territory is occupied by Libya, as is well known-but also against other neighbouring countries, other African countries. My delegation stated that on 2 March 1983, during its visit to N’Djamenafor talks on the normalization of relations between Libya and Chad, the Libyan delegation had demanded that our delegation join it in a strategic alliance aimed at destabilizing a number of regimes in neighbouring countries, which the Libyan delegation referred to as reactionary. In other words, Chad was to agree to act as a spring-board for the destabilizing activities of Colonel Qaddafi’s regime. 124. Since that time the leader of the Libyan revolution has made no secret of his desire and determination to implement his plans for expansion and hegemony against neighbouring countries. In his statement on the anniversary of the creation of the Libyan Arab Jama- 125. Is such language from a head of State whose country is governed by Islamic law in keeping with international norms and behaviour? Does not Islam -of which the Libyan leader claims to be such an apostle--call for tolerance? 126. The present conduct of Colonel Qaddafi is the end result of a situation which has persisted for more than a decade. As everyone knows, the Libyan leader failed miserably in his attempts to merge his country with certain neighbouring countries, among them Tunisia, Egypt, Chad and, above all, the Sudan. 127. Those political failures did not discourage the Colonel from continuing his efforts to make his cherished expansionist dream come true, his dream of establishing a “United States of the Sahel”. Since all financial and political means he employed to that end proved ineffective, Colonel Qaddafi has chosen the language of force to attain his goal. That is why the subject of the Council’s present meetings should come as a surprise to no one. 128. The air raid carried out last Friday, 16 March, against the city of Omdurman by a Soviet-made Tupolev TU-22 bomber, causing five deaths and sizeable material damage, is undeniably an act of State terrorism for which the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya is responsible. 129. Libya’s half-hearted denial of responsibility is nothing but the sort of diversionary tactic in which it specializes. Did not Libya deny last summer’s intensive bombing of towns in northern Chad, which caused enormous loss of life and material damage? Despite the massive presence of Libyan troops in Chad, does not Libya persist in stating, in the face of all the evidence, that it does not have a single soldier on the territory of Chad? 130. My delegation considers that the Council must not be taken in by Libya’s delaying tactics and that it ~ must adopt appropriate measures under the Charter to ensure the effective maintenance of peace and security in the region. We have of late become used to seeing the Council paralysed owing to ideological quarrels and selfish interests dictating the conduct of certain Council members which are not fully shouldering the responsibilities conferred upon them by the Charter. 131. This state of affairs can only encourage countries like Libya, which, knowing that because of the unfailing support of a permanent member they will never be sanctioned by the Council, have come to the considered decision that might makes right in their relations with their neighbours, rather than abiding by the principles and norms of international law. This explains the kindling here and there of local hotbeds of tension, which could become generalized conflicts if the Council’s paralysis persists. 133. An essential question must be asked here: How much longer will the Council permit the leaders of a Member State to continue with impunity its daily violations of the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of other States? Can there be any more flagrant violation of the Charter and other international instruments than the occupation of a country by uninvited foreign troops? We know that Libya excels at such occupation, as is clearly proved by the presence of its troops in Chad-despite what is said by its support,ers, who refuse to admit the truth. Is there respect for international norms when a country arrogates to itself the right to redraw maps, including those of the territory of neighbouring countries? It is known that Libya’s road-maps reflect annexations of portions of the territories of Algeria, the Niger and Chad. Air raids, bids for power staged with the assistance of nationals -like Operation Gafsa in Tunisia-and the passing of judgement as to the representativity of the leaders of another country-all constitute acts of interference and intervention and serious threats to the sovereignty of neighbouring countries, acts at which the Tripoli leadership are past masters. 134. If such behaviour continues to be tolerated by the international community, we shall inevitably witness the annihilation of poor and weak countries by the rich and powerful ones of the world. 