FOREIGN INTERFERENCE MAIN CAUSE OF CONTINUING CONFLICT IN AFGHANISTAN, MINISTER TELLS GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Press Release
GA/9119

FOREIGN INTERFERENCE MAIN CAUSE OF CONTINUING CONFLICT IN AFGHANISTAN, MINISTER TELLS GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Peace Efforts in Africa Reviewed by Eritrea, Uganda, Gambia; Statements also Made by Saint Vincent and Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda

Foreign interference was the main cause of the continued conflict in Afghanistan, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Afghanistan, Abdul Rahim Ghafoorzai, told the General Assembly this afternoon as it continued its opening debate. Evidence to support that claim would be duly submitted to the Security Council.

The Deputy Foreign Minister went on to say that the Taliban, which seized control of Kabul on 27 September, was guided by a foreign agenda committed to the annihilation of the political, social and economic fabric of Afghanistan. The Government of Afghanistan believed that the foreign sponsors of the Taliban had provided them with some type of internationally banned gas or chemical weapons, which had been used against the Afghan army during the Taliban's onslaught on Kabul. He appealed to all Afghan parties to immediately cease hostilities and begin peace negotiations under the auspices of the United Nations.

The representative of Eritrea, Amdemicael Kahsai, said his Government's commitment to peace continued to be threatened by the hostile and unprovoked acts of the National Islamic Front regime in the Sudan. Acts of subversion and State-sponsored terrorism had been adopted as a policy instrument by that regime to destabilize its neighbours.

The Foreign Minister of Uganda, Eriya Kategaya, and the Minister of Works, Communications and Information of the Gambia, Ebrima Ceesay, joined in calling for the reinvigoration of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) peace efforts in Burundi. The Foreign Minister of Uganda added that, although most African countries were working toward regional stability, cooperation and support of the international community was required.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines also spoke this afternoon, as did the representative of Antigua and Barbuda.

Statements in exercise of the right of reply were made by the representatives of Ethiopia and the Sudan.

The Assembly will meet again at 10 a.m. tomorrow, 8 October, to continue its general debate.

Assembly Work Programme

The General Assembly met this afternoon to continue its general debate. It was scheduled to hear statements by the Foreign Ministers of Uganda, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and the Gambia, as well as statements by the Deputy Foreign Minister of Afghanistan and the representatives of Eritrea, and Antigua and Barbuda.

Statements

AMDEMICAEL KAHSAI (Eritrea) said the Horn of Africa region remained a dichotomy. On the positive side, the countries of the region were committed and continued to make strenuous efforts to promote regional cooperation. At the same time, the region continued to bleed due to grave internal conflicts in some Member States. The blood-letting in Somalia continued unabated and the activities of the National Islamic Front regime in the Sudan continued to create regional tension. Peace was crucial to the young State of Eritrea to heal the scars of long years of war, to recoup lost opportunity, and to reconstruct what had been devastated.

He said his Government's commitment to peace continued to be threatened by the hostile and unprovoked acts of the National Islamic Front regime. The acts of subversion and State-sponsored terrorism were not directed against Eritrea alone, but had been adopted as a policy instrument by that regime in order to destabilize its neighbours. It had propped up and provided safe haven to assorted terrorists from various countries. Eritrea had pursued a policy of constructive engagement for five long years against the hope that the authorities in Khartoum would turn back from their dangerous course. Another grave issue was the maltreatment of Eritrean refugees at the hands of Sudanese authorities, he added.

Turning to the incident between Eritrea and Yemen, he said that his Government had accepted mediation initiatives to settle the dispute over the Hanish-Zuquar archipelago. Developments since the signing of the agreement to accept arbitration could generally be considered positive and encouraging. A subsidiary agreement, signed on 3 October, would allow for proceedings of the Arbitral Court to start next year.

He said the international community must search for ways and means of expediting an end to the tragedy in Somalia. The countries of the region could have played a more catalytic part of any effort to forge peace and reconciliation. The lack of a consistent and coordinated regional and international initiative might, however, be fraught with more preoccupying negative developments. There were indications that various external actors might exploit the vacuum to promote their hidden agendas. Somalia was becoming a fertile ground for extremist groups.

ABDUL RAHIM GHAFOORZAI, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan, said that, as had been widely reported, an occupying force known as the Taliban had taken control of Kabul on 27 September. International

General Assembly - 3 - Press Release GA/9119 25th Meeting (PM) 7 October 1996

media reporting from Kabul had described the Taliban as a foreign-inspired organization imposing a draconian system on a terrified people. The Taliban had ordered schools and universities closed and the end of all education and employment for women. The Taliban, described by Amnesty International as implementing a reign of terror in Kabul, had been guided by a foreign agenda committed to annihilation of the political, social and economic fabric of Afghanistan. The main cause of continued conflict in Afghanistan was foreign interference, and evidence to support that claim would be duly submitted to the Security Council.

