S/PV.2612 Security Council

The Security Council is meeting today in response to the request contained in the letter dated 1 October 1985 from the representative of Angola to the President of the Council [S/17520]. 3. I should like to draw the attention of the members of the Council to document S/17518, which contains the text of a letter dated 1 October 1985 from the representative of India to the Secretary-General. Provisional agenda (S/Agenda/2612) 1. Adoption of the agenda 4. The first speaker is the representative of Angola, upon whom I now call. 2. Complaint by Angola against South Africa: Letter dated 1 October 1985 from the Permanent Representative of Angola to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council (S/17510) 5. Mr. de FIGUEIREDO (Angola): Mr. President, I thank you for convening this meeting of the Security Council. The meeting was called to order at 11.20 a.m. 6. Just a few days ago, on 20 September to be exact [2606th meeting], I had the honour of bringing to the attention of the Council the fact that there had been a massive armed aggression against the people and the territory of Angola. On that day the Council, in a most gratifying show of support for the position of the People’s Republic of Angola and for the principles for which we stand, unanimously adopted resolution 571 (1985) on the question of South African aggression against my country and people. Adoption of the agenda The agenda was adopted. Complaint by Angola against South Africa: Letter dated 1 October 1985 from the Permanent Representative of Angola to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council (S/17510) 7. The ink had barely dried on that resolution-its recommendation on a fact-finding mission to Angola by a group of Council members had not even been implemented-when, lo and behold, the racist minority rkgime in Pretoria duplicated the very operation concerning which it was tried and censured on 20 September. On 28 September, South African aircraft violated the airspace of Angola, repeating the violation on 29 September, both violations having been carried out with the purpose of reconnaissance of the position of Angolan troops. On 30 September, between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m., a formation of over eight South African aircraft flew over Angolan troop positions in the vicinity of Mavinga and bombed our troops, causing more than 65 casualties, wounding hundreds and destroying six Angolan helicopters. In addition, there was a direct clash with the racist armed forces infantry.

I should like to inform members of the Council that I have received letters from the representatives of Angola, Cameroon, Cuba, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Kuwait, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Yugoslavia and Zimbabwe in which they request to be invited to participate in the discussion of the item on the Council’s agenda. In conformity 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 accordance with the relevant provisions of the Charter and rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure. At the invitation of the President, Mr. de FigUredo (Angola) took a place at the Council table: Mr. Engo (Cameroon), Mr. Malmierca Peoli (Cuba), Mr. Rajaie-Khorassani (Islamic Republic of Iran), Mr. Abulhassan (Kuwait). Mr. Garba (Nigeria), Mr. San-6 (Senegal). Mr. von Schirnding (South Africa), Mr. GoIob (Yugoslavia)), and Mr. Chiketa 8. The South African racist forces, whose total strength has not yet been determined, were landed in the territory of the People’s Republic of Angola from Namibia, a coun- 9. In the present instance, the racist forces are located at Mavinga, in Angola, 250 kilometres from the Namibian border and even further away from the South African border. These racist forces have already launched several aggressive actions against FAPLA (People’s Armed Forces for the Liberation of Angola) units, using Mirage aircraft. 10. Before we are forced to listen to allegations, unfounded charges, false accusations and downright lies and untruths, may I offtcially inform the Security Council that this latest racist action took place just as our courageous FAPLA were breaking through the third and last defence position of the South African-run, South Africansupplied, South African-supported, South Africandependent, South African-defended, South Africancontrolled, South African-maintained group of puppets, traitors, bandits, mercenaries and thieves which calls itself the UNITA (National Union for the Total Independence of Angola) group. In fact, even the UNITA group’s so-called fighters are actually either South African racist dressed in UNITA uniforms or mercenaries recruited and paid by the South Africans to fight on the side of UNITA and pretend to be UNITA. 11. On one hand, I feel reluctant to repeat once again for the benefit of the Council a list of South Africa’s crimes, its violations and its transgressions. Angola has been presenting its case to the Council-to no avail, may I add-since 1976. Yet, on the other hand, the rape of my beloved country by the racist troops, the desecration of our land, the murder of our people, the violation of Angolan sovereignty, all compel the Government of Angola to come before the Council again and again and yet again-as many times as it takes to get some concrete international action which will lead to the cessation of these racist attacks. Therefore, no matter how repetitious our case, we must present it to the Council and demand action. It is our due right under the Charter, and the Council’s duty, also under the Charter. 12. I must state once again for the record that the area which has been the target of racist attacks and is still under racist occupation does not contain, nor has it ever contained, any Namibian refugees or elements of SWAP0 (South West Africa People’s Organization). The attack was aimed primarily at saving the racists’ protege, UNITA, once again, and simultaneously at attacking in an attempt to destroy the Angolan nation’s institutions, its people, its. aspirations, its infrastructure, its efforts at reconstruction, its vital tasks and responsibilities relating to peace in southern Africa and its mandates inside Angola and in the region. 14. In a communication addressed to the Secretarv- General, the President of my country has made reference to the right of a sovereign State to ask for broader assistance. We would not do this easily or lightly, but if Angola is not given any concrete assistance in getting rid of the racist monster’s unwanted and uninvited presence in Angola and the racists’ interference in the strictly internal affairs of Angola, then our Government and our people will do everything within our means to take action to defend our sovereignty and territorial integrity against the aggressor. 15. The struggle continues. Victory is certain.

Sir, you have begun your tenure as President of the Security~ Council with a full agenda and a heavy responsibility that goes with it. Your eminent personal qualities and long and rich diplomatic experience are well known. We are therefore confident that you will provide wise and impartial guidance to the Council’s work during October. 17. It is not my intention to sneak at length. Even if I wished to do so, I would find it rather difftcult, since I can say little that we have not already said before. It is in itself a tragedy that so many of us should have repeatedly to say the same things in the Council about the same crimes by the same offender, without that fugitive from justice ever being brought effectively to book. 18. The racist regime of South Africa has yet again infringed the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Angola by launching a fresh act of aggression against that country. It has done so, as it has done so often in the past, even before the ink was dry on the last resolution of the Security Council on the subject, adopted barely 13 days ago. Resolution 571 (1985), unanimously adopted by the Council on 20 September last, had once again strongly condemned the racist regime of South Africa for its “premeditated, persistent and sustained armed invasions of the People’s Republic of Angola” as a “flagrant violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of that country, as well as a serious threat to international peace and security”. It had furthermore renewed the Council’s demand that South Africa “withdraw forthwith and unconditionally all its military forces from the territory of the People’s Republic of Angola, cease all acts of aggression against that State 19. At the Meeting of Ministers and Heads of Delegation of Non-Aligned Countries to the fortieth session of the General Assembly, held in New York on 1 October, a special communique [S/17.518, annex] was adopted reflecting the position of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries with regard to the acts of aggression committed by South Africa in the last few days. I would like to read into the records of the Council relevant excerpts from this communique: “The Ministers and Heads of Delegation . . . strongly condemned the racist regime of South Africa for its latest aggression against the People’s Republic of Angola, which only offers further evidence of Pretoria’s policy of destabilization and subversion in the region and repeated violation of the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of front-line African States, as well as its use of the illegally occupied Territory of Namibia as a springboard for such aggression. They reaffirmed their steadfast support and solidarity with the Government and people of Angola in their heroic efforts to resist South African aggression and consolidate their independence.” The Ministers and Heads of Delegation further declared that the latest instance of aggression by South Africa further testifies to the arrogance and intransigence of the racist regime and its utter lack of respect for the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and all norms of international law. They urged the Security Council to meet urgently to deal with the serious threat to peace and security posed by the latest acts of aggression and “renewed the call repeatedly made by the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries for the imposition of comprehensive mandatory sanctions against South Africa . . . under Chapter VII of the Charter”. 20. I wish only to add that the Government of India joins in the universal condemnation of this latest act of aggression. We would like to reassure the Angolan Government and people that India and the entire nonaligned movement continue to stand by it in the face of continuing South African aggression. As the non-aligned declared at New Delhi in 1983, and again at Luanda last month, aggression against Angola and continued occupation of its territory by South Africa constitute an act of aggression against the entire Movement of Non-Aligned Countries. 21. To those who are often at pains to stress the need to maintain the dignity, authority and credibility of the Security Council-and indeed, we are all agreed on this-1 22. The representative of South Africa comes before the Council only to challenge its authority openly by repudiating its decisions in advance. How long can such intransigence and arrogant defiance of the Council go unpunished? How long must the most powerful organ of the United Nations bow supinely to the duplicity and prevarication of a recalcitrant Member State? How long before the Council becomes a laughing-stock, if it has not become one already? We must in all honesty ask ourselves these questions. Our response, I suggest, should be an unequivocal condemnation of South Africa and unanimous and swift action to make it comply with its Charter obligations.

The next speaker is the representative of South Africa. I invite him to take a place at the Council table and to make his statement. 24. Mr. von SCHIRNDING (South Africa): Permit me, on behalf of the South African delegation, to convey to you, Sir, our warmest congratulations on your assumption of the presidency of the Security Council. 25. When the Council met on 20 September [2606th meeting], I pointed to the growing conflict in southern Angola and to the role which the Soviet Union and its surrogates were playing in the civil war. I asked at the time whether the democratic countries would stand aside while the people of Angola fought on alone against foreign interventionists. I pointed to the dangers that the new Soviet imperialism posed for Africa, and I said that South Africa stood with all true Africans against the forces of the new imperialists. 26. And what was the response of the Security Council? By adopting resolution 571 (1985), and in particular its operative paragraph 5, the Council issued, on behalf of the MPLA (People’s Liberation Movement of Angola) regime at Luanda, a call to arms to the international community. In essence, the Council requested all Member States to export to Angola more weapons, more military personnel and, as an obvious consequence, more violence and bloodshed and killing. 27. The Soviet Union and its surrogates have of course seized upon this invitation and have taken full advantage of the opportunities it offered. Their involvement in the current lighting is even more extensive than I indicated to the Council on 20 September. Soviet pilots are flying some of Angola’s MIG-23 aircraft and MI-25 helicopter gunships, the very same gunships they are using to slaughter the people of Afghanistan.. It is clear that the Soviets are 29. South Africa has no illusions about its relative power. But it does have regional responsibilities, responsibilities for the security of its own people and responsibilities for the security of the people of South West Africa/Namibia. Even now, SWAP0 is sending major units southward as part of the Sovietdirected offensive with the intention of opening new fronts in its terrorist campaign against the people of South West Africa/Namibia. Despite our limited capabilities, it must be understood that South Africa cannot and will not simply shed its responsibilities. Those involved should understand, and understand clearly, that there will be no cheap victories. 30. If the Council would like to establish what is happening in southern Angola, my Government suggests that it send a fact-finding mission to the area to establish who is fighting whom, who is directing the operations, what armaments are being used and what the people of Angola would like to see happen in their country. The Council would then discover what support UNITA enjoys in Angola. If the MPLA wishes to confirm this, let it hold free elections. Let the people of Angola determine their future in a peaceful manner instead of by ,destroying one another in this endless civil war, a civil war which has been instigated. by foreign Powers for the promotion of their own interests. 31. But if the MPLA chooses to continue the civil war, why should it be the only party entitled to call on assistance? The United States Congress, by repealing the Clark Amendment, has already recognized the admissibility of aiding UNITA, and as recently as this morning, Secretary of State Shultz of the United States is quoted in i%e New York Times as follows: ,’ “But we must also mmember‘what has happened in El Salvador, and throughout Latin America over the past five years-and, for that matter, what is today happening in Nicaragua, Cambodia, Afghanistan and Angola, where people are fighting and dying for independence and freedom.” 32. South Africa is committed to peace and stability in southern Africa. My Government has often gone on record to invite the leaders of southern Africa to come together, to negotiate and to work out solutions’to the problems of the region. I have frequently repeated and extended such an invitation in the Council. South Africa would far prefer to resolve the problems of southern Africa by negotiation. It does not believe that military solutions are feasible. I would accordingly like to repeat the appeal which I made on behalf of my Government on 20 September for the resumption of direct talks between 33. Only the other day, the South African State President again appealed to all the leaders of southern Africa to stand together in order to rid our region of all foreign forces. He said: “Par the sake of its own security, for the sake of its own peace of mind and for the sake of its own progress, I hope that southern Africa will attempt to free itself from the forces of enslavement now encroaching upon it. “Say to the Cubans ‘Go home’ and say to the Russians ‘Go home; and the minute this happens, I will be prepared to contain all our military forces inside South Africa.” 34. South Africa has issued an unambiguous call for the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Angola. This moming, the representative of the MPLA regime asked for action by the Council. We agree. In terms of our prerogative under rule 38 of the Security Council’s provisional rules of procedure, we have prepared and requested circulation of the draft resolution contained in document S/17522 to give effect to this call. 35. If members of the Council fail to give due consideration and support to this draft resolution, I would invite them to tell us with which aspects they disagree. Let me stress that this is a sincere and serious attempt by my Government to bring about peace in our region. It is not an attempt to score political points or to apportion blame for the development of the current situation in Angola. On the contrary, it is designed to serve the interests of southem Africa as a whole.

The next speaker is the representative of Nigeria, who wishes to make a statement in his capacity as’ Chairman of the Group of African States for October. I invite him to take a place at the Council table and to make his statement.

In my capacity as Chairman of the Group of African States for the month of October, I should like td congratulate you, Sir, on your assumption of the presidency of the Security Council. I am convinced that with your proven skills as a diplomat and negotiator-and, beyond that, as the representative of a great Power committed to maintaining international peace and security-you will discharge your duty with your characteristic aplomb. On behalf of the ‘Group of African States, I should like to pledge our full cooperation and support for you and your delegation during your tenure as President of the Council. 39. It was on 20 September that the Council met to debate South African aggression against Angola. We meet today to discuss another act of aggression by racist South Africa. In both cases, the aggression was vicious, unprovoked, premeditated and dastardly. In each case, the consequences were devastating in material terms and tragic in human dimensions and constituted a breach of the peace and, most certainly, a threat to international peace and security. 40. To justify this criminal act, the Pretoria regime has used numerous pretexts. Its most often repeatedargument when invading Angola is that of stopping the campaign of terror by SWAPO. However, in a recent statement credited to the racist Defence Minister, the regime stated its unswerving commitment to bolster and support Jonas Savimbi and his UNITA dissident group, who, as South Africa’s proxies, are committed to the destabilization of Angola. 41. The facts surrounding-the latest unprovoked South African attack against Angola are gruesome in their brutality. The Pretoria regime is engaged in saturation bombing of a wide area of Angolan territory and, in particular, of the area of Mavinga. The latest reports reaching the Group of African States indicate.that 85 Angolan soldiers have died, dozens have been wounded and tremendous material destruction has been caused. 42. There is no reason, no argument, no circumstance that can justify this unprovoked, consistent and coldblooded aggression with its consequent destabilization of Angola. The Pretoria regime is bent on following its dcstructive course. It has continuously violated the territorial integrity and subverted the national sovereignty of the People’s Republic of Angola and the front-line States. It continuously treats with disregard, scorn and utter contempt the basic principles governing inter-State relations that are enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations. 43. The Group of African States strongly condemns this latest act of unprovoked aggression against Angola. That act is unacceptable to us, and we wish to state unequivocally that these events ,have gone on for far too long. 44. The fundamental refrain that continues to manifest itself in the ongoing debates in the General ‘Assembly is how to strengthen the Organization, especially in regard to its peace and security functions. The credibility of the’security Council in its primary function-namely,.thk ,maintenance of international peace and security-is severely jeopardized when the Council cannot be seen to act decisively, effectively and objectively when acts of aggression and breaches of the peace are blatantly committed. 45. On behalf of the Group of African States, I call on the Council to recall the seventh preambular paragraph -Secondly, having also established beyond doubt that South Africa habitually contravenes the Charter and that Article 39 of the Charter provides options for action against violations of the Charter, which option will the Council adopt? -Thirdly, is it possible that there are interests so strong and so committed to the support of South Africa in its aggression that they will resist all attempts to take action to halt this aggression? -Fourthly, is it possible that political-strategic interests have become so entrenched that they override the fundamental Charter consideration of halting acts of aggression and maintaining peace and security? 46. One of the main reasons for the outbreak of many wars in the past has been the appeasement of aggressors or a lack of effective and decisive action against them. That was the case in 1939. Today, Africa is being subjected to aggression on all sides. In the south of our continent we have an institutionalized racist State terrorizing, destabilizing and ravaging its neighbours. In the north, the Israeli aggressor, with its traditional bellicose and imperialist character, has violated the territorial integrity of another African State, Tunisia. The Group of African States unreservedly condemns this unprovoked and premeditated action against the sister Republic of Tunisia. I shall have the opportunity of speaking on that question later today. 47. If the Security Council cannot act decisively, consistent with the provisions of the Charter, it will be a telling indictment of its capacity, its will and its effectiveness in regard to discharging its primary function: the maintenance of peace and security, and to react forcefully in the face of unprovoked aggression. 48. In conclusion, I strongly recommend, on behalf of the Group of African States, that the Council transcend the habitual strong but ineffective condemnation of South Africa for its aggression against Angola and call for the following measures: the immediate payment of full and adequate compensation to the People’s Republic of Angola; the full implementation of the arms embargo against South Africa and the application without delay of comprehensive and mandatory sanctions against the Pretoria regime for its policy and practices of apartheid and acts of aggression against Angola and other front-line States; and, lastly, that the Council begin to consider other measures, such as those set out in Article 42 of the Charter, to stop the racist regime in Pretoria from committing further acts of aggression against Angola and the front-line States.