135. Despite our criticism of the Council’s role, my delegation remains confident that the Council will be able to meet its. primary responsibility: to ensure the maintenance of international peace and security. That peace is now disturbed in an especially sensitive region, owing to the arrogance and warlike attitude of a wealthy, over-armed country, Libya. This situation is a grave threat to world peace. 136. Thus, it is urgent that the Council agree to the legitimate request of the Sudan and demand an immediate end to these acts of aggression, condemning them vigorously. 137. My Government has already strongly condemned the unprovoked air raid of 16 March by Libya on the Sudanese city of Omdurman, and it energetically denounces Libya’s expansionism and hegemonism. We convey to the fraternal Government and people of the Sudan our deep sympathy over this bombing, and offer our most heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims. 139. Mr. MUBARAK (Sudan) [interpretation from Arabic]: I shall be brief, because what I had intended to say has been said by a number of our brothers in the Council. 140. I should like to correct some information provided by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Libya, who said that the distance between Kufra and the town of Omdurman was 2,000 miles. In fact, the distance is 850 miles. The distance of 2,000 miles mentioned by the representative of Libya is in fact the distance between Kufra and Nairobi, between Kufra and Warsaw in the north, between Kufra and Agadir on the Atlantic side and between Kufra and Abu Dhabi in the East. This information is well known; anyone who would like to verify it may do so by consulting recognized maps, particularly the National Geographic Atlas of the World, fifth edition, 1981, The Times Atlas of the World and The New International Atlas, published by Rand McNally. The information may also be found in the Map Department of the New York Public Library, whose telephone number is 930-0800. 141. This morning, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Libya quoted some extracts from the foreign press out of context. We are in the Security Council. If press reports are to be regarded as proof, they do not support Libya, because in fact articles condemning Libya in many respects could be quoted. But we are not content simply with what journalists say. We are representatives of sovereign countries, and all representatives here are undoubtedly aware of many more facts than journalists are. 142. The Libya Minister referred to internal problems in the Sudan. I willingly acknowledge that we do have internal problems-economic ones, even political ones. There is a certain amount of opposition. We are not particularly pleased that there is such opposition, but we are proud of the fact that the present rkgime in the Sudan is tolerant of it. We are not against the presence of the opposition. In the Sudan, when we had a problem in the southern part of the country, we set the best possible example in Africa, because we found a peakeful solution. We called upon the other African States to give up warfare and to attempt to find peaceful, politicaf solutions, because those are the most durable ones. 143. The problems that we confront at present can be resolved if the Council is willing to help us to create the necessary atmosphere to enable us .to resolve them without any interference from outside. 144. I do not wish to go into any other points raised by my brother the Libyan Minister with regard to the Sudan’s poverty. We discuss that matter together. I admit and recognize that the Sudan is an extremely 145. Mr. TREIKI (Libyan Arab Jamahiriya) [interpretationfiom Arabic]: I-shall try to be brief. I am not exercising my right of reply against my brother, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Sudan. Rather, I am exercising it, above all, in connection with the disinformation and lies of the representative of the United States. I would have hoped that she would be with us now, but, as all representatives are aware, she habitually resorts to insulting behaviour and then leaves. 146. The campaign of calumny and lies forced upon the Council by the representative of the United States reveals the reason why. the Council was called into session. Once again, as is her wont, she gave us lessons in morality-lessons in morality by the representative of the United States, no less, by the head of the imperialists! What sort of morality is that? It is morality based upon aggression and assassination. 147. The representative of the United States also spoke of violence, while only a few days ago, the United States placed timebombs in the ports of Nicaragua in order to kill innocent bystanders. Yet the Americans come here and preach to us about violence, when violence is being openly practised by that Administration, with the blessing of both the Senate and the House, which passed a multi-million-dollar bill for the purpose of fomenting rebellion and violence inside fraternal Nicaragua. Have members ever heard a head of State call rebels freedom fighters, as President Reagan calls the rebels in Nicaragua? They talk about violence while they are killing the Palestinian people. An entire people is being slaughtered, wiped out, .assassinated daily by American weapons, by American pilots; recently it has been acknowledged that American pilots were involved in the fighting of 1967. 