S/PV.927 Security Council

Acting on the decision previously adopted, with the consent ùf the Council, 1 shall invite the representative of Belgium ta take a seat at the CounC'il table. At the invitation of the President, Ml'. Walter Loridan (Belgium) took a place at theSecurifyCouncil table.

The delegation of China regrets that the Belgian authorities in Ruanda-Urundi permitted on 31 December 1960 the transit of a unit of the armed forces of the Republic of the Congo from the airfield of Usumbura. The action of the Belgian authorities, in the opinion of my delegation, is not consistent with the terms of resolution 1474 (ES-IV) adopted by the General Assembly on 20 September 1960 at its fourth emergency special session. However, the action of the Belgian authorities did not constitute aggression against the Republic of the Congo. 4. These assurances of the representative of Belgium cover the obligations of Belgium under resolution 1474 (ES-IV), as well as the obligations of Belgium under the Trusteeship Agreement. So far as my delegation is concerned, we consider that the note of 10 January 1961 should close the incident. 5. Ml'. BENITES VINUEZA (Ecuador) (translated from Spanish): My delegation feels that this problem should be viewed clearly and directly from the standpoint of principle. Matters such as the one before us can be approached in two ways: from the political angle of expediency and from the objective standpoint of principles. We prefer the second. 1 1 6. In discussing the general problem of the Congo (Leopoldville) we have abided by those principles, particularly the principle of non-intervention in :tiatters which are exclusively within the domestic jurisdiction of States. We sincerely believe that in the present state of international affairs that principle is an essential prerequisite for equitable and peaceful coexistence among States. 7. In dealing now with a matter which is purely incidental il' character we see no l'eason to depart from that sam ~ principle. Our sole concern is to be faithful to the principles and rules by which the conduct of our delegation is guided. 8. The problem before us today is a specific one. The Belgian Government, as administrator of the Trust Territory of Ruanda-Urundi, is charged with having permitted the pass~ through that Territory of troops of the Congolese National Army at a time when a violent struggle for power is taking place in the Congo. These faets are attested by official documents of the United Nations Secretariat, the accuracy of which we cannot question. 1 am referring particularly to document S/4606 and Add.1, sections II, IV and V. The Belgian representative has not denied these facts, but he has sought to explain them. 9. My delegation wishes to state that in its view the incident in itself is not so serious as to endanger peace and security. It appears to have been settled and, what is more, the representative of Belgium has 10. We feel that it would not be technically correct ta say that the incident constitutes an action taken by the Belgian Government against the Congolese Government. Belgium has not used force against the Congo. The Beigian authorities in Ruanda-Urundi simply allowed the Congolese forces, at the request of the Government of the Congo, to use the territory of Ruanda-Urundi for military manœuvres. Technically this may constitute intervention in the domestic affairs of the Congo, since the political situation there·is an uncertain one. 11. While such an act of intervention is deserving of censure in any circumstances it is particularly so when it involves the use of a Trust Territory. We have always maintained and we repeat todaythat Trust Territories are in a manner of speaking incomplete states which possess two of the three elements of statehood, nameIy, a people and a territory, but not the third, self-government. The Administering Authorities do not exercise sovereignty over those Territories, for the attribute of sovereignty is suspended until a condition-the attainment of self-government-has been fulfilled. They simply exercise an administrative function under a mandate from the United Nations, to which they are accountable. That mandate is incompatible with acts which might constitute political intervention in the life of another State orgive rise to serious international tension. 12. We should have been prepared to support a draft resolution affirming the principle of non-intervention and stressing the duties of States administering Non- Self-Governing or Trust Territories, for we feel that while it may be easier to avoid facing a situation, it is also a disillusioning experience. Unfortunately, there are sorne things in the draft resolution submitted by the delegations of Ceylon, Liberia and the United Arab Republic [S/4625] which prevent us from supporting it. 13. My delegation cannot support the assertion that the Belgian Government has taken action against the Government of the Congo. In permitting the passage of Congolese troops under the orders of the Government of the Congo it could be said to have rendered assistance in the internal struggle and accordingly to have intervened in a dispute, but that does not constitute an action against the Congolese Government, which requested that the troops should be allowed to pass through the Territory. This WOl'~ oblige us to vote against the draft resolution werL .ot for our special regard for the sponsors and our awareness of their good intentions; we have therefore decided to abstain. 14. We are coniident, moreover, that the situation which led to the convening of this meeting will be satisfactorily settled. The Belgian representative's 15. Ml'. SCHWEITZER (ChUe) (translatedfromSpanish): The Chilerul delegation has refrained from taking part in the debate Wltil now not only because it wished to henr the views of others but also because it was awaiting instructions fl'om its Government and intended to explain, as 1 am about to do now. the vote which it will cast on the drait resolution submitted by the delegations of Ceylon, Liberia and the United Arab Republic. 