S/PV.2577 Security Council

1 should like to inform members of the Council that I have received letters from the representatives of Algeria, Brazil, Ecuador, Ethiopia, I Mexico, Nicaragua, the United Republic of Tanzania and Yugoslavia in which they request to be invited to participate in the discussion of the item on the Council’s agenda. In accordance with the usual practice, I propose, with the consent of the Council, to invite those representatives to participate in the discussion without the right to vote in conformity with the relevant provisions of the Charter and rule 37 of the provisional rules of procedure. At the inv. ation of the President, Mr. Chamorro Mora (Ncaragua) took u place at the Council table; Mr. Djoudi (Algeria), Mr. Maciel (Brazil), Mr. Albornot (Ecuador), Mr. Dinka (Ethiopia), Mr. MuAoz Ledo (Mexico), Mr. Lweno (United Republic of Tanzania) and Mr. Golob (Yugoslavia) took the places reserved for them at the side of the Council Chamber.

The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. The Council is meeting today in response to the request contained in a letter dated 6 May 1985 from the representative of Nicaragua to the President of the Security Council [S/17156]. 1 should also like to draw the attention of members of the Council to document S/17163, which contains a letter dated 7 May from the representative of India to the Secretary-General. Members have also received photocopies of a note verbaie dated 8 May from the representative of Brazil to the Secretary-General. That note and its annex will be circulated as document S/17166. 5. The first speaker is the representative of Nicaragua, upon whom 1 call. 6. Mr. CHAMORRO MORA (Nicaragua) finferprefafion from Spanish): I wish to begin. Sir. by congratulating you on your assumption of the presidency of the Council for this month. I am certain that with your ability, skill and wisdom you will be able successfully to gmde the Council’s proceedings. 1 take this opportunity also to congratulate Mr. Arias Stella of Peru-a Latin American colleague with whom we shared concerns, anxiety and disquiet in the Security Council-on, the excellent work he did last month as President of this MY. 7. I recently told the non-aligned members of the Security Council that on none of the nine occasions on which my country turned to this body had it wanted to be compelled to call for meetings of the Council to denounce the constant acts of aggression against us 8. We want you and the international community to judge whether we are right to wish for and aspire to an end to the cruel and inhuman war that we have endured for more than four years. We want it to be you, not we, who decide whether the present United States Administration truly possesses the political will to achieve a negotiated agreement to the problems facing the region, problems which the Contadora Group is working so zealously to solve. So that we can judge on the basis of words and facts, 1 shall quote statements made in this very Council by various United States representatives. 9. During the March 1983 debate, Mrs. Kirkpatrick said, “I should like to reply . . . that the Umted States Government has no aggressive designs against the Government of Nicaragua, against the Nicaraguan people; that the United States indeed has no intention of invading anyone or of conducting an armed action against anyone, or of occupying any other country.‘* [See 2423rd meeting. para. /6&J IO. During the debate which followed our complaint of 4 September 1984, Mr. Sorzano said, “I shall conclude by stating once more that the United States is not trying to overthrow the Sandiuist Government,” [See 2557th meeting, para. 73. ] So that the implications of that statement may be understood, I shall repeat it: “1 shall conclude by stating once more that the United States id not trying to overthrow the Sandinist Government.” II. Only months later, on 21 February 1985 to be exact, the recently re-elected President Reagan, perhaps thinking himself possessed of a divine mandate, replied when asked at his first press conference whether his Administration’s aim was to remove the Government of Nicaragua: “Well, remove it in the sense of its present structure, in which it is a communist totalitarian State, and it is not a Government chosen by the people”. When asked again whether the aim of the United States was to overthrow the Nicaraguan Government, he said: “Not if the present Government would turn around and say ‘all right’, if they’d say ‘uncle’ “, which in American slang is a declaration of surrender. 12. We should like to ask the representatives of the United States, in order to enlighten the international 13. We should like to ask the representatives of the United States-since they are much given to using inverted Orwellian metaphors-who it is that is corrupting the language. Who is twisting words? Who is trying to undermine legitimacy bnd to overthrow our Government? Who murders innocent people, who stands for truth. and who lies shamelessly? 