148. They preach against violence, but we ask: Who killed Allende in Chile? Who killed Malcolm X? Who killed Martin Luther King? Who tried to kill a number of leaders throughout the world and succeeded? Who makes a practice of terrorism and assassination? They boast that the New Jersey is the largest destroyer in the world. What peoples have the armaments of that ship killed? They have killed the unarmed Druse and Shi’ite peoples. That is Western and American civilization. 149. They preach against violence after they themselves killed thousands of people in Viet Nam. And they continue to kill people in Namibia by providing arms to South Africa, and in southern Africa by arming the racists there. 150. The representative of the United States has said that we boast that we are rich and the Sudan is poor. That is not true; we regard the Sudanese people as part 151, I would ask the representative of the United States why her country does not help the Sudan in other ways than by providing it with AWACS aircraft which will not feed the people. Who is adding to the burden of indebtedness that weighs down upon Sudanese shoulders? Is it not the World Bank? Is it not, ultimately, the United States Administration? 152. What have you given to the Sudan, to Latin America, to Nicaragua, to the Arab nation, to which the Sudan belongs? You have offered them destruction and death. Who bombed Abuza’abel and the schools at Bahr Al-Baker in Egypt? Who destroyed towns and villages in Egypt, if not American aircraft? And now you come here posing as a defender of the Sudan. 153. The world is going through an economic crisis precisely because of the attitude taken by the United States Administration. 154. They have referred to the internal situation in Libya, to the opposition in Libya. Well, the Libyan people is proud because there is not a single person out of work in Libya, while 25 per cent of the black people in the United States are unemployed. A few days ago I passed a supermarket and I saw a group of black Americans looking through the garbage cans. Probably all present have seen that sort of thing happening. So this is democracy for the United States. May I tell the representative of the United States that she will never find anything like that in Libya or the Soviet Union or the other socialist countries. 155. We have been told that we are proud of the defeat of the United States in Lebanon. Yes, we are. The Lebanese people did not come to America to strike at Florida or California. The United States went to Lebanon to attack its people, and the people of Lebanon triumphed. That is a source of great pride for the Arab nation and a new lesson for the United States to learn. We cannot deny that, because it is our duty to defend freedom and our Arab brothers, including the Sudanese. The Americans will be obliged to withdraw their AWACS aircraft; thereafter, the Sudan will remain an integral part of the great Arab nation. 156. They lecture us about norms and codes of international conduct. Whose conduct? That of the transnational corporations, the mercenaries, who are against the revolutionary Government in Nicaragua? Has the Council ever heard of a head of State appearing on television and appealing to a people, inciting it to insurgency, as President Reagan has done in the case of Cuba and the Soviet Union? That is how the norms of international conduct are seen through the eyes of the United States Administration. 158. We have heard a series of half-truths, quotations from newspaper articles designed solely to distort the image of our revolution. We know that we are revolutionaries, We are anti-imperialist. We will always continue to struggle against imperialism wherever in the world it can be found, in order to defend ourselves. We do not deny that. As a non-aligned country we are the allies of the peoples of Nicaragua and South Africa, and of the Palestinian people. 159. As for violence and terrorism, who is in the vanguard of terrorism and violence throughout the world? What country sends its battleships to destroy peoples? According to the American doctrine, you, the Arabs, the Muslims, the Africans, must endure attack by the destroyer New Jersey and F-l&, and if you try to defend yourselves, you are called assassins or terrorists, deserving of the punishment meted out by the United States Administration! 160. They assert proof that Libya sent an aircraft to bomb Omdurman. According to the reasoning of the Americans, the proof lies in the fact that, on 15 March, two aircraft took off from the base at Umm Aitiqah to Kufra. In their view, it is a threat when Libyan aircraft move from one Libyan air base to another. I wonder if members of the Council follow that reasoning. 161. In an initial statement, the offtcial spokesman of the United States said that his Government was convinced that there were witnesses. I say to him that the witnesses themselves reported that the aircraft was a MiG-15, according to the story in The Christian Science Monitor. I do not consider that newspaper to be pro- Libyan, even if my brother the Minister from the Sudan disagrees with me on that point. That newspaper reported that a Sudanese pilot opposed to the regime might have carried out the raid; the other possibility was that the Government of the Sudan had undertaken the action in order to obtain American assistance and to induce Egypt to act on its mutual-defence treaty with the Sudan. However, where is the hard evidence the United States has found? 162. Where were the AWACS that at present are patrolling the region? We would have expected that the 163. We-Egyptians, Libyans and Sudanese-are all aware that our true enemies are Israel’s allies. Our only enemies are those who occupy our lands and expel our peoples from their territories. We believe that our real problem is rooted in American intervention, not in the problems between Libya and the Sudan. In the past, I personally have participated in dealing with these problems, and they will be resolved. We are prepared to sit down with the Sudan to resolve our problems-if, in fact, there are any. But it is through dialogue and not through blackmail, intervention, interference or the imperialist doctrine of divide and rule-which we had thought extinct since the end of the last century-that we will resolve our problems. Now the new imperialism and neocolonialism are trying to revitalize this doctrine. 164. We thank the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Sudan for the telephone number of the New York Public Library. He also suggested that I had said ‘23,000 kilometres”, and not 2,000 kilometres. He thinks that the distance is 850 miles, which means that the distance between Kufra and Omdurman and return is 2,720 kilometres. He also mentioned that the range of this plane is no more than 3,000 kilometres. However, I know there is a rule in aviation that a plane must have sufftcient fuel for one extra hour of flight as a precaution against emergencies. Hence, I cannot conceive that the aircraft could make a flight of 3,000 kilometres-which is exactly its range-hit its target and return by the same route, thereby consuming all its fuel. At any rate, this is a matter of secondary importance. 165. As some representatives have said, there is not a shred of concrete evidence in the hands of the accuser, or of the enemies of Libya who are trying ‘to avail themselves of any opportunity to strike at the Libyan Revolution. There is therefore not a shred of proof that stands up to scrutiny. The Council can only blame the real culprit, the true aggressors, those who fish in troubled waters, those who sow discord among the Arab countries. 166. Genuine complaints will soon be lodged by us -the African, Arab, Islamic and non-aligned countries-complaints against American imperialism and its constant intervention on all continents. 167. I apologize if my statement took up too much time. ’ 169. In her statement, the representative of the United States, mentioned a number of countries which at one time or another had been threatened by Libya; my delegation was surprised that the Upper Volta was included in that list. I should like to say that statement referred to commits only the speaker, and in any case certainly does not reflect the facts-at least so far as my country is concerned. 171. As far as I know, my Government has never complained to anyone about a Libyan threat. We have excellent relations of friendship and co-operation with Libya based on mutual respect for the sovereignty and options of both countries-and that is a secret to no one. fhe meeting rose at 6.50 p.m. HOW TO OBTAIN UNITED NATIONS PUBLICATIONS United Nations publications may be obtained from bookstores and distributors throughout the world. Consult your bookstore or write to: United Nations, Sales Section. New York or Geneva. COMMENT SE PROCURER LES PUBLICATIONS DES NATIONS UNIES L.es publications des Nations Unies sont en vente dans Ies librairies et les agences dkpositaires du monde entier. Informez-vous aup& de votre libraire ou adressez-vous P : Nations Unies, Section des ventes, New York ou Gen&ve. MJL(aHHB OpraHH3aLtHH Othe~membrx HaqHR MOXCHO ~ynwTb B KHWXKH~IX Mara- JHRaX H areHTCTBaX ao ~cex pafionax tdwpa. HaBo&twTe cnpaaKu 06 HJAaHHIIX B BaUleM KH~~KKHOM Mara3me HRH n~unme no anpecy: OprWSWLUHR 06’beAHHeEiHblX HarrtiR, C~KLWR no npoxiurte HzaariuR, Halo-Kopa HJIB XCeHesa. COMO CONSECUIR PUBLICACIONES DE LAS NACIONES UMDAS Las publicaciones de las Naciones Unidas es& en venta en librexias y casas distribuidoras en todas partes del mundo. Consulte a su librero o dirijase a: Naciones Unidas, Secci6n de Ventas, Nuem York o Ginebra. , Litho in United Nations, New York 00400 90.61313-Ja1m1y 1993-2.050