16. We did not participate in the discussions which took place last year in both the Council and the General .o\ssembly concerning the difficult situation, full of complexities lending themselves to a variety of Interpretations, l!l which the Congo (Leopoldville) finds itself. \Ve voted in favour of resolution 1474 (ES-IV) adopted on 20 September last by the General Assembly at its fourth emergency special session and we continue to hope that the dissension in the young Republic can be settIed without foreign intervention, as the domestic problems of a sovereign nation should be. 17. We have faith in the effective contri.bution which the United Nations can make to the restoration of normal conditions of .life in that country, whose people has undergone indescribable hardship and suffering since its accession to independence. We do not join in the bitter criticism which continues to be directed so heatedly and so unjustly against the Secretary-General and his Special Representative, Ml'. Dayal, whose conciliatory efforts are attested by the course of events which has led to this meeting of the Security Council. 18. My delegation feels that the incident of the passage of troops through the Territory of Ruanda-Urundi has been magnified out of all proportion in being represented as an action against the Government of the Congo, despite the fact that no one couId in fairness sa describe a troop movement ordered by Ml'. Kasa-Vubu, the President of the Republic of the Congo. 19. Furthermore, this regrettable incident was an isolated one and has not had serious consequences: tranquillity has been restored in the frontier area in which it occurred and the Government of Belgium has given bath the Secretary-General and the Council assurances which we consider to be adequate and satisfactory. 20. This is the fundamental aspect which the Council should consider. Other extraneous considerations which are brought in may appear to justify the urgency with which tbis meeting has bean called and create the impression that the situu,tion ia an extremely dangerous one, which 's not. 22. We also do not feel that the error attributed to Belgium, when contrasted with its conduct over a long period of time as the Administering Authority for the Territory of Ruanda-UrWlldJ., which is 'now on the threshold of independence, offers sufficient ground for the proposai that the General Assembly should be requested at the eleventh hour to relieve Belgium of its administrative responsibilities. 23. The tendency to exaggerate is once again apparent when it is claimed that the decisions taken by this COWilcil call for the Immediate withdrawal from the Congo of advisers and technicians of Belgian nationality, for such a decision was never taken. We could not join in calling for anything more than the withdrawal from the Congo of military and paramilitary personnel, as this Council has already decided. 24. We WIlderstand the anxiety feIt by the African delegations in particular and aboe all by Liberia. Yet since the approach is such a violent one, we cannot agree either with the premises put forward or with the decisions we are called upon to take. 25. For these reasons, the delegation of Chile will be unable to vote in favour of the draft resolution before us and will absta~n.

Before hearing the Interpretation of the statement of the representative of Chile and with the approval of the members of the COWilcil, 1 should like ta invite the representative of the Congo ta take a place at the Security Council table. At the invitation ofthe President, Mr. Mario Cardoso, Congo (Leopoldville), look a place at the Security Council table.

The Soviet delegation considers it necessary to make a few additional comments in reply to a number of statements at the Council's meetings yesterday and the day before yesterday. It also considers it necessary to suro up the resuIts of the discussion which has taken place at the COUDcil's meetings. 28. What conclusions are ta he drawn from the discussion of the item proposed by the Soviet Union concerning new acts of aggression by Belgium against the Republic of the Congo and concerning Belgium's violation of its obligations towards the Trust Territory of Ruanda-UrWlld! and its infr.ingement of a number of General Assembly resolutions? 29. The first point to be noted from the discussion is that the Belgian colonialists have bean openly championed only by Belgium's allies, lhe major Western colonial Powers-France, the United Kingdom and the United States of America, which has been particularly zealous in its support. As the saying goes, "Birds of a feather flock together". Il has been demonstrated 30. The second obvious conclusion to be drawn from the discussion is that the colonialist activities of Belgium have been exposed and condemned in sorne degree not only by the representative of the Soviet Union, but by the representatives of aIl the African- Asian members of the Council-by Liberia, the United Arab Republic and Ceylon. Indonesia, which is not a member of the Council, also issued a press release which has been circulated to delegations and in which it is sharply critical of Belgium's aggressive activities against the Republic of the Congo and of its blatant violation of its obligations with regard to the Trust Territory of Ruanda-Urundi, 31, As aIl members will recall, at the last meeting of the Council, the representative of Liberia openly stated that Belgium had committed a violation not only of the Charter but of the two resolutions adopted by the General Assembly. He t UgnanUy asked how long Belgium would maintain this attitude and how much more support its allies and friends could continue to give. 32. As we know, the representative of the United Arab Republic reminded us of the well-founded charge of imperialism and colonialism in Africa made by Ml'. Fawzi, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Republic. Basing himself on documents before the Council, the representative of that country gave detailed proof that B~lgium has committed acts of aggression against the Republic of the Congo and has violated not only Assembly resolutions, but the fundamental rules of internationallaw. He also showed, by reference to Mr. Dayal's second progress report [S/45571, that all civilian posts in Katanga are still held by Belgians and that all officers and non-comm!ssioned officers in the army and police are Belgians. 