The next speaker is the representative of Cameroon. I invite him to take a place at the Council table and to make his statement. 51. Permit us to commence by congratulating the distinguished team from the United Kingdom, especially Sir Geoffrey Howe, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, and representative Sir John Thomson, which brought experience and scholarship to the leadership of the Council last month. We hope that they will assist you, Mr. President, in the historic task that you inust discharge this month. 52. We warmly greet you, Sir, at the moment of your assumption of the heavy responsibilities of the presidency of the Council. Your nation, the United States, was born in a spectacular revolution, bringing reality to history’s abhorrence of economic and social injustices, reaffirming the inevitable truth that the will of deprived peoples cannot be suppressed indefinitely and demonstrating that peace and security are excellent fuels for development. The United States Constitution recognizes that all men are created equal and that they are endowed with certain inalienable rights, among which is the right to the pursuit of freedom. 53. You therefore come from a background of an extraordinary passion for freedom. This must inspire you and greatly enhance your capacity not only to understand the cries of those who are victims of an alarming crescendo of institutional&d violence but also to fulfil judiciously the special leadership role accorded to your nation by virtue of permanent membership of this important body, which was established to build and to maintain lasting international peace and security. 54. As a linguist who must understand, more than m&t, the emotions of peoples across the globe, as an accomplished general who dedicated his life to the struggle against aggression and other conditions of war, you have a personal background that equips you to face the challenges thrust upon the Security Council at a moment when this generation is called upon to fill undesirable gaps in credibility introduced into the United Nations by our very poor responses to cruelty, immorality, murder and defiance of universal norms of decency and principles of legality. Your presidency must not fail, because we cannot afford, in this commemorative year, to demonstrate an incapacity on the part of the most powerful among us to defuse the fiustrations of the helpless or to uphold those norms of civilized conduct we collectively cherish. We must be seen to be rekindling the lofty hopes of man that attended the success of San Francisco four decades ago. 55. We have not requested this opportunity of speaking here merely to join in a chorus of deserved condemnation, which the Pretoria rigime has consistently treated with casual contempt. It is our belief that the Security Council must reach a decision after this debate which would send a 56. We had the privilege of visiting the sister People’s Republic of Angola when the non-aligned countries assembled to discuss the rudiments of peace and economic development. The picture was so vivid. Angoians are peace-loving people who have never been given the genuine opportunity to exploit their God-given resources for the well-being of their populations. They must seek survival in a mood of crisis, in a cruel world. National sovereignty and territorial integrity are concepts which others take for granted but which in Angola are undermined tith impunity from without. They are supposed to turn their backs on the fraternal peoples to the south, in Namibia and in South Africa itself, where even worse forms of cruelty and injustice express their sardonic joy of existence. 57. The people of Angola are consequently condemned to divert valuable resources from development to armament in costly defence of the young nation. As is characteristic of conditions today, the manufacturers and salesmen of diabolical weapons profit from the woes of the poor and the weak of this era. Before a complacent comity of nations, the trigger-happy racists of South Africa have acquireda nuclear capability, thus increasing the chances of escalating the already precarious arms race in the subregion and further endangering international peace and security. 58. No, the victims of aggression and a concerned international public do not need the tranquillizers of unproductive resolutions, passed or vetoed. They ask for no more than effective co-operation for the attainment of peace in the region. They welcomed the recent initiative of one of the permanent members of the Security Council to draw attention dramatically to the plight of the people of that region, as well as to the dangers that provoke breaches of international peace and security. Those poor people saw in that action some light at the end of the tunnel. We must not prove that it was a mere mirage. There can be no turning back now. 59. In our dilemma and in our frustration, we send out a strong appeal to the two super-Powers of this age and to the other economic and military giants of this era. We ask them to accept a moratorium on confrontation over the critical issue ijf disarmament, to examine the grave and 60. Instead of mere condemnatory resolutions, let the world witness new initiatives for substantive change of policies in South Africa, enhancing meaningful negotiations and leading to immediate termination of the current acts of barbarism perpetrated by the racists. The major Powers of the day are represented here. Collectively they have the power and influence to bring the Pretoria regime down from the shelves of decadence and illusion, where it seems to be filed away from civilisation. The racists do not possess the moral rectitude with which those Powers could engage in any evolutionary process. The longer the powerful nations shy away from facing this historic responsibility, the more our daily existence will continue to underline the nature of the evil, with its lamentable predictability. 61. For the rest, we offer our fraternal condolences to our brothers and sisters of Angola, reaching out to those others who bear the oppressive burdens of the deprivations induced by the apartheid system. Our sense of solidarity grows stronger with each grief provoked by the calculated mischief of collaborators in crime in that region. Our frustrations must lead us to greater endeavours, knowing that we cannot lose, because God and truth are on the side of those who have a just cause. 62. We look forward to the day when we can all assemble here to hail the dawn of peace, real peace, lasting peace and progress in southern Africa, peace designed and achieved through the leadership of the Security Councilleadership over which you, Sir, as a distinguished representative of a super-Power, presided.

I intervene on the question of the South African attack on Angola for the second time in two weeks and with a deep sense of indignation. During the Council’s debate on 20 September [2607th meefing], I stated in the clearest possible terms the British Government’s condemnation of South African incursions into Angola and repeated violations of Angolan sovereignty. I spoke against intervention by combat troops from other countries. It is our firm belief that it should be left to the people of Angola to resolve their internal affairs without such external intervention. Intervention from whatever quarter carriers an obvious risk to regional stability and cannot but impede efforts to resolve the urgent problems of southern Africa. 64. While I do not wish to repeat what I have so recently said, I cannot emphasize too strongly that the United Kingdom deplores and condemns the renewed attack by South Africa upon Angola, and is concerned at its consequences. South Africa’s action is not merely improper and illegitimate, but utterly shortsighted and certain to be counter-productive. We find it incredible that the South African authorities fail to perceive how damaging such behaviour is to their own national interests and security, to say nothing of others’. 66. As I have said, the South African Government seems extraordinarily blind to the principles and concerns of governments such as mine. It leaves my delegation with a sense of indignation that it should so misunderstand us. 67. The representative of South Africa has just given us various pieces of advice. It is ironic that he does not see that in the first place that advice applies to his own Government. The representative of South Africa calls for the removal of all foreign forces from Angola. We agree. But what business, then, do the South African forces have in Angola fighting the legitimate Government of the country? The representative of South Africa urged the Angolan Government to hold free elections. At one and the same time, the South Africans actually negotiate with the Government of Angola, thus acknowledging it, and attack it militarily. How are free elections to be held in those conditions? Moreover, if we are in the business of giving advice to sovereign governments about holding elections, what about free and full elections in South Africa? How about beginning at least with a dialogue with the genuine leaders of black South Africans? 68. I return now, after these spontaneous comments on the pieces of advice we have just heard, to the immediate situation before us. In resolution 571 (1985), the Security Council decided to embark on a particular course of action with regard to the conflict within Angola. As the Council urged in paragraph 8 of that resolution, Member States are applying pressure to the South African Government. In accordance with paragraph 7, the Council has now appointed three of its members to constitute a Commission of Investigation to visit Angola. 69. In the present situation, we should carry through energetically and expeditiously the action upon which we decided on 20 September. It would be most helpful to us if the Commission of Investigation could visit Angola in the very near future to carry out its important work and report back to us at the earliest possible date. Its report will be of considerable assistance to the Council as it seeks to establish what further action it can best take to help bring peace to Angola.

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

At the outset, Sir, I should like to congratulate you on your assumption of the presidency of the Security Council. Your vast knowledge of international relations and issues undoubtedly makes you well qualified to guide the proceedings of this Council. 73. It may be helpful to recall that representatives of the family of nations have gathered here at United Nations Headquarters for the fortieth session of the General Assembly, resolved to give an impetus to dialogue and to negotiations. It may be recalled as well that that was the substance of the call issued by the Conference of Foreign Ministers of Non-Aligned Countries that was held at Luanda. While in Angola, participants from 120 countries, about two thirds of the membership of the United Nations, became witnesses to the desire and dedication of the Government and the people of Angola to live in peace, to invest their energies in the recovery and reconstruction of their land, and to strengthen. the independence of their country. 74. It might very well be recalled too that in the course of the last 10 days, in the General Assembly an overwhelming majority of Heads of State or Government and Foreign Ministers have stressed the necessity of dialogue and expressed the hope that the impending dialogue between the two super-Powers will produce a climate in which the use of force can be effectively curbed and we can turn to a peaceful way of solving disputes. The emphasis is on peace and the peaceful. 75. But South Africa has once again chosen to show us all that it simply does not care about that.‘It has recklessly committed another act of aggression against Angola only a few days after the Security Council called upon it to cease all acts of aggression against that State and scrupulously to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the People’s Republic of Angola. 76. South Africa has once again destroyed lives; it has destroyed property; and it has violated an independent country and the sovereignty and territorial integrity of that country. While there is no doubt that the material damage can be restored, the lives of children, of women and of men so ruthlessly and criminally done away with cannot be restored. 77. Angola is being advised by some to be patient and to negotiate with South Africa. While ready to do this, nonaligned Angola continues to be made the victim of incursions, of bombardments and of commando raids aimed at crushing the will of its people to stand up and tight against the extension of the evil regime of aparrheid. 78. The hands of apartheid, soaked in the blood of the people of South Africa, are continually seizing on the lives and freedom of the peoples of the front-fine States, including Angola. Unwilling to see the reality and the inevitability of change, they desperately want to carry the system of apartheid all the way into the twenty-first century. They are adding fuel to the flames of distrust, and they are threatening to plunge the whole region into conflagration. 80. Yugoslavia extends its full suunort and solidarity to the people of Angola, to the other front-line States and to the national liberation movements in South Africa and Namibia. 81. It might be worth while to repeat that the countries maintaining relations and co-operating with South Africa should heed the voice of reason and understand that any co-operation with South Africa is detrimental to peace and stability in the region, and that such co-operation blocks international efforts aimed at eliminating apartheid and achieving independence and selfdetermination for the people of Namibia and the liberation of the front-line States from constant pressure, interference and aggression by South Africa. Those countries should use the weight they carry with South Africa to make it change its policy. 82. I should like also to recall here that the Conference of Foreign Ministers of Non-Aligned Countries at Luanda adopted a special communique on South Africa, [S/Z7610 and Corr.1, annex, p. 60’j in which the conference reaffirmed its solidarity with Angola and other African States that have been the victims of South Africa’s brutal aggression. The communique said that the military incursions into and the occupation of parts of the territory of Angola by South Africa are a clear manifestation of the threat which the apartheid regime poses to international peace and security, and the Foreign Ministers demanded the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of South African troops from Angolan territory. 83. Two days ago, the Ministers and Heads of Delegation of Non-Aligned Countries, considering South Africa’s latest aggression against Angola, renewed the call repeatedly made by the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries for the imposition of comprehensive mandatory sanctions against South Africa under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter [see S/27528, annex]. 84. We believe that it is the obligation of the Security Council to adopt at this time a meaningful resolution containing meaningful measures.

The next speaker is the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Cuba, Mr. Isidoro Malmierca Peoli. I welcome him and invite him to take a place at the Council table and to make his statement.

Only a few days ago, on 20 September, the Security Council adopted a resolution which, inter alia, strongly condemned the racist regime of South Africa for its armed invasions of the People’s Republic of Angola and 87. Nevertheless, the racist Pretoria regime has not only once again ignored a resolution of this body, which is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security, but, in open defiance of the authority of the Council and the will of the international community, stepped up its aggression against Angola, initiating an escalation by using its air force to provide cover for its . infantry, which, in express violation of the Charter of the United Nations and the decisions of the Council, continues to sow death and destruction in the sovereign territory of a Member State of the United Nations. 88. The significance of this is that the racist authorities have ceased to attempt to conceal their true designs. They are publicly voicing their determination to continue their attacks and acts of aggression against Angola and are now overtly proclaiming their determination to carry out open war against Angola. 89. Long ago, in this very forum, Cuba denounced the goals pursued by the Pretoria racists through these actions. South Africa is seeking to protect the mercenary bands of UNITA from the unerring blows that have been inflicted upon them in recent months by FAPLA and at the same time to distract the attention of international public opinion and opinion in its own country from the explosive situation that has developed in South Africa as a result of the criminal cowardly repression Mr. Botha’s henchmen have unleashed against black men, women, children and old persons who with unparalleled heroism and courage are risking their lives by confronting the shameful system of apartheid. 90. On the other hand, we cannot rule out the possibility that the racists are seeking to provoke through these actions a major confrontation with Angola, with unforeseeable consequences, with a view to ensuring greater support from their closest allies, in particular the United States, and thus trying to escape their growing intemational isolation. 91. It cannot be a coincidence that, only a few days after the repeal of the Clark amendment by the United States Congress, South Africa increased and publicly avowed its support for the UNITA bandits. Nor can the intention of the United States Government, in supressing that amendment, be anything other than to encourage the Pretoria racists to continue the escalation of their action against Angola within the framework of its policy of “constructive engagement’* with the fascist Botha. 92. Cuba has on more than one occasion, acting with other Member States, condemned the Washington- Pretoria-Tel Aviv axis. Its murky activities are now being considered by the Council, which is obliged to consider ,practically at the same time the treacherous attack perpetrated by the Zionist regime of Israel against the peaceloving sister Republic of Tunisia and this cowardly act of 93. Every day we see an increase in.the protest by the international community, which is calling for an end to Israeli aggression, the withdrawal of its forces from all Arab and Palestinian territories and the exercise of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people. Similarly, we see a constant increase in the indignation felt by the international public at the outrages of the racist authorities in South Afiida. As evidence of this, of the 83 speakers who had addressed the General Assembly in the general debate up to yesterday, the overwhelming majority-73 countries-condemned the apartheid system in the strongest terms and called for an immediate unconditional end to South Africa’s acts of aggression against neighbouring countries. In addition, the calls are becoming more numerous for the application of effective sanctions against South Africa, including those provided for under Chapter VII of the Charter. 94. Here as well, various members of the Council whose Foreign Ministers spoke at the special meeting to commemorate the fortieth anniversary of the United Nations have expressed their concern at the frequent use of the veto by some permanent members of, the Council to protect their allies in Pretoria and at the non-compliance of the racist Governments with the resolutions of the Council. That provides further proof, if proof were necessary, of the need to take measures to enable the Council to fulfil its responsibilities under the Charter. 95. The Ministerial Conference of Non-Aligned Countries which met recently at Luanda expressed the firm conviction of its 101 full members when it condemned the apartheid regime in the most energetic terms and called for the imposition of the sanctions provided for under Chapter VII of the Charter. 96. The Security Council in its resolution on Angola of 20 September urges Member States to take prompt, appropriate and effective action to bring pressure to bear upon the Government of South Africa’ to comply with the provisions contained therein and in the Charter, to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Angola and to desist from all acts of aggression against neighbouring States. It also requests Member States urgently to extend all necessary assistance to Angola and other front-line States in order to strengthen their defence capacity against South Africa’s acts of aggression. 97. The South African racists’ reply to ‘that’ unanimous position of the Security Council constitutes the clearest evidence, if any still entertain doubts on the matter, that this body must proceed without further delay to apply the 99. Mr. WOOLCO’IT (Australia): My delegation listened with concern and sympathy to the statement of the representative of Angola, who for the third time in as many months has been forced to appear before the Council as a direct result of South Africa’s illegal military interventions against his country in disregard of Angola’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. 100. It is clear that this latest action on the part of the South African armed forces was illegal, and the Australian Government deplores the loss of life and the destruction of property that it entailed. My Government extends its sympathy to the families of those killed and injured in these attacks. 101. The Australian Government has consistently condemned South Africa’s attacks this year against Angola and Botswana, as well as the attacks in recent years against other neighbouring countries of South Africa. 102. Australia rejects South Africa’s claim to any right to enter the sovereign territory of its neighbours against their will. Australia cannot condone the doctrine of tutorial or punitive aggression. Australia may be geographically far removed from southern Africa, but we follow very closely developments in that region. 103. South Africa’s repugnant apartheid policies, its aggressions against its neighbours and its refusal to relinquish control of Namibia constitute fundamental violations of international law and human rights which, as we have said many, too many, times, are totally unacceptable to us. 104. Australia was pleased to be asked to participate in the Commission of Investigation formed by the Security Council in application of resolution 571 (1985) to evaluate as soon as possible the damage resulting from the previous invasion of Angola by South African forces in September of this year. Our participation reflects our concern that all members of the international community, and particularly members of the Council, have a role to play in containing the escalation of violence which has occurred in recent months in Angola and in other parts of southern Africa. 105. When acts, good or bad, occur frequently, there is an imperceptible tendency somehow to become accustomed to such acts. It is the duty of members of the Council not to grow accustomed to such acts, but to maintain and to re-emphasize condemnation of illegal actions in the hope that repetition will oblige South Africa to accept the established norms of international behaviour. Therefore, Australia reiterates its appeal to South Africa to refrain

Two weeks aeo the Security Council met to consider the. agenda item e&led “Complaint by Angola against South Africa”, resulting from the renewed escalation of hostile, unprovoked and persistent acts of aggression and sustained armed invasions committed by the racist regime of South Africa in violation of the sovereignty, airspace and territorial integrity of Angola. The Council then unanimously adopted resolution 571 (1985) demanding that “South Africa withdraw forthwith and unconditionally all its military forces from the territory of the People’s Republic of Angola” and deciding “to appoint and send immediately to Angola a commission of investigation . . . in order to evaluate the damage resulting from the invasion by South African forces’*. 107. Up to now, the racist regime of South Africa has continued to maintain its forces in Angola in blatant defiance of the Council’s resolution. My delegation is therefore compelled once again to express in the Council Thailand’s grave concern about the continuation of the serious situation in Angola. 108. Having made a statement in the Council on the complaint against South Africa by its neighbouring countries on several occasions concerning the acts of aggression by South Africa against those countries, my delegation believes that any foreign occupation and violation by one country of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of another country constitutes a gross violation of intemational law and the Charter of the United Nations. We see no justification whatsoever in the violation of Angola’s sovereignty and territorial integrity by South African forces. Such actions not only threaten the stability of the southern African region but also undermine international peace and security. 109. Thailand has consistently and in the strongest possible terms opposed and condemned South Africa’s acts of aggression against the neighbouring countries, as well as its illegal occupation of Namibia. We therefore demand that the racist Pretoria regime cease its lawless acts and immediately and unconditionally withdraw its illegal presence from Angolan and Namibian territories. Moreover, South Africa must desist from any further violation of Angolan sovereignty and territorial integrity and adequately compensate Angola for any loss resulting from South African actions. My delegation also demands that South Africa comply with resolution 571 (1985) and other relevant United Nations resolutions without further delay.

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

I should like first to thank the representative of the United 112. Yesterday the Council embarked on a debate on the Israeli attack against Tunisia, and today it is opening a new debate, the seventh this year, on South African aggression against neighbouring territories. As members will have noted, in both those cases it is Africa that has always been the victim. With regard to those attacks against Africa, we are tempted to apply the remark of the Cornelian hero on the subject of Africa, when he said that on both sides the evil is infinite. 113. In the face of this aggression, Mr. Abdou Diaf, President of Senegal and the current Chairman of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) who is now visiting the front-line States, has asked me to express to the Council Africa’s renewed confidence that the Council will now do everything in its power to make South Africa see reason. The credibility of the Council is at stake, as is the consolidation of international peace and security. 114. It is with great resolution that Africa comes to the Council once again. Our continent would far prefer peace and security so that it might be able to devote all of its resources, human and otherwise, to development. The most recent summit meeting of the OAU gave proof of this. 115. Once again flouting the principle of respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of States, the racist South African regime has, after a pause of only two weeks, attacked and violated southern Angola, thereby demonstrating in how little esteem it holds the decisions of the Council. 116. Only a few days ago, the Council, deciding to shoulder fully its responsibilities under the Charter of the United Nations, strongly condemned the South African racist regime for the act of aggression it committed on 16 September against the People’s Republic of Angola and demanded the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of all South African military forces from the territory of Angola. Thus South Africa’s determination to defy the international community, including those Powers that had hoped that reason might prevail, is more obvious than ever. 117. By openly implementing its policy of aggression against the independent neighbouring States, the South African regime is practising an imperialism so overt that it no longer needs describing. It has even had the effrontery to presume to speak and to decide on behalf of the sovereign people of Angola. 118. Faced with this serious situation, one that may become aggravated and plunge southern Africa and the whole of the African continent into chaos, the Security Council, to which the Charter has entrusted the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace 120. A few days ago [2606rh meeting‘l in this Chamber, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Senegal, Mr. Ibrahima Fall, read to the Council a message from President Abdou Diouf to the President of Angola which reflected the condemnation and censure of all of Africa against the State terrorism of South Africa. 121. At these critical moments when the credibility and the fate of the United Nations are at stake, I have no doubt whatsoever that the Council will act in accord with the wisdom of its members and the precious heritage of the founding Members of the Organization to bring about the victory of the cause of human rights and peace in the world. 122. At a time when the United Nations is commemorating its fortieth anniversary, it is anachronistic and wrong for the South African people to continue to live under the same Pretoria regime, and for the sovereign and independent African States to continue to be victims of aggression by the forces of apartheid, just as the Palestinian people continue to be denied the exercise of their inalienable rights. The verdict of history awaits us, and we must succeed in setting the record straight in response to the legitimate as aspirations of those peoples. 123. The Council is called on once again to shoulder fully its responsibilities to Angola, the front-line States and the international community in order to put an end to such acts of aggression through the implementation of mandatory comprehensive sanctions, which alone can bring the South African regime to see reason. The Council also has an opportunity to identify ways and means of ensuring the immediate and full implementation of the relevant United Nations resolutions with regard to Namibia.