14. Until just a few months ago Nicaragua was among the non-permanent members of the Security Council. We participated in the difftcult work and deliberations that are the lot of this body. We shared with some members concern at the grave problems affecting mankind and endangering international peace and security. We were aware of the hop% placed by many peoples and Governments of the third world in the decisions of the Council, and we saw and shared their occasional feelings of frustration when solutions to their grave problems could not be found. IS. We feel deep anguish and frustration when, despite our complaints and accusations, despite our desire for peace, we face the imperial intransigence and overwhelming power of those who obstinately and cynically lie-or, at least, hide the truth from their colleagues on the Council and, what is worse, from the international community-and of those who, by abusing their veto Rower, which they constantly confuse with the power to perpetrate aggression and to harass, arrogantly isolated themselves from the international community during the debate provoked by the mining of our harbours. 16. We understand and share the concern of permanent and non-permanent members of the Council to contribute to a solution of the problems affecting mankind. We too are aware of the imperative need to contribute earnestly to a strengthening of international peace and security and to the effective invigoration of this body and the complete implementation of its resoiuiivns. 17. It is precisely for that reason that we have once again come to the Council to denounce the constant criminal, immoral acts of aggression part and parcel of the dirty, undeclared war waged by the Reagan Administration against our country, which. though poor. small and underdeveloped, has dignity and is non-aligned. WC turr to the Council in the hope that the for:e of reason, sense, wisdomand intelligence will prevail ovet imperialist intransigence and insensitivity, which, motivated by the desire for domination, endanger international peace and security. 19. If any members of the international community and any United States experts and politicians had doubts about those objectives, the statement made by President Reagan on 2 I February gave a perfect explanation of the goals of the present United States Administration, to achieve which it has used various arguments and pretexts, almost reaching levels of paranoia, to secure the endorsement of its own people and of the international community for its warlike and interventionist policies in Central America, and particularly against Nicaragua. 20. To justify its unlawful actions, the United States Administration has resorted throughout these years toa variety of arguments and pretexts that are prototypes of what the American historian Richard Hosstadtet has described as the “paranoic style of United States policy”. According to that distinguished historian, characteristics of that paranoic style of government include the characterization of the enemy as an implacable, satanic force; the constant leap of the imagination, always at a critical moment, to analyse the facts in such a way as to take thean from the undeniable to the incredible; the extraordinary significance given to rebels against the enemy cause; a magnetic attraction for self-styled intellectuals, who, with pedantic insistence, offer a vision of the facts that is much more coherent than the real world and leaves no room for error, misjudgement or ambiguity; and finally, a sense of urgency, of constantly living at the decisive moment, in a now-or-never situation, in facing up to the conspiracy of enemy forces. 21. I leave it to the representatives of the States members of this Council to judge whether such characteristics are or are not present in current United States policy towards Nicaragua. I leave it to them to judge who is paranoid-the Government of a country with scarcely 3 million people, poor and poorly armed, or the Administration of a super-Power which does not hesitate to decree a national state of emergency to confront what it considers, to quote the actual words of President Reagan, “an unusual and extraordinary threat to the foreinn oolicv and national security of the United States”. 22. We do not claim to be able to explain the present United States foreign policy in psychological terms. Suffice it lo say that this paranoid style is merely a device by which the present Administration distorts the facts, constantly inventing pretexts or adducing fallacious arguments and masterfully manipulating the mass 23. The first pretext for the refusal of the United States to accept in the Central American region-which it abusively calls its backyard-an independent, democratic and non-aligned State, and for its consequent aim of overthrowing the Nicaraguan Government, was that our country was exporting its revolution to various Central American countries, countries that for decades have been suffering from poverty, misery and oppression. That pretext was used by the Reagan Administratie? to justify the creation through the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of a huge mercenary force, which has been amply financed through tSe economic resources of the people of the United States. It was used tojustify the construction of a large permanent military infrastructure on Honduran territory. It served as justification for the presence of a large number of United States troops on Honduran territory. It was used to establish permanent military manoeuvres with Honduras on land, sea and air and to justify the constant blocking of the peace efforts of the Contadora Group. In sum, it was used to justify the massacre of our people. 24. However, being unable to show that Nicaragua was exporting its revolution to other Central American countries, or that it posed a threat to those countries, the United States Administration, in its zeal tocontinue to justify its interventionist activities in violation of international law, accused us, among other things, of being totalitarian and repressive. Those and many other falsehoods reflect the paranoid policy of the United States and the Orwellian distortions invoked to justify to the American people and the international cornmunity its criminal behaviour in Central America. 25. I shall not at this time dwell on what it has meant for our people to suffer the undeclared and illegal war that the greatest military Power on earth is waging against non-aligned Nicaragua, a proud country that, above all, lives with dignity despite its many sufferings. 26. 1 shall not go into detail concerning the more than 8,ooO victims we have had to add to the long list of martyrs from among our people, nor the more than $1 billion in material damage, nor the many orphans and disabled persons, nor the systematic financial blockade !n w&h we are king auhj@ed en a petmane nt bapis, the latest manifestation of which occurred in the Inter- American Development Bank, with the pressures brought to bear by Mr. Shultz, the Secretary of State, in a letter he addressed to the President of that body. Nor shall I refer to the almost complete reduction of the sugar quota, the closing of our consulates, the mining of our ports and the destruction of fuel tanks in the port of Corinto. 28. I merely wish to repeat before the Council that the gigantic resources the United States Government has invested in the Central American region are not aimed at stopping an alleged flow of armaments from Nicaragua or at establishing a democracy in a country that in any event is not United States territory and in whose internal affairs that Government should not interfere. Rather, those funds have been thus invested to compel us-to use the words of the President of the United States-to “say uncle”. 29. I cannot fail, on this occasion, to voice grave concern, which I am sure is shared by all members of the Council, at the extremely grave situation confronting the Central American region, and in particular the ever-increasing threats to Nicaragua. We are concerned at the fact that, after its failure to demonstrate a non-existent flow of arms and to prove its trumped-up charges of Nicaraguan intervention, the Government of the United States-which is itself engaged in intervention-has in the last few months increased the level of rhetoric and public threat, presenting us as a danger to its security and strategic interests, and that it has publicly avowed its intention to overthrow us.. 30. Such rhetoric to the effect that we have become a threat to the national security of his country has led President Reagan to state that Nicaragua is “the greatest challenge for the United States in the post-war era”. How is it possible for a small country of barely 130.000 square kilometres and 3.5 million peoplewho have suffered so many threats, so much destruction and death-to be such a threat, to be the challenge he tries to depict us to be? If we were to follow President Reagan’s thinking, such statements might lead us to conclude that if force was used in Viet Nam, which in its time was also the greatest challenge to the United States, then such force will be used in Nicaragua-and sooner rather than later. 31. Iant April marked the tenth annivers? of the victory of the Vietnamese people over the Invading troops of the Government of the United States. Ten years of history should have been enough to lead to a reasoned evaluation of the outcome of the policy that was pursued in Viet Nam. However, it would appear that the present United States .4dministration has not given suficient thought to what that intervention implied for its people and what it meant for the people of 32. Regrettably, instead of learning from history, President Reagan has stubbornly been pursuing a holy war against my country without regard to the means he uses or the damage caused to our people. Fortunately, President Reagan’s efforts have come up against growing resistance on the part of the American people and the international community. This was expressed in the United States Congress when it recently refused to grant the present Administration more funds to continue to finance the counter-revolution and thus inflict a blood bath upon the people of Nicaragua. 33. In his attempt to obtain the $14 million for the counter-revolution, President Reagan decided to submit a so-called peace plan for Nicaragua which contemplated approval of the funds by Congress and a commitment to use such funds for humanitarian aid, provided the Government of Nicaragua would commit itself to undertaking negotiations with the assassins of its people-that is, with the former Somozist guards. If those talks did not lead to positive results within 60 days, the funds intended for humanitarian aid would be used for military aid to the counter-revolution. 34. As the President of Nicaragua, Commander of the Revolution Daniel Ortega Saavedra, said in his letter to the heads of State of the Contadora countries [S/17098, annex] that “peace plan” “constitutes not only an ultimatum and a dictatorial interference in the affairs of a sovereign country, but also an express and full recognition that the United States Government is pursuing a war of aggression against Nicaragua through an organized army directed and armed by that Government.” President Ortega also said: “Nicaragua cannot agree to the ultimatum presented by President Reagan, nor can it accept the interventionist policy of aggression, threats and coercion aimed at making Nicaragua abandon its sovereignty, self-determination and independence. Furthermore, to accept that policy would mean not only to reduce our country to a neo-colonial status as a protectorate, but also to recognize a breach of international law”. In that same letter the President of Nicaragua reaffirmed our support for the Contadora process and demanded that the United States immediately resume the bilateral talks in Manzanillo, Mexico, whereby that country could put forward and discuss any proposal. 35. There is, on the one hand, the correctness of Nicaragua’s reply and, on the other, President Reagan’s shameless manipulation-in his eagerness to 36. Despite all those efforts the results were not favourable to the Administration since, for the time being, the United States Congress has refused to tinance the military and paramilitary operations of the mercenary bands. The main reason for this refusal is the fact that, for certain circles in the United States, something which has always been quite clear to us is now becoming apparent: the decision of the current United States Administration to overthrow the legitimate Government of the Republic of Nicaragua by any means, including, if necessary, the use of military force. 37. The vote in the House of Representatives and Nicaragua’s reply were two excellent catalysts for responsible and mature thought on a new approach in the relations between the United States and Latin America in general and Nicaragua in particular. That was the ideal time to move from a policy of aggression, domination and power to one of mutual respect, co-operation and understanding-something which no doubt would have led to a genuine relaxation of the tensions .with which we have had to live for the past five years. 38. Nevertheless, the bellicose, imperialist attitude of power prevailed. On I May this year, the President of the United States notified Congress of his decision to impose a total trade embargo upon Nicaragua. The day before, our Embassy in Washington received a note verbale from the State Department which, in accordance with article XXV, paragraph 3, of the Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation’ between the United States and Nicaragua, declared the termination of that instrument at the end of one year from the date of the note verbale. 39. The latest measures decreed by the Reagan Administration include: “The prohibition of all imports into the United States of goods and services of Nicaraguan origin: all exports from the United States of goods to or destined for Nicaragua, except those destined for the organ&d democratic resistance, and transactions relating thereto.” This democratic resistance, as representatives are aware, is President Reagan’s so-called freedom fighters who are conducting a democratic struggle, even though they are torturing and murdering the people of Nicaragua. They also prohibit “Nicaragua carriers from engaging in air transportation to or from points in the United States, and transactions relating thereto”. Finally, they prohibit “vessels of Nicaraguan registry from entering into United States ports. and transactions relating thereto”. 40. Earlier, I referred to the United States Administration’s insistence that the legitimate Government of 41. 1 do not think that President Reagan’s words deserve further comment by me. 1 am convinced that the members of the Security Council will know full well how to assess them and will give serious thought to whether Nicaragua, a poor, underdeveloped country, could at any time in its history ever be or ever have been a threat to the United States of America. 42. The measures taken by the Administration are so unreal and out of proportion that it has been impossible for it to convince any country whatsoever of their justice. We have time and again demonstrated that Nicaragua is not and can never be a threat to the security of the United States and that, rather, the reverse is true: the United States constitutes a threat to the very existence of Nicaragua. It is therefore absurd to declare a national emergency on the basis of a threat that exists only in the minds of a handful of United States leaders, including, regrettably, the President of that country. It is the Nicaraguans who have lived in a constant state of emergency. It is we who have had to witness the death of our children, our women and our old people, the destruction of our centres of production, the mining of our ports, the blockade in international banking circles and now, finally, a total economic embargo, which is from everey point of view imperialist and illegal. It is the Nicaraguans who have suffered all this. 43. The United States Government has shamelessly stated that all its actions in Central America, and in particular its actions against Nicaragua, are in keeping with the Charter of the United Nations and the charter of the Organisation of American States, which it thus stretches or constrains according to its imperialist objectives. 44. Aware that international law and the principles governing international relations are on our side, our Government went to the International Court of Justice, whne iwiadicti~fr ha! &.n r+xtd hy the IJnited ..------.-. States Government, contrary to the obligations it has entered into. We cannot understand why this happened, if United States actions in Central America and against Nicaragua have been governed by the principles of the Charter of the United Nations. 45. The coercive economic measures recently adopted against Nicaragua are all part of the same 46. The United States has violated the principle of the peaceful settlement ofdisputes betweeen States. It has time and again resorted to force and pressure of all kinds to settle its differences with Nicaragua. Why, if the United States believes that it has the law on its side and that its security is threatened, does it not come before this ‘;ody and explain to the international community that the small country of Nicaragua is trying to commit aggression against it? Why, if the United States respec!: international law, does it not use the means for the ;reaeeful settlement of disputes provided for in the Charter? The answers to these questions are quite obvious. 47. Tile United States has violated the principle that States must fulfil their international obligations in good faith. It did so when it adopted internationally coercive economic measures, thus violating not only the Charter but also the Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation entered into by Nicaragua and the United States in January 1956. 48. Also violated has been the charter of the Organization of American States, an organization which the United States itself created and tried to develop in its own image. Article I9 of that charter states the following: “No State may use or encourage the use of coercive measures of an economic or political character in order to force the sovereign will of another State and obtain from it advantages of any kind.” 49. Many of the provisions of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade have also been violated, in particular article I, on general most-favoured nation treatment; article II, on the schedule of concessions; article III, on national treatment of internal taxation and regulations; article V, on freedom of transit in the territory of the contracting parties by whatever means of transportation; article XI, on the general elimination of quantitative restrictions; article XIII, on nondiscriminatory administration of auantitative restrictions; article XXXVI. on principles and objectives of trade and development; article XXXVII, on commitments; and article XXXVIII, on joint action by the contracting parties. 50. Therefore my Government has decided to take formal action against the United States Government in this body. “Either Party, by giving one year’s written notice to the other Party, may terminate the present Treaty at the end of the initial ten-year period or at any time thereafter.” That article makes it clear that the Treaty is still in effect and that the measures decreed constitute a flagrant violation of both its spirit and its letter. 52. There is no need to mention the many resolutions adopted by the General Assembly that have been disregarded by the Government of the United States in its recent measures taken and decreed against my country. Suf%e it to mention only resolution 2625 (XXV), to which is annexed the Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation among States in accordance with the Charter ofthe United Nations; resolution 3281 (XXIX), with the Chatter of Economic Rights and Duties of States; and resolution 39/210, on economic measures as a means of political and economic coercion against developing tmmries. 53. The measures taken run so counter to international order, and particularly to international economic order and security, that my country, as I have said, is taking formal legal action against the United States under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and is preparing to take action against it in the International Court of Justice. My country also deems it necessary that the Latin American Economic System -an organization dedicated to strengthening co-operation in the regior+intervene in the matter, and we have therefore called for it to convene a meeting at the ministerial level. 54. However, 1 would emphasize that, in addition to our concerns of the moment, we are coming before the Security Council to denounce these coercive economic measures, which violate the Charter of the United Nations, threaten regional peace and security and affect the peace process now under way in Central America, particularly the efforts of the Contadora Group. We wish to point out that the recent embargo decreed by the Government of the United States against Nicaragua 57. We wish to state once again something that is a central pillar of the foreign policy of my Govemmeut. which is based on the policy, principles and tenets of non-alignment, That central pillar is constituted by our open and complctc support for the efforts of the ContadoraGroup; our willingness to sign forthwith the Act of 7 September and scrupulously to abide by all the commitments contained therein, including those concerning the mechanisms for verification and control; and our demand for the immediate resumption of the bilateral talks at Manzanillo, with a view to the restoration of normal relations between the United States and Nicaragua, thus fostering a climate of detente in the area that will be conducive to the success of the efforts of the Contadora Group. 