1 might now add that, according to the latest report in the United States Press, Belgian officers and Belgian military equipment are now even being used for punitive operations being conducted by the Belgian hireling Tshombé against the patriotic national forces of the Congolese people. It was reported only the other day that a Belgian flying officer was killed during a raid on a Congolese village in northern Katanga by a 33. At the last meeting, the representative of Ceylon described Belgium's activities as a serious infringement of its international obligations bath with regard to the General Assembly resolutions and to the Trusteeship Agreement. He specifically stated that Belgium's whole behaviour called for reconsideration of the Trusteeship Agreement for the Territory of Ruanda-Urundi. This is the second indisputable conclusion that may he drawn from the discussion in the Counci!. 34. In the light of these facts, all the attempts made by Mr. Barco, the United States representative, who spoke yesterday, to represent the SovietUnion'sposition as unfounded and as an irresponsible attack on Belgium, a mosquito on which an elephant gun has been trained, as he described the situation, seem lame and ignominious. 35. There is nothing Mr. Barco can say in the effective defence of the discredited ally of his cOWltry, which has been caught red-handed. He is helplessly attempting to make contemptible and slanderous charges regarding the Soviet Union's responsibility for the further deterioration of the situation in the Congo. It is, howe"er, obvious to the whole world that heavy blame and responsibility for this deterioration in the situation lies with Belgium 9lld the other colonial Powers, headed by the United .states, which are exerting every effort (though not with complete success) to restore so-called "order and calm" to the Congo with the help of a variety of hirelings; tbis means in practice the legalization of the Wllawful activities of Mobutu's terrorist régime which is supported by Mr. Kasa-Vubu. 36. The United Kingdom representative referred to the need to achieve calm and order and this point was also made by the United States representative. We should like to ask them whether it i8 the calm and order of the graveyard they have in mind. Althou~h this is certainly calm and order, it is not the sort of calm and order we wish to see. There is calm and order in the graveyard, but they will not succeed in producing calm and order of this kind, because the Congolese people wishes to live in freedom and has no desire to submit to the yoke of new colonialists. 37. The discussiC'ns in the Security COUDcil have made it quite clear where everyone stands. The United States, the United Kingde>m and France have openly stated that they are on the side of the Belgian colonialists who are reluctant to leave their former colony and arl3 dttempting to continue their merciless exploitation of the Congolese people. The Soviet Union and all the African-Asian cOWltries represented in the COUDcil-Liberia, the United Arab Republic and Ceylon-are on the side of the Congolese people which is fighting for complete liberation from all the bonds of colonial oppression, Îor genuine independence. 38. We have been charged with pursuing sorne special policy here. Our special policy consists merely in being against the colonialists and for the complete 39. These are the conclusions that may be drawn from the discussion that has taken place in the Security Counci! during the past few du:'s. 40. A question now inevitably arises, one which was raised in the course of the discussion and to which a number of representatives took exception, particularly those of the United Kingdom, France and the United States: is Belgium entitled to retain its right to administer the Territory of Ruanda-Urundi? We said and still say that it is not, that it has lost this right, because it has flagrantly violated its obligations both under the Trusteeship Agreement and under the General Assembly resolutions. 41. The Belgian representative said in his statement here [924th meeting] that our charges are unfounded, that they have not been substantiated and that Belgiurr. has endeavoured and is still endeavouring to fulfil all its obligations. But, under article 4 ofthe Trusteeship Agreement, concluded between Belgium and the United Nations, "the [Administering] Authority shall ensure that the Territory shall play its part in the maintenance of international peace and security". Is Belgium in fact observlng this article of the Trusteeship Agreement? In reality, as is universally recognized, Belgium has brought about a deterioration in the international situation and has converted its Trust Territory into a focal point of international unrest and into a base for aggression against the neighbouring Republic of the Congo. Sorne people say so directly; others speak in more guarded and discreet terms, referring to specifie acts which are inadmissible and to specifie activities which are unlawful; others, again, say that it is simply a case of interfe~ence in the domest~c affairs of another·country. But if this interference Is commltted by force of arms, It Is aggresslon in the full sense of the word. Though people may eÏi.-press themselves differently, the underlying Idea is the same. 42. In his "note verbale" to the Secretary-General [S/4606 and Add.l, sect. III] and then in his statement in the Council, the Belgian representative attempted to Justify the activities by his country which are now under discussion and claimed that Belgium could have taken no other action than to see that the contingent which allegedly landed unexpectedly andwithout warning left for the frontier. But 1 should like to know why the contingent did not return to the territory of the Republic of the Congo by the shortest possible route, but travelled approximately 145 kllometres along the frontier within the Territory of Ruanda-Urundi, whereas according to Mr. Dayal's report [ibid., sect. IV], the nearest frontier crossing by road into the Republic of the Congo is about twenty-one kllometres from Usumbura. Why, if Belgium was so anxious to dispatch the contingent to Congolese territol'Y as soon as possible, did it not send it to the oiassE!: point twenty-one kilometres away? Why did ii; ". 11" it to sorne other point? It did so because thlt1 h9i& iJt.en agreed in 00- vance, because ft W8S necessary to send the contingent 43. The Belgian representative told the Council that the number of troops in the Territory of Ruanda- Urundi ia not large-only 1.200. But 1 have my doubts about this figure. Why should we believe onlywhat the Belgian representative tells us? At a meeting of the Fourth Committee, Ml'. Mushatsi Kareba, apetitioner representing the Parti de l'unité et du progrès national, stated that at least 10,000 Belgian parachutists haq been withdrawn from the bases in the Republic of the Congo and had been stationed in the Trust Territory of Ruanda-Urundi. Another petitioner, Ml'. Apollinaire Siniremera, also confirmed these reports and said that the whole Trust Territory was literally overrun by Belgian parachutists. 44. If Ml'. Loridan is not fully informed on this subject, he should read the summary record of the 1092nd meeting of the Fourth Committee.!.1 At any event, the figures he has just given are open ta question. It may well be that he is not conversant with the situation; he is given these figures and he passes them on to the Council. But the fact remains that Belgium is maintaining troops in the Territory of Ruanda-Urundi far in excess of the number required for the purposes of internal security and this gives rise to serious doubts regarding its intentions. As we have already pointed out, this matter was raised both in the Security Council at its 917th meeting on 10 December 1960 and in the Fourth Committee of the General Asse:'ubly not only by the Soviet Union but by other countries. in particular, by India. 45. This is how Belgium is fulfilling its obligation under. article 4 of the Trusteeship Agreement, which provides that "The [Administering] Authority shall ensure that the Territory shaH play its part in the maintenance of international peace and security" . 46. Under article 6 of the Trusteeship Agreement, the Administering Authority is required to "promote the development of free political institutions suited to Ruanda-Urundi" and to "take all measures conducive to the political advancement of the population of Ruanda-Urundi in accordance with Article 76 b of the Charter of the United Nations". 47. In the fil'st place. Belgium has had sufficient time sinee signing the Trusteeship Agreement in 1946 for the complete discharge of this obligation. It has had almost fifteen years. In reality, however. it has brought the Territory to the verge of ruin and civii war. Many representatives of the African-Asian countries pointed this out ln the Fourth Committee of the General !lOfflclal Records cf the General Assembly, Flfteenth Session (Part Il. Fourth Commlttee. 1092nd meeting. 48. The Belgian l'.uthorities are not complying with the rec.:lommendations and conclusions of the United Nations Visiting Mission, which were approved by the Trusteeship COW1oil.Y The Belgian Government has, as we know, declined to carry out the amnesty measures recommended by the Trusteeship Counoil and other measures designed to l.lring about a national reconciliation in Ruanda-Urundi. The Belgian Government did not organize a political conference attended by representatives of aH parties and organizations before holding any elections in the country, as recommended by the Trusteeship Counci!. Thus, Belgium has not complied with the recommendations of the Trusteeship Council despite the fact that these recommendations were drawn up with the participation of a representative of Belgium and are couched in extremely moderate terms. 49. The Belgian representative has informed the C"·'.lIlcil that conversations are at present in progress a~ Ostend, at which, he says, all measures connected with the granting of indepr-dence to Ruanda-Urundi are being G.scussed. This dct was also mentioned by the representatives of the United Kingdom, France and the United States of Amt:rica. But it is reported that, in opening the Conference on 9 January, Mr.d'Aspremont Lynden, the Bëlgian Minister for African Affairs, said that the United NaUons had left Belgium free to act at its discretion and that the General Assembly resolutions were not binding upon it. How is this to be reconciled with Belgium' s obligation to comply with United Nations resolutions ?The Belgian representative statcs that ft will comply \Vith these resolutions, but, at a conference convened 8pecially to deal with the question of Ruanda-Urundi, a Belgian Minister announces that they do not have binding force for Belgium. 50. We are no longer living in times in which the colonialists can take whatever action they see fit in the Trust Territories. The General Assembly did not adopt, virtually unanimously at its fifteenth session, a Declaration on the granting of independence to colonial countries and peoples [resolution 1514 (XV)] in order to have it shelved by the colonialists. The Security Council must take steps to ensure that prac- Ucal effect is given to this Declaration. That is why, at the very outset of the discussion, the Soviet Union raised the question of depriving Belgium of aH its rights, powers and privileges in the Trust Territory of Ruanda-Urundi and why it will continue to pursue this issue. We realize that this calls for discussion by the General Assembly and we shaH press for such discussion. The statement just made by Belgium in no way relieves us of our obligation to raise this question at the earliest possible moment. VOfficlal Records of the Trosteeshlp Councll, Twenty-slxth Session, Supplement No. l, resolutlon 2019 (XXVI). 52. The merit of this draft resolution is that it states the true facts with regard to military aggression against the Congo and the contravention of the resolutions of the General Assembly and of the Trusteeship Agreement, and provides for minimum practical measures which, 1 repeat, would avert a further deterioration in the situation and put an end to aggressive activities at the present time. It is in this light that the Soviet delegation views .his draft resolution and will vote for it despite its deficiencies and despite the fact that we feel it does nol contain sufficiently strong criticism of Belgium's activities or make sufficiently forceful recommend&tions.

On behalf of my delegation we have been glad to note the general acceptance that Belgium has abused its power as an Administering Authorityof a United Nations Trust Territory. 54. The United States delegation has referred to the incident like a moaquito and an elephant. Both the elephant and the mosquito are well known to Africansand, 1 presume, to the United States. Possibly a different context or connotation may be applied by the two peoples, but to us Africans the meaning might he more subtle. Although we love the elephant for its decorative aspect and its contribution to the beauty of the African scene, is it not true that the mosquito is relatively a nuisance, nuisance enough to keep you awake at night? Has not the Congo problem been such a nuisance in the international field as to keep awake many countries and their peoples? 55. The African peoples have been taught justice according to international standards. They nowexpect that self-sarne treatment when their problems are involved. If the action of Belgium is casually passed off as an incident-and sorne of us would accept their assurances that this will not happen again-then what about the more violent leaders of Africa who would like to claim other means of settling disputes and who even tend to look upon the United Nations with prejudice? To whom shall we turn tfIen? Bewilderment might not be a strong enough word. 57. Sometimes men are driven to extremes and desperation because they feel discriminated against, especiully when they ask, not for a privilege, but for justice. The press reports indicate t11is situation when !mother exodus started from Leopoldville yesterday not by Africans but iJy Ellropeans, who have the right to reside in any area of the world. 58. Let us hope that even if the elephant is dl.splaced the nuisance of the mosquito willlikewise be removed. 59. MI'. CARDOSO (Congo, Leopoldville) (translated from French): 1 am grateful for this opportunity of speaking on this problem which concerns my country. 1 was unable to take part in the earlier discussions in the Security Council because 1remained at Leopoldville, trying to make the mission of the Conciliation Commission easier by creating an atmosphere of confidence. This mission, to help the Congolese leaders to restore the political institutions by legal means, would certainly ,., ~ hinderecl by any Security Council resolution whicL did not have the sarne objectives. The Soviet Union, which stated that it favoured reconciliation and insisted that the Commission should be sent, is now trying ta create a diversion. Il iB difficult to see what basis it could have for claiming that an aggression had taken place. If an attack had been made against our country, we would not leave it to someone else ta denounce it and make the complaint. The only real reason which the Soviet Union might have to protest is because of its sympathy towards the rebels Gizenga, Lundula, Kasharnura, andothers, and towards the subversive activities which they are organizing with its support. 60. The whoie trouble started when the armed gangs of former Vice-Prime Minister Gizenga kidnapped the President elect of the provincial Government (lf Kivu and several members of this Governlnent. This arbitrary act has been described by MI'. Rukengeza, Minister of .!astice of the legally established Government of the province of Kivu, who witllessed this criminal act. 1 prefer to rely on the report from the Minister of Justice of the Government of Kivu rather than on the report of MI'. Hammarskjold's representative at Leopoldville, which, in my opinion, is a reprehensible piece of lunacy. 61. On 4 January, in a lelter addressed t-,) President Kasa-Vubu, MI'. R. Rukengeza, Minister of Justice of the Government of Kivu, who was there at the time, wrote: "Sir, "In my capacity as Minister of Justice ofthe legal Government of the province of Kivu, it is my dutY ta confirm the events which disrupted order in the province at the end ohMs yeur. This trouh!e, reverberations of which have already reached YOl1. was caused by the Lumumhist faction Illl the Armée nationale congolaise. KOn 25 December 1960, at about 9.15, sorne sixtY soldiers from the Stanleyville garrison, under orders "We have received no news of these officials and are extremely anxious about their fate. "The above events set off various incidents provoked by groups with Lumumbist tendencies among the troops of the Arm63 nationale congolaise 8tationed at Bukavu, who were cllTrying out orders from Stanleyville. "These mutineers brutally maltreated the civilian population of Bukavu, executing several persons, Barricades were set up and passers-by were forced to buy membership cards in Lumumba'sMNCparty, In addition, many arbitrary arrests were made. Foreigners were imprisoned out of hand or kept as hostages in the SAlO m!litary camp. "Law and order have thus been seriouslydisrupted, not only in the town of Bukavu but ln different parts of the province, and this has resulted in' such an atmosphere of insecurity that all normal activity in the public and private sectors has become impossible. "This situation is ha~ing a most adverse effect on the economic life of the province. Many foreigners, business-men, traders and planters have been arrested and, if the trouble continues, they may leave in a body, and yet their activities are the backbone of the province's economy. The workers, too, are unable to continue their normal occupations. "The atmosphere at Bukavu further deteriorated after the arrival of Mr. Kashamura who is trying te seize power, aided by gangs of young Lumumbists who have been supp.. 