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

I would like to congratulate you, Sir, on your presidency. My compliments and thanks go also to your predecessor, Sir John Thomson, for the very special way that he conducted the affairs of the presidency and for the valuable services he offered to the Council. 126. The South African regime has launched its second aerial invasion of Angola in just two weeks. The purpose 127. We have just heard the statement of the representative of South Africa in which he advocated democracy for Angola and called for free elections in that country. What a surprise. That is exactly what the whole world also wants to occur in South Africa, and the people of South Africa are at this very moment tighting for it. If free elections are good, then why not in South Africa too? 128. The apartheid regime occupying South Africa and the Zionist regime occupying Palestine are identical in many respects. Both of them are agents of the global arrogance headed by the United States. Both of them adopt strict racial policies against local inhabitants. In South Africa, the local black population, and in occupied Palestine, the indigenous Palestinian Arabs are the victims of those racial policies. Both regimes claim to be fighting communism in order to protect Western interests. Do you think, Mr. President, that the American oil companies in Cabinda and the American technicians and experts were really communists? 129. Both regimes are indisputably the agents of tension and instability in their respective regions. In the region of southern Africa, all the neighbouring countries such as Botswana, Angola and Mozambique are targets of South Africa’s unbridled attacks, whereas in the Middle East, all the neighbouring countries, and even those hundreds of miles away, are not immune to Zionist aggression. 130. Both regimes try to secure their borders and, to achieve this objective, try to sign non-aggression pacts and peace agreements with their neighbours. We have now seen that, when necessary, the racist regime of Pretoria violates those pacts and agreements, as in the cases of the Lusaka and Nkomati agreements. Do you not think, Mr. President, that those violations should teach a lesson to those who are now thinking of initiating negotiations with the Zionist aggressors and are in fact going to fail into the same trap as was set for South Africa’s neighbours? 131. Both those regimes engage in mutual nuclear cooperation and enjoy technical assistance from Western countries. Both rigimes constitute strategic bases for the 132. Both regimes attack the countries that give refuge to those who have escaped from the repressive policies of the two racist regimes. In Botswana, South Africa claimed to have killed terrorists. Among the 12 victims, there was a child of six and an old man of about 60. 133. As the international community has often decided, the nations of the world must sever their military, economic, cultural and diplomatic relations with South Africa and the Zionist base in the Middle East. Regrettably, there are countries which simply make a mockery of that call to the global conscience and maintain their illegal ties with both the apartheid regime and the Zionist base. 134. In paragraph 4 of its recent resolution 571 (1985), the Security Council “Calls upon all States to implement fully the arms embargo imposed against South Africa in resolution 418 (1977)“. Yet military co-operation and even arms purchases by certain countries continue. As reported in document S/l7322 of 3 July 1985, the miserable Iraqi regime, perhaps as a result of its racist nature, is also to be found in the camp of those criminals which have military ties with the apartheid regime of South Africa. 135. Those who are involved in military, economic, cultural and diplomatic activities in South Africa and those who purchase arms and other products from that country are, as a matter of fact, assisting the apartheid regime in all its crimes against both the indigenous population in that country and neighbouring nations. It is imperative that such countries act more responsibly in regard to the criminal regime of South Africa. 136. The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran strongly condemns the recent military attack by the South African regime against Angola and expects the intemational community not only strongly to condemn this act of aggression but also to reiterate its call for the total isolation of the racist regime of Pretoria in order to bring to”an end its crimes and acts of aggression.

The fact that I am President does not mean that I cannot reply. On a number of occasions the representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran asked if I did not agree with him. On many of them-in. fact, most of them- I did not.

My delegation believes that the time for words has passed and that the usefulness of repetitive talk has long since come to an end. We believe it is high time for the Security Council to take decisive action in regard to this frequently recurring situation. 140. Despite this blatant defiance of the resolutions and the authority of the Security Council by South Africa, its representative has come here to give us advice. The repre- The meeting rose at 1.10 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 Les publications des Nations Unies sont en vente dans les librairies et les agences depositaires du monde entier. Informez-vous aupres de votre libraire ou adressez-vous a : Nations Unies, Section des ventes, New York ou Geneve. . KAIC TIOJYHHTh H3&4HH5I OPPAHH3AHHH OB’bB~HHBHHb~ HAHk@i kI3JIiuruff 0~MIXSi3UFiA 06’be#!ttinemrbrx Hamrft MOEHO K)'lTHTb B KHWiCHbIX Mara3IiHaX H~eHTCTBaXBOBCCXpaftOH~Mupa.H~o~TeCnp~Ku 06 83lWWXX BBauICMKHHXUIOM Marasmre srmi rtumnre no anpecy: Oprami3amr 06%eAImxHb!X HattuB, Cexuna no l’tpOAaXeH3ACtIiSif8, HbH)-tiopK MB %WZBa. COMO CONSEGUIB PUBLICACIONES DE LAS NACIONES UNIDAS Las publicaciones de las Naciones Unidas e&n en venta en librerfas y casas distribuidoras en todas partes de1 mundo. Consulte a su librero o dirfjase a: Naciones Unidas, Secci6n de Ventas, Nueva York o Ginebra. Litho in United Nations, New York 00300 90-61439-March 1995-l ,925