55. In the context of a critical regional situation, the measures in question represent a clear-cut threat to the peace and stability of Central America. At the same time they constitute a hard blow to the process undertaken by the Governments of the Contadora Group. which have for more than two years been making a tremendous effort to find a political and negotiated solution to the grave problems of the region. Furthermore, these measures make more remote the possibilities for the continuation of the bilateral talks that have been held in Manzanillo. Mexico. Against the backdrop of the threat these measures pose to world order and international peace and security, Nicaragua believes that the Security Council should intervene. This clearly political situation and the danger of these actions have been fully understood by many Governments, individuals, congresses and political groupings that have spoken out to reject such measures and are in overwhelming agreement in their thinking. 58. Once again we aftlrm our desire for peace. If the blindness and adventurism of the present United States leaders result in the outbreak of the uncontrollable tires of war in Central America, it will be the peoples of Central America and Latin America, the people of the United States itself and history who deliver the verdict ofetemal condemnation, and the hateful recollection of their names will be engraved on the memory of generations of people. 56. As the leadership of the Sandinist National Liberation Front stated in its message addressed to the people of Nicaragua on 4 May, National Dignity Day, the boycott decreed by President Reagan against our small and proud nation is a premeditated step by the United States Government down the road of direct military intervention against Nicaragua. It may be inferred from the text of the official note of I May sent to the Nicaraguan Foreign Offtce by the United States State Department that, if Nicaragua does not take concrete steps to comply with the requirements set forth in that note, the prospects for a peaceful settlement in Central America will diminish. This means that, if Nicaragua does not bow to the will of the United States, then President Reagan will arrogate to himself the right to engage in military intervention in Nicaragua and to declare total war against us. The message to the people of Nicaragua says: “The time has come to hold back, through the force of reason, laws and international norms, the boot that is being used so blindly and unthinkingly to try to destroy this people, to force it to submit, to L2-- :r ._ :.- ,.---- ,.,- -L-I, __I -_. A -_-.- -- -_-- “‘,U& 1, L” ,LS AUKS. “7c; 3,141~ ll”L pa ““WI, “,I ““I knees and bow to any kind of force whatsoever. We shall stand up for the right of weak peoples not to submit to such treatment. Behind the law and reason, which are on our side, is our will to struggle, our will to win, our will to use weapons, the weapons which thousands of patriots are now brandishing in the 59. Approximately a year ago we requested a meeting of the Securitv Council to denounce the mining of the Nicaraguan ports, an action carried out by t6e CIA which ran counter to the right to freedom of navigation and freedom of trade. This represented a qualitative shift in terms of both the level of military involvement, through the participation of United States forces, and its economic implications, since in the throes of panic it tried to blockade my country. The justice and seriousness of our denunciation at that time resulted in the unanimous support of the international community. This was clearly demonstrated by a vote in the Security Council (2529rh meeting] in which the United States was isolated; there were I3 votes in favour of a draft resolution submitted by my Government, one abstention and only one vote against-that of the United States. We are convinced that at this time. when my Government is facing a situation that is similar to that of a year ago-in which we are the victims of a further escalation of the constant acts of aggression by the United States Government. an escalation that has a ,-,-r:..- a--. ^- e-.. .,,.A, ~~~~r~r~ &,&o&t “1, l,CC --:hc :.d..-,.r:..r,, ^^d ,IWC I,,trC, ,SOI8”..U, cv,*.- munity, through the Security Council, will support Nicaragua’s efforts in the quest for peace in Central America and will reject measures such as those I have described, which infringe the right to self-determination and the right to sovereignty and independence of each and every one of our countries.

There is much in what the Nicaraguan representative has said that deserves and will have a response. But the NOTE ’ United Nations. Treaty Series. vol. 367, No. 5224. HOW TO OBTAIN UMlED NATIONS PUBLICAllON.9 United N&m publications ma! be obtained from booksmrec and disWtbuIors throughout the world. Cons& your bookstore or WIIC IO: Umted Naclont .%I- Sectton. New York or Geneva. COMMENT SE PROCURER I.&S PUBLICATIONS DES NATiONS UNIE!4 Les publications des Nations Unies son1 en venue darts let Itbrairis et les agences dCpositaimdu monde entier. Informez-vous sup& de votre libraIre ou adresez-vow I : Nations Unies. Section des vemes. New York ou G&W. COMO CONSEGUIP PUBLlCAClONES DE LAS NACIONES UNIDAS Las publiiiones de bs Nacionee U&as e&n en nnta en libreti y casas diuribuidotas tn &xlas partee &I mundo. Con&&e a su librero o didjase a: Nociom Unidae, Secci6n de Vent. Nueva York o Gin&~. !334143~March 195’2-2,050