'd with arms. "lt was my dutY to give you an account of these serious events which have been caused, 1 repeat, by groups influenced by Lumumbist propaganda. obeying orders received from the Oriental Province and given by persons who de not represent the legal authority of the Central Government or the Government of the province of Kivu," 62. The faets set out in this letter are confirmed by Ml'. Gervais Bahizi, member of the Congolese delegaUon to the United NaUons and a provincial deputy of Kivu. After the adjournment of the General Assembly, Mr, Bahizl returned to Bukavu to resume contact with the provincial Government of Kivu, He too wlt- "As this document will inform international opinion about certain aspects of the situation in the Congo, 1 should be grateful if you would circulate it, together with this letter, to all the delegations of the States Members of the Organization. "As 1 was at Bukavu on 25 December, 1 can confirm in every respect the statements made by Ml'. Rukengeza, in particular about the arrest of Ml'. Miruho, Provincial President of Kivu, and of various ministers and high-ranking officials by a gang of sixtY Lumumbist soldiers from the province of Stanleyville. iiI personally witnessed the arbitrary arrest of Ml'. Mbull\ Bonaventure, head of the Information Service, of two female announcers of Radio Bukavu, and of Ml'. Paypay Denis, the President's confidential secretary. 1 also witnessed the brutaUty and extortions inflicted on the population of Bukavu by Lumumbist soldiers of the Congolese National Army, who attacked civilians in the street and erected barricades, forcing passers-by to obtain membership cards of Lumumba's MNC Party. "As 1 was ll.able to be arrested, 1 had to appeal for protection from the United Nations troops at Bukavu and 1 shotild like to express my appreciation of the attitude of these troops on this occasion. "1 have no doubt that this letter, copies of which 1 am sending to ~he President of the United Nations General Assembly and to the President ofthe Seourity CouncU, will receive due attention, and 1 have the honour to be, etc." 63. These are the irrefutable facts. Since that time, Ml'. Ruakabuba, the Minl.ster of Education, b2dly wounded, died on his way to Stanleyville. The leaders Kititua and Ueregemere have been tortured. 64. These are the events which called forth the intervention of the Congolese National Army, whose commander~in-chief is the' President of the Republic, under the terms of the "Loi fondamentale", and whose Chief of Staff is Colonel Joseph Mobutu, appointed by the Lumumba Government, which was the legal Gov- ~rnment at that time. The armed intervel.ttion against the rebel soldiers was therefore fully justified. 65. The Soviet Union blames us for having used the airport of Kamembe and Usumbura, situated in the territory of Ruanda-Urundi. We would merely draw the atteIltion of the USSR representative to the fact ths.t this airport was constructed with Congolese funds and was to serve Bukavu. The Usumbura-Uvira route passes through both the Congo :md RUlmda-Urundi. Is it necessary to point out in tilis conne".ion that quite 66. In Kivu and in the Oriental province, dictatorship and oppression are gaining ground. By threatening armed attack, Gizenga has just appropriated aIl the funds of the Central Bank at Stanley"iIle, in the amount of 40 million Congolese francs. Kasharnura has done the sarne in Kivu. This money is used to pay the soldiers lavishly in order to corrupt them. General mobilization has been ordered: aIl ex-soldiers and aH young men from eighteen to twenty-four have been mobilized. AIl citizens are obliged to purchase the membership card of Lumumba's MNC Party. AIl the whites have been bribed. 67. 1 should like to mention one other facto Colonel Mobutu's soldiers who had appealed to the United Nations for protection have been handed over to the Lumumbists. We have just learnt that they have aIl been clubbed to death. What a contrast with Leopoldvllle! The Lumumbist soldiers taken prisoner at Bumba and Basoko by the forces of Colonel Mobutu have been released and returned to Stanleyville. The Colonel considers that these soldiers, although they are supporters of Lumumba, are our brothers and that we have no reason to slaughter each other. 68. Thus, the supporters of Lumumba, financed by the Russians and certain African-Asian countries, are determined to regain power by force against the wishes of a large part of the population. Violence and corruption are now their pass-word and it is unfortunate that the African countries which took part in the Casablanca Conference voted resolutions which allow of violence. They are responsible for the civil war that now threatens to devastate the Congo and .I\frica. 69. Furthermore, it is impossible to pass over in silence the faet that on 31 December, an. nyushln-14, with a "Subak" registration, landed at Lisala, without having requested authorization to land or even to fly over the area. Soldiers of the United Arab Republic, although they were servinginthe United Nations Force, prevented the representatives of the legal authority in the Congo from contacting the crews and checking the loading of these aircraft, which had been registered in Egypt and which were carrying mainly money, arms and military and political advisers. The Casablanca Conference studied the increase in direct aid in the form of an air lift to the Ortental province and in the clandestine traffic of arma via the Nile, Juba and Faradje. A single command has been established for certain military contingents which in theory are still subject to the authority of the United Nations. 70. Certain Governments l'.ave expressed a wish to withdraw their troops from the Congo. Has the Secretary-General taken notice of this or is he going to allow these troops slowly but surely ta evade the authority of the United Nations Command in the Congo? 71. A more constructive approach to the Congolese crisis would be for the Secretary-General to help the 72. United Nations aid in the Congo should be guided by the principle embodied in item 3 of the memorandum ta the Secretary-General dated 7 January 1961, stating: "At no time did the Republic of the Congo intend ta entrust to the United Nations the exercise of responsibilities which are essentially part of its national prerogatives. ln particular, the legal authorities of the Congo claim exclusive competence with regard to the establishment of political institutions and their adaption to the needs of the Congolese people. They nevertheless appreciate the co-operation which they are receiving from the United Nations in fields in which no direct responsibility has been vested in the Organization. "Such co-operation may include the offer by the United Nations of Us good ùff1ces in promoting a reconciUation between the various political trends that muy split the country. The intervention of the United Nations Force in the maintenance of order is another example of such co-operation. In both cases, the United Nations can intervene only with the agreement of the Republic of the Congo and in close co-operlltion with Congolese authorities." [S/4630, sect. 1.] This principle should be borne in mind now that the United Nations seems to be taking insufficient account of local conditions in the Congo and to be euffering from a lack of co-ordination with the authorities of the country. Its action appears to be insptred by the desire to assume responsibilitles which it cannot and must not assume. 13. The &'Yiet complaint is not a complaint at all. It is only one stage in subverting, not only the Congo, but the l'est of Afriea. 1 appeal particularly to the independent countries of Africa south of the Sahara to learn from the experience of our unfortunate country. Africa already knows its invaders. The Congolese cannot be blamed for having failed to warn their African brett!.ren. 74. The rebellion of Gizpnga, Lundula and Kashamura, in the eastern provinces, was possiiJle only because the Unitf.:d Nations did not draw the right consequences from the Assembly's vote 011 the legal authority of President Kasa-Vubu. .The President has already dismissed Gizenga, Lundula and Kashamura. They are rebels against the authority recognb.:ed by the General Assembly. In that case, how can the United Nations allow these rebels a free hand as though the legal authority were disputed? 75. United Nations assistance is being doled out to us. There is virtually no real co-operation. ONUe ls a super-structure which wishes to be self-sufficient, '...ntil an authority is established which Is more le~al ~han that of the Head of State. Meanwhile, terrorism is rife in the eastern provinces, and nobody is doing anything ta provent it. They are in fi state of complete chaos. If this rnovement spreads, the whole of the Congo will be iilubjected to terrorism and vandalism 77. Ml'. LORIDAN (Belgium) (translated from French): 1 had not intended to speak again during the present discussion. We have already entirely refuted the accusations made by the Soviet delegation. Nevertheless, the statements made this morning by the USSR representative and a Most grievous new occurrence lead me to ask the Council to listen to me again. 78. It seems that the Soviet representaUve was somewhat absent-minded this mCirning. He drew up a detailed indictment of Belgian administrmtion in Ruanda-Urundi, a matter which is not on the agenda of the Security Counoil and whlch ia not even wlthin lts competence. He may have thought that he was in the Trusteeship Council or in the Fourth Commlttee of the General Assembly. The members of the Security Council will \mderstand why 1 shall not allow myself to be drawn into such adiscussion, which is oompletely out of place. 1 shaU simply reiterate-and 1 shaH do it as often as neoessary-that his acousatIon concerning so-called Belgian troop oonoentratIons is completely UIÛounded. The Soviet representatIve was good enough this time to tell us what his sources of information we1'e. They were statements made by two petitioners before the Fourth Committee of the General ASf1embly. One of them alleged that there were 10,000 Belgian soldiers in Ruanda-Urundi. For the representatIve of the Soviet Union, that is sufficient proof that there are 10,000 Belgian Boldiers in Ruanda-Urundi. But Ruanda-Urundi is not a olosed territory like the Soviet Union, whe1'e freedom of movement is severely restricted. In Ruanda-Urundi it would not be possible to have a secret conoentration oftroops. 79. The grievous new event to which 1 have aIluded ooourrOO on the border of Ruanda-Urundi and the Congo. Since 6 p.m. on 12 January, troops olaiming to serve Ml'. Kashamura have been firingwith mortan and automaUc weapons on the district of Kisenyi, in Ruanda. If there are no victims as yet, it is solely because the Administering Authority immediate!y took aU necessary steps to evacuate the inhabitants of that area to a plaoe of safety. However, quite apart from the material destruction, the indigenous and European inhabitants of this area have been filled with serious apprahension in the faoe of this unprovoked aggression. In the beglnning, it might have been thought that this was a mere incident; but the repetition of these acts of aggression constitutes a reaI threat to peace. The Security Cauncil, whioh has met at the request of the Soviet representative in order to enable him to bring unfounded chargt's againat Belgium, and thus lead the Comcil to forget the intervention of the Soviet Union in the internaI 1111airs of the Congo, ia now faoed with another matter of grave concerne 81. Under these conditions, Belgium constdersthatlt has the right ta askthe United Nations and the Security CouncU, which is responsible for the maintenanoe of international pence and security, what they intend to do to remedy this state of affairs and to put an end to attacks by armed bands, which do not obey any legal authority. The Secretary-General should he able to take the necessary measures to make it impossible for these bands to continue their illegal acts. 82. At the very moment when Belgium ls itaelf the victim of aggression in a territory for which it is responsible, it is not without fi wry smUe that it has listened to certain representatives, espeoially the representative of the Soviet Union, accusing it of aggression. As the representative of the Congo has ob.served, you cannot characterize as "agression" a measure which has enabled regular Congolese troops, acting under the orders of the Head of state, whose powers were expressly reoognized by the General Assembly itself at the 924th plenary meeting on 22 November 1960, to paas through the territory of Ruanda-Urundi. To do 80 would be to fly !n the face of the Ge.leral Assembly's decisions, with regard bath to the Congolèse Head of State and to the unitY and integrity of the Congo. 83. Belgium's attitude is also motivated byitsdesire to maintain open and friendly relations with Ruanda- Urundi's big neighbour. But the attitude of Belgium's acousers Is quite dlfferent. Under the guise of promoting justioe, they enoourage and support the enemiell of order in the Congo andfav.ourdiversionaryrégtmes that are trytng ta seize power in Oriental provlnoe, in Kivu and ln the north of Katanga, as we were reminded taday by the Congolese representative.