The persistent appeals from Afghanistan for the United Nations to send a fact-finding mission to determine the degree and nature of foreign intervention in Afghanistan had gone unanswered, he continued. During the Taliban advance and occupation of Kabul, the Taliban had shelled civilian areas, and some reports suggested that the Taliban might have used chemical weapons against the Afghan army. Based on such reports, the Government of Afghanistan held the strong conviction that the foreign sponsors of the Taliban had provided them with some type of internationally banned gas or chemical weapons. The Government believed that the Taliban had used those weapons during its onslaught on Kabul. He appealed to the international community to immediately assign a team to investigate those reports.

He said his Government had repeatedly warned the international community about the dangers involved in the fragmentation and disintegration of Afghanistan and warned of the possibility that the Taliban military advance could get out of control. Regardless of whether a conspiracy of indifference had influenced the development of the current crisis in his country, the Deputy Foreign Minister said that the indifference had shown "that Afghan blood is not cheap, rather worthless".

The escalation of tensions necessitated the pursuit of a peaceful settlement through a United Nations supervised peace process, he said. Immediately, armed conflict must end and a cease-fire agreement must be reached. All Afghan parties must enter into negotiations under the auspices of the United Nations and with the cooperation of the Organization of the Islamic Conference. Agreement must be reached on the composition and establishment of a transitional Government of national unity and the creation of a credible authoritative body to which power would be promptly transferred. In addition, the views of the people must be ascertained and the problems must be solved through elections. Only a transitional Government of national unity would be able to secure unity in Afghanistan and launch its reconstruction and rehabilitation.

ERIYA KATEGAYA, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Uganda, said that the United Nations continued to be confronted with the challenge of redressing development disparities. Those disparities were manifest in widespread poverty and the degradation of ecosystems, and were a major cause of the spiral of violence and internal conflicts. They must be addressed through global approaches and strategies that ensured

General Assembly - 4 - Press Release GA/9119 25th Meeting (PM) 7 October 1996

lasting solutions. Liberalization and globalization offered opportunities and challenges within and among nations. Yet, they had also deepened the marginalization of some regions, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. He underscored the continuing relevance of multilateralism and international cooperation as prerequisites for equitable growth and development and for addressing the negative consequences of globalization.

He decried the trend towards unfair trading practices and conflicts in international trade. A situation was being created in which developing countries were pushed to open up their markets, while the developed countries practised managed trade and limited access for some export products from developed countries. He welcomed the convening of the First Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization in Singapore next December. He urged the Conference to give high priority to a comprehensive review of the Uruguay Round agreements, including such measures as long-term financial and technical support, and the transfer of technology. The Conference should also focus on issues relating to the full implementation of agreed commitments, such as the provision of financial, technical and technological support to developing countries.

He appealed to the international community, in particular the multilateral financial institutions, to adopt concrete measures to reduce the external indebtedness of the least developed countries and other severely indebted countries. While commending such debt relief initiatives as the Naples Terms as a first step, he said they were "grossly inadequate" to make any meaningful impact, and must be augmented with measures that substantially reduced all types of debt. He noted the recent debt-relief measures by the Bretton Woods institutions and urged the dominant shareholders to support them. African countries also continued to be adversely affected by record-low levels of export commodity earnings.

He pointed out that the maintenance of international peace and security remained a formidable challenge for the United Nations. Efforts in that area were undermined by conflicts and tensions arising from inadequate political leadership. On Burundi, he appealed for support for the mediation efforts of former Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere. He endorsed steps being taken by the Government of Rwanda as being "in the right direction", while, on Somalia, he called for the reinvigoration of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) peace efforts.

General Assembly - 5 - Press Release GA/9119 25th Meeting (PM) 7 October 1996

Most African countries were vigorously pursuing far-reaching political and economic reform, he said, but those required the concerted cooperation and support of the international community. Uganda was a nation restored politically and economically. It enjoyed a broad-based government, nationwide participation in decision-making, and a commitment to human rights. It had a new constitution, and its first directly elected president since 1962. The administration had continued to make progress under the Economic Reform Programme, attracting investment under an Investment Code. He commended the various United Nations initiatives to eradicate poverty in the world, citing similar efforts in Uganda. The Organization was the appropriate forum for addressing global problems and must be strengthened, revitalized and democratized.

ALPIAN R.O. ALLEN, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Tourism and Information of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, called for the convening of a conference to deal with the root causes of terrorism, one in which the views of both small and mighty nations could be expressed. His country was delighted to be associated with the passage of the resolution on the Comprehensive Nuclear- Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). Any step towards curbing of the arms race and the eventual elimination of weapons must be viewed as positive.

The banana industry was the mainstay of his country's economy, but its very existence was under serious threat by forces both larger and more powerful, he said. The entire population of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines had been sensitized to the country's banana woes, and the people had vented their frustration by writing thousands of letters to those who might hold the key to survival. It was hoped that all those who had come to his country's assistance, in Europe and elsewhere, would continue to lend a helping hand.

It was time for the Republic of China on Taiwan to be readmitted to the United Nations, the Foreign Minister said. Taiwan, a founding member of the United Nations, had been excluded now for a quarter of a century. How did one reconcile that fact with the principles of parallel representation of States and that of universality? Taiwan not only possessed the attributes of nationhood, but was well endowed to contribute to the development of the Organization's Member States. It had also made democratic strides, holding its first direct presidential election. Not all States had thus embraced the democratic process.

The Security Council should be restructured in order to reflect an equitable geographic distribution, he said. Big Powers did not have a monopoly on knowledge or truth. In the United Nations, all nations should be treated as equals.

EBRIMA CEESAY, Minister of Works, Communications and Information of the Gambia, told the Assembly his country remained committed to the support of the OAU for a second term for Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali.

General Assembly - 6 - Press Release GA/9119 25th Meeting (PM) 7 October 1996

He said the Gambia had successfully conducted a referendum for a new constitution on 8 August, with presidential elections on 26 September. The elections had been free and fair, and the President-elect had extended a message of peace and reconciliation to all Gambians, irrespective of their affiliation.

He said the United Nations New Agenda for Development in Africa provided an opportunity to review Africa's development through an achievable programme. However, successful implementation of that programme was restrained by the failure of developed countries to achieve the United Nations target of devoting the 0.7 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) for official development assistance, including 0.15 per cent for the Least Developed Countries. Africa's huge external debt, growing at an average annual rate of 1.5 per cent between 1990 and 1995, remained the single most serious constraint to Africa's consistent economic recovery.

He said the peace process was back on track in Liberia, thanks to the ceaseless efforts of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The goodwill of all parties and the support of the international community, especially the United Nations, were needed. The situation in Burundi was a tragic replay of events in Rwanda two years ago. The Gambia strongly supported the OAU initiatives, especially the Mwanza Peace Process and the Arusha Peace Initiatives.

The Minister said that the precedent of parallel United Nations membership, seen in the cases of East Germany and West Germany, and today with North Korea and South Korea, should be applied to the Republic of China in Taiwan. He said the unilateral imposition of economic embargo against Cuba should have ended with the end of the cold war; Cuba had managed to survive against all odds for over three decades. Its achievements deserved to be recognized.

PATRICK ALBERT LEWIS, Permanent Representative of Antigua and Barbuda, said that small-island developing States such as his own were subjected to various natural disasters, including earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and hurricanes. Sustainable development was not achievable if each year the country had to respond to a score of storms and hurricanes. Stressing the need for adherence to the Declaration and the Plan of Action adopted at this year's Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements, he said the problems of urbanization also affected small countries. His Government, in partnership with other sectors of society, was playing its part in improving living and working conditions for all its citizens.

According to the World Bank, more than 60 per cent of the countries in which the United Nations and other bodies had development assistance operations had witnessed declines in real per capita income over the decade ending in 1994, he said. During the past four years, real development assistance had declined by 20 to 25 per cent. It was ironic that the United Nations was threatened by a financial crisis at a time that it was being called upon to assume greater responsibilities. While that crisis was

General Assembly - 7 - Press Release GA/9119 25th Meeting (PM) 7 October 1996

primarily a "crisis of payment", it was also undeniable that there was unnecessary waste in the Organization. All efforts at restructuring the United Nations should be focused on economic growth and development.

In view of the significance of banana production to some Caribbean economies, the European Union had a programme in which a small portion of its market -- less than 10% -- was reserved for Caribbean producers, he said. However, it had been correctly stated by Bob Herbert in The New York Times that "for the multinationals, enough is never enough". For countries with high literacy rates and no political prisoners, it would be disastrous if their economies were to be destroyed through destruction of the banana industry.

He said Antigua and Barbuda was working with its neighbours and expected to receive additional assistance from bilateral and multilateral sources to initiate a national drug and money-laundering control policy. Given the multidimensional nature of the drug problem, the United Nations was particularly well-equipped to address it. The United Nations had been unjustly judged more by its failures than by its successes. Nevertheless, its work in such areas as health, human rights, peace-keeping, disaster mitigation, and assistance to developing countries presented an enviable record.

Rights of Reply

Mr. KEBEDE (Ethiopia) said the statement this morning by the Foreign Minister of the Sudan was part of the Sudan's public relations campaign and had no credibility. The Sudan had provided diplomatic passports and transport on government aircraft to terrorists who had entered Ethiopia with the intention of assassinating the President of Egypt, Hosni Mubarak. The fact that the Sudanese authorities were involved in the assassination attempt was clear and required no further illustration. That truth had been recognized by the adoption of relevant Council resolutions. The claim of the Sudan that it had attempted to locate the three accused individuals was not credible, as the Sudan knew of their location at the time extradition was requested. He said that the trial of the three suspects in Ethiopia had been conducted in line with international law.

HAMID ALI MOHAMED ELTINAY (Sudan) said that his Foreign Minister, in his statement his morning, had called for cooperation and solidarity.

Responding to the statement by the representative of Eritrea, he said that the Sudan had not pursued a policy of aggression against Eritrea, but instead supported the independence of the Eritrean people and supported the current Government. Responding to the Sudan's treatment of Eritrean refugees, he said that the Sudan had hosted Eritