S/PV.954 Security Council

l wish to thank the Councilfor its courtesy in permitting me, on behalf of the Government of Mali, to take part in this debate on the situation in Angola. 47. l must begin by sayingthat the people and Government of Mali are outraged by the barbarous treatment of the black man by the Portuguese in the part of Africa known as Angola. 48. In addressing the Council during this debate, my delegation would like to confine itself to one aspect of the moral challenge with whichPortugal is confronting the whol~ world and particularly Africa as a result of the appalling massacres it isperpetratinginAngola at this very moment in the name of civilization, freedom and Christianity. 49. Thoae who spoke before me have sufficiently emphasized the flagrant violations of the Charterwhich Portugal has committed as a Member of the United Nations in clinging to an anachronistic, backward and barbarous approach to its colonial problems. Those speakers have dwelt on the abuses of human ri~hts and the acts of violence andexploitation contrary ta the United Nations Charter, to which Portugal is nevertheless a signatory. 51. The remarks made a few days ago by a Portuguese officer in Luanda gave a revealing picture of the situation, but a picture which is painful and even insulting to world public opinion, and particularly, ta the peoples of Africa. The officer said: "Iwould judge that we have killed 30,000 of those animaIs in seven weeks. There are still 100,000 ta be killed. We will attend to themnext monthwhenthe rains have stopped.lI 52. Thus, since the dry season lasts three months, 100,000 Angolans will be slaughtered in threemonths, or sorne 1,000 a day. Could the officerwho made those remarks have been unaware that he himself is not a free man ... 53. Ml'. GARIN (Portugal): May 1 asktherepresentative of Mali who printed this?

The representative of Mali, li he feels inclined, can answer that question; li he is not inclined to do so, he is not compelled to answer. 55. Ml'. TRAüRE (Mali) (translated from French): 1 shall simply give you my source: the quotationis from L'Express of Paris of 11 May, and is taken from an article which appeared under the name of Michel Bosquet. 56. Could the officer who spoke those words have been unaware that he himself is not a fre·e man? Did he not realize that he is merely an agent in the pay of a fascist régime with its back against the wall, the régime of the dictator Salazar who, for thirty years, has be~n keeping Portugal in a stàte of object poverty? 57. Portugal, which has been a colonialist country since the sixteenth century, is deep in a slumber which is having fatal consequences for it, a slumber which has prevented it from hearing the bells ringing out to proclaim the libe:r-ation of colonial peoples, as they did loudly at the Bandung Conference of April 1955. The country is plunged in a characteristic ultra-conservatism and is strugglingwithan under-developmentfor which there seems to be no easy remedy. 58. For example, 50 pel' cent of the people of Portugal are still illiterate; there are 58 cases of tuberculosis pel' 1,000 inhabitants, whereas in Holland, for example, the incidence of the disease is only 5 pel' 1,000 inhabitants. 59. Moreover, the average Portuguese eats onlythree kilogrammes of meat pel' year, while a quarter of the national budget is devoted exclusively to maintaining the army and the police. 60. It is easy to imagine what the colonial system of an economically, morally and culturally under-developed country like Portugal mightbe like. The members of the Council should realize that the Portuguese colonial system is not one of the mildest; it is one of the most atrocious in contemporary colonial history. 61. Angola was colonized by the Portuguese as early as the sixteenth century, but Us frontiers were not 63. Thus, as Michel Bosquet says inhis article "a law was passed requiring ,every male African to perform six months of labour a year. Those who could not prove that they had regular employment were recruited by 'angariadores' for forced labour either to build roads for the Government at a monthly wage equivalent to 10 to 25 new francs a month, or to work for Angolan or foreign employers. Particularly since the last war, the Portuguese have thus been supplyiug 100,000 workers a year for the mining companies of the Transvaal (South Africa) and 40,000 more for British Rhodesia. These exported workers. for whom the foreign companies have to paya recruitment tax equivalent to 70 new francs a head. constitute the privileged minority". 64. The representative of Ghana, who spoke before me in this debate. has laid sufficient stress on the support provided by these British and South African economic and financial interests which are backing Portugal in its ruthless exploitation. 65. 1 should complete th1s distressing picture by pointing out that ignorance is still the lot of the indigenous peoples under Portuguese rule. For example. the school attendance rate in Angola is only one pel' cent; in a territory with 4.5 million inhabitants. there are only 47,000 pupils attending primary schools. 66. The infant mortality rate is 60 pel' 100. and the death rate for workers is 45 pel' 100. This deplorable state of affairs remains unchanged; the black man of Angola can still be impressed into forced labour and put to death upon the slightest resistance, again in the name of civilization, freedom and Christianity. 67. The report written on this subject in 1947 by a. Portuguese, Henrique Galvao. former Inspector- General of the Administration, is still valid today. He said that: " ... in some respects, the indigenous inhabitants required to perform forced labour are, worse off than in the days of slavery. Under the systems of slavery. the master who had bought a man as one buys a head of cattle regarded his purchase as part of his capital; it was in his interest to see that the slave, like the beast of burden. was kept healthy. strong and agile. "Today. the indigenous inhabitant is no longer bought; he is merely hired out to the Government. The Government has deliberately set itself up as the main supplier of labour. to the pointwhereit is only necessary to apply in writing to the Department of Native Mfairs in order to be 'supplied' (official term). Consequently. the employer cares little whether his indigenous workers fall sick and die; the important thing is that they should work so long as they are alive. If any of his indigenous workers should die or "We could cite, not as exceptional cases, but as being the general rule, revolting instances of violence and bureaucratie ineptitude. The result is the extermination of whole populations •••" 69. There you have, in clear terms, justification for the references to genocide made yesterday in this Cooocil, this time from the pen of an authentic Portuguese. And Galvao concludes: "Part of the population is fleeing to other coootries; those who stay are being reduced to physical destitution." 70. Further evidence of this is provided by recent events, for the newspapers report that there are already 80,000 refugees in the Congo (Brazzaville) and in the Congo (Leopoldville). The inhuman circumstances l have mentioned, coupledwiththe total absence of political rights, which has been so effectively condemned here in the Cooocil by the representatives of Ghana andthe UnitedArab Republic, andwiththe recent massacre of 30,000 Angolan patriots for having asked for freedom and independence, comprise a very weighty burden of atrocities for which the Portugal of dictator Salazar bears the responsibility. 71. That is why the people and Government of Mali, which l have the honour to represent, regard the struggle of the Angolan people against Portuguese dictatorship and enslavement as entirely logical and just. 72. It is alsowhy the GoverIlIIlentand the whole people of Mali will lend their brothers in Angola moral and material support in their struggle against savage Portuguese colonialism. In that connexion, the newspaper l'Essor. organ of the whole people of Mali, stated in its editorial of 26 April 1961: "Where the struggle of the people of Angola is concerned, the African States must join forces in order to compel Portugal to put an end to its policy of extermination or, if it should refuse, toplan ways and means of giving material support to the fight of the Angolan nationalists ootil complete victory is won." 73. To calI such a liberation movement a commooist movement, as the representative of Portugal did yesterday, is, in my opinion, good propaganda for the communists, because we consider that this movement stems from just and ooimpeachable causes. 74. It is, of course, very easy to use the argument invoking commooism; it is becoming the standard practice in the United Nations to use it continually to justify aU kinds of shady activities. It has only one effect and that is to exacerbate the atmosphere of cold war in this Organization. But let me say that that is not our purpose at aU. On the contrary, we are in favour of peace, freedom and independence, whichwill ooable us to raise the standard of living of our previously colonized peoples or of those in the process of emancipation. 76. My delegation finds the draft resolution [S/4828] before us very moderate, indeed, timid. In its view, it does not sufficiently emphasize that the war being fought in Angola is a colonial war. Furthermore, it does not condemn the barbarous acts beingcarried out daily by Portugal in Angola in the name of Christian civilization. 77. We strongly condemn those acts committedby the Government of the dictator, Salazar. My Government would also be in favour of applying Articles 40 and 41 of the Charter to Portugal. We also consider that the measures advocated in the draft resolution certainly constitute the minimum requiredby the situation and we will vote for the proposaI in the interests of unanimity. We hope that operative paragraph 2, and more particularly operative paragraph 3, which calls upon the Portuguese authorities to desist forthwith from repressive measures, will obtain the unanimous and strong support of the members of the Council. 78. l should lilre, however, to state once again in conclusion, on behalf of the Government of Mali, that the only genuine solution of the crisis which is threatening to come to a head in all the Portuguese possessions is the one prescribed inGeneralAssembly resolution 1514 (XV), namely, recognition of the unconditional independence of all the territories and peoples which have been suffering for the last 500 years from the despotism, the oppression and the exploitation of Portugal.

l should first like to express my country's appreciation of your courtesy in permitting me to take part in the debate"on the tragic events in Angola. 80. No African country, indeed no people intheworld, can remain indifferent tothe most shamefulcolonialist policy of contemporary imperialism, a policy being praotised in a. country cut off from the outside world and converted into a vast camp for the systematic extermination, first andforemost, of the entire national "êlite." 81. There is no further need of proof that the Angolan massacres are a manüestat10n of the most archaic type of colonialism; this is now a well-established facto What should concern us primarily is the position of the Security Council on this question. The political conduct of the Portuguese Government no longer leaves any doubt regarding its determination to remain inthe darkness of an outworn pasto But the main question is whether the Security Council will be capable of discharging its responsibilities or whether itwill display the same hesitanoy and dilatoriness which marked the 83. The question of Angola is merely another specüic manüestation of the general phenomenon of the exploitation of man by man known as colonialism. We shall not dwell on this point. Like all colonized countries, Angola is subject todominationinallits aspects by a foreign country determined to maintain its presence by .force, fire, bloodshed and violence. That domination is political, administrative, cultural, economic, legal and social, and thus extends to all sectors of the country's lüe. 84. What is more, the management of the country's affairs has always been in the hands of a police State, as is the case in the most unadulterated, that is, the most archaic and outmoded, form of colonialism. 85. Finally, this colonialism is now striving, like all forms of outmoded imperialist domination, to maintain its foothold by means of the systematic extermination of the "élite" and, ingeneral, of aIl the dynamic forces in the country. 86. In the process, many innocent people are being crushed and swept aside by a wave of brutality which outrages the conscience of mankind. 87. As some previous speakers have pointed out, in the specüic case of Portuguese colonialism inAngola, the country's resources are being exploited by means of a system of forced labour which is enforced permanently and automatically-and that is its special feature-as a result of increasing and recurring indebtedness. 88. The victims who are condemned to forced labour sign a contract with the exploiters, whether public or private. They are compelled to buy what they need from their masters at prohibitive prices so that they sink ever deeper into debt and thus come to form a class of lüelong slaves. The authorities stop at no exaction or brutality in order to repress any move to seek justice. 89. Moreover, as is the case with any unadulterated form of colonialism, movements of emancipation sUGh as that of the valiant Angolan people are branded as foreign-inspired and financed. It is anold story. In the last twenty or thirty years, we have heard it said that African or Asian nationalist movements were inspired and financed by the Germany of Hitler, the Italy of Mussolini, the America of Roosevelt, the Soviet Union of Stalin or Khrushchev, etc., etc. God knows what form the accusation will take tomorrow! The conscience of men is never quiet. To ease their guilt and to defend themselves before public opinion, they are quick to fabricate excuses by accusing others. 90. We shall not rept';:,.t the painful account of the inhuman repressive measures which the Portuguese 91. It has been our impression that Portuguese colonial policy is seekingto take advantage of the present international situation in order to gain time and maintain a positionwhich canonlybe described as medieval. This impression is strengthened bythe rumours which are now current and which would renderworthless any recommendation or resolution urgung the need for justice and humanity. 92. In this day and age, everyone is convinced that classical colonialism is incompatible withthe spirit of the times. Nor can anyone continue to take seriously the attempt to invoke Article 2, paragraph 7, of the Charter, which has quite rightly been described as a "chastity beIt" and which right-thinking people can no longer approve when its purpose is to defend a decaying imperialism. 93. Finally, no one can remain a silent witness of such horrible acts of genocide as the crimes now being committed by the Portuguese Government in Angola. 94. In the circumstances, it is perfectly logical to expect the Security Council to adopt clear and firm decisions based on three fundamental principles in any conflict between the forces of patriotic idealism and archaic imperialism. The three principles in question are: First, full support for movements of national liberation aimed at the achievement of positive, unequi'l"'ccal and immediate independence; secondly, condemnation of aIl acts of violence and extermination perpetrated by the Colonial Power, whose crimes are setting off a pernicious chain reaction; thirdly, the adoption of appropriate sanctions in the event that the colonial Power should complicate the situation by intensifying the régime of terror and thus bringing about an inevitable deterioration in international relations. 95. This three-way approach is of cardinal importance. We are led to this conclusion by the bitter experience of the recent past-I am referring to the Congo. Almost everyone here present will remember the early days of the debate on the Congo crisis in the Security Council, in particular, thefirstfewmeetings. The timidity of the first resolutions adopted on the Congo resuIted from failure to take vigorous action, procrastination and above all, haggling over words in order to avoid offending the Power guilty ofaggression. The immediate effect of those weak resolutions was to make the colonial Power more obdurate, to complicate the crisis and to necessitate the subsequent resumption of the debate in the Security Council with a view to producing more vigorous resolutions, whichcontinued to be treated with the same contempt on the part of the colonial Power. We then witnessed a steadydeterioration in the tragic situation until, finally, the crisis has come to affect the United Nations itself. 97. The question therefore is whether the Security Council intends to shoulder its responsibilities bothas a protector of peace and freedom throughouttheworld and as a far-sighted and discerning body in tune with the time and a,ge, or whether it is to be paralysetl by a policy of expediency and thus lag behind the swift march of modern events. 98. It is no secret that the political thinking of the Portuguese Government on the subject of colonialism is .several centuries out of date. Its attitude is astonishingly out of keeping withthe times. Bothin spirit and method, it belongs to the epoch of the great imperialist adventures. That is why Portugal is incapable of realizing not only that bloody measures of repression are futile, butthat such acts ofviolence often have precisely the opposite effect to the one intended. The blood of patriots never fails to ensure the triumph of freedom and independence and the defeat of the oppressor. There ~s no exception ta this rule. 99. What is more, all the Portugue,(,;~argumentshave become merely a tedious repetition of the oldfamiliar arguments of the colonialism of yesteryear as they were expounded not so long ago in the United Nations. 100•. ' The Moroccan delegatioI).has concentrated onthe role to be played by the Security Council in this bitter colonial tragedy because sound logic dictates that the United Nations should profit by recent experience and put the situation right. 101. In the first place, it has become customary to talk of the welfare of peoples and their economic development. Now the first prerequisite, the sine qua non, of all development is freedom. Otherwise, anyaid or assistance given to a countrydominatedby colonialism-be it theclassical orneo-elassicalvariety-finds its way into the pockets of those who directly or indirectly exercise power. In the second place, since the world-wide movement of liberation is now irreversible, all attempts at assimilation and all acts of violence are futile; the use of force ultimately recoils against the oppressors. Finally, the greater the ordeal, the closer the hour of liberation. In the case of Angola the process of liberation will be further accelerated by the fact of its geographical situation in the whole of Africa. No African country can remain indifferent to the Angolan movement of liberation, or stand idly by in the face of the acts of genocide being perpetrated by the Portuguese Government. The peoples of all these countries will do their dutY as men and as Africans. As a result of that very fact, the crisis has become an international issue. 102. Although world peace is the common ideal of aU countries, the value of peacewill remainvery relative, and even very limited, so long as the relationship 103. There is a growing trend of opinion in favour of keeping Africa out of the cold war. This is of course desirable, but it does not mean thatAfrica is to be kept out of the cold war in order to remain in the grip of colonialism, whatever its form. 104. To conclude, l repeat the following propositions which merit our attention. 105. First, while Portuguese colonialismis thefactor mainly responsible for the tragedy and suffering of the Angolan people, a large measure of responsibility lies with the powerfulforeign interests inAngolawhich are guilty both of colonialcomplicity and neo-eolonialism. 106. Secondly, Portuguese policy is out of date. That is why arguments againstthe officialpolicy ofthe Portuguese Government simply fall on deaf ears and are patently futile. . 107. Thirdly, the concern cif all theAfricancountries with this great tragedy shows that any improvement or deterioration in the situation is bound to have international repercussions, favourable or unfavourable, depending on the positionadoptedbytheSecurityCouncil in the light of recent experience. 108. Fourthly, that position, if it is to be consistent with the spirit of the times, and with the spirit and letter of the Charter and of United Nations resolutions, should be based on three fundamental principleswhich are: immediate freedom for Angola, the respect for human rights and protection against the slaughternow in progress and the assumption by the United Nations of ~ positive role as arbiter. Consequently, Angola should be entitled to Immediate independence. The systematic slaughter being perpetrated by the Portuguese Government should be condemned without delay and the specifie measures to be taken by the Security Council in Implementation of its decisions should be defined and proclaimed in unequivocal terms. The course of wisdom is to avoid becomingboggeddown in half-measures, and to waste no time in coming to the defence of the life and liberty of an oppressed people.