Although, in the documents now under consideration by the Security CounoU and in statements to the COUDcil, some of the most violent attacks SQ far on the United Nati'lns operations in the Congo and on the Secretary-General and his integrity have been made, there is no reasen for me to t8ke much oftheCoUDcU'stime for explanations, correotions or defence. 85. The greatly disturbing but limited incident at Bukavu on New Year's Day provoked, as the CounoU knows, Immediate and sharp counter-action from my side and from t.he United Nations l'epresentatives. Hcwever, ln 8tatements b! the Soviet Union, espectally in a press 8tatement [S/46221, sharp aocusations have been levell.ed against the way in whichwa treated the incident. 1 hav'9 nothing ta add to the documents 86. Why, then, have the accusations been made? 1 think that the substance of the line now taken by the USSR makes ft clear. By trying to give the impression that the Secretariat and its representatives, in particular the Secretary-General, are inspired by racial preju.dice, they wlmt to drive a wedge into the collaboration, based on confidence, which has been established between the African states and the Secretariat in this operation. Why this i8 tried needs no explanatian. 1 believe that the effort will be in vain, because 1 trust that the African representatives are well informed through the!r own first-hand observaUons and that they know how ta regard with equally sober realism flattery and efforts to win them by sowing hate and distrust. 87. The representative of the Republic of the Congo, in his intervention a few moments ago, raised several points of a highly controversial nature. He imputed intentions to the United Nations operation which certainly are not justified, he accused the operation of omissions, and he gave advice on what we should do. 88. 1 believe that those various points could best be discussed direclly between the delegation and the Secretariat. And 1 am strengthened in that bellef by the fact that quite recently 1 had the opportunity to discuss similar matters, and in detail, with President Kasa-Vubu whose accent was a different one. There were also statements of fact in the intervention to which 1 feel it may be reasonable to revert in documents to be submitted to the Counci! . 89. As 1 thus see no reason to go into the substance of these most recent attacks on the United Nations operation in the Congo, 1 can llmit myselfto directing your attention to a point which 1 find of considerable immediate importance. 90. On 5 January the Conciliation Commission, established by the Advisory Committee on the Congo under General Assembly resolution 1474 (ES-IV) of 20 September, arrived in Leopoldville. 1had the privilege to meet with them; and 1 had repeated talks with the Chairman, Ml'. Wachuku, who, together with the other presiding officers, had already spent sorne few weeks in the Congo. lt is my impression that this Commission-the third arm of the United Nations operation in assistance to the Republic, the third arm together with the military and civilian operation-has got off to a promising start and may render great service in \1e direction of political stabilization. This task, as j.:J well known, has been outside the mandate and Lhe competence of the civilian and military operatir ns. 91. However, the work of the Commission is highly delicate. It requires tact, understanding, modesty and wisdom. It cannot succeed unless ft is given a fair chance to do so botn by the leaders in the Congo and by the United Nations itself, including all the Member 92. Certainly, nobody would now wish to give the African States the impression that they, or the Conciliation Commission in which they have nine members in Leopoldville, are regarded ooly as pawns to be moved to the right or to the left, or perhaps sacrificed, depending upon whether their activities seem to serve this or that external interest or this or that specific personality in the Congo. 93. Thus, in view of the task pursued by the United Nations in the Congo, for the sake of the country and the Organization, and also so as to help towards the success of its work in the country, in accordance with the target set, 1 appeal to Members to do what is in their power in order to protect and support the efforts now pursued through the Conciliation Commission. li that appeal is heeded, 1 believe that the very negative aspects in part apparent in the present meetings of the Security Council may not have done too muoh harm.

Since there are no more speakers on my Hst, the Council will proceed to vote on the draft resolution presented by Ceylon, Liberia and the United Arab Republic [S/4625]. .