This is the second time in less thanthree months that the Security Council has been convenedto considerthe situation in Angola. At our meeting on 10 March [944th meeting} l had the opportunity of expressing my Government's misgivings and explaining its doubts conce~g the propriety of referring this question to the Council as "a situation likely to endanger the maintena.nce of international peace and security". 110. An institution will retain its value only if it is not abused. My Govern.'!lent is convinced that the United Nations and its various organs will not continue ta enjoy their prestige and authority inthe world unless 111. My Government's point of view remains unchanged and its basic position on the question before us is still as indicated in my statement in the Council on 10 March 1961. 112. In its resolution of 20 April 1961[1603 (XV)] the General Assembly decided to appoint a sub-eommittee consisting of five members 1'1to examine the statements made before the Assembly concerning Angola, to receive further statements and documents, to conduct such inquiries as it may deemnecessary and to report to the Assembly as soon as possible". APress release has been issued informing us of the composition of the Sub-Committee and of the fact that it held its first meeting on 26 May. 113. It is, in any event, open to question whether further discussion in the Council would not have been better informed, more solidly basl:Jd onfactsandmore effective had the Sub-Committee' s conclusions and the results of its work been previously available. 114. Furthermore, experience has already taught us that there is, unfortunately, no magic formula for dealing with matters such as the one before us today. InternaI factors are so complex that zeal in arousing the international conscience must be tempered with caution. Such problems are frequently more amenable to solution by means of patient and honest discussion than by recourse to denunciation or censure. 115. There iS.another comment l should like tomake at this stage in my statement. We must not forget that aH of us are bQund by the provisions of the Charter. The primary condition, the sine qua non for the maintenance of world peace is that each one of us should make a point of observing those provisions and should ensure the scrupulous fulfilment of the commitments we assumed on joining the United Nations. 116. It has happened aIl too frequently in recent months that Members of our Organization have been more concerned with denolli'1cing the shortcomings of which, with greater or lessel' justification, they have accused other States, than with asking themselves whether they too are not open to similar or even graver criticism. Without troubling themselves to consider whether, in conformity with the provisions of the Charter, they were applying the rules of democracy in their own countries in practice as weIl as in theory, whether they were pursuingagenuinelypeacefuI poUcy and whether they were loyally, honestly and conscientiously refraining from aIl interference in the affairs of other States, they have sought to put other Governments and nations in the dock. When aState which keeps tens of millions of people of other nationalities under totalitarian domination sets itself up as the apostle of the independence of peoples and of respect for human rights, there is room for concern at the diseredit which that pose is likely to bring upon our Organization. 117. A document such as the one distributed to us would appear to be more concerned with attacking the Western Powers and the defensive NATO organization 118. l now come to the crux of the matter, to the tragic situation at present prevailing in Angola \Vhich my delegation and country view with sympathy and profound concern. While it is true that our knowledge of the recent events in Angola is incomplete, enougl: information is available ta make it clear that there have been clashes and bloodshed, particularly between black and white, that massacres have occurred and that violent measures have been taken by the Portuguese forces. We are disturbed bythe account of these events because they involve human suffering and loss of lüe which my country particularly deplores. In the face of the deterioration of the situation in Angola in recent months, the AfricanStates and, more especially, those neighbouring on Angola, which have a sense of unitY with their brothers of the same race on the other side of thefrontier, have been sweptby strong emotion. We fully understand and share their concern, emotion and anxiety. We urge that actionshouldbetaken to end aU these acts of violence, which we deprecate and censure, and that consideration should be given to the responsibility of the agitators who, in the pursuit of alien political ambitions, are not hesitating to stir up incidents and disturbances, heedless of their repercussions, the suffering they cause and the victims they leave behind. 119. My country was particularly perturbed to learn of the tragic clashes between people of different races in these territories since it itself makes no distinction or discrimination between whites and blacks. It considers that a civilizedState, one truly deserving of that name, cannot be built on racialist principles but must recognize the equality of aU its inhabitants regardless of their race or religion. Tbis rule, wbieh my country has always sought ta apply, must, in its view, also prevail in Africa. We know that Portugal has always recognized and practised racial equality and that it still upholds this principle. As a friend of that country, we earnestly hope that it will recognize the full implications of tbis principle at the present time. 120. One of the gravest errors wbich a State or a politician can make is to fail to move with the times. Profound changes, wbich are as breathtaking and stirring in their rapidity as they are welcome for the progress they represent, have been taking place in the world, particularly in Africa, during the past twenty years. It is our dutY to understand, foster and encourage them and ta contribute to their development and success. Nothing could be more regrettable, mistaken or tragic than to cling to concepts, ideas and principles which might perhaps have been sound in their day but which are no longer suited to ours. We 121. These are the points of principle and thefactual considerations by which my delegationwill be guidedin casting lts vote. The meeting rose at 5.10 p.m. Litho in U.N. Priee: $U.S. 0.35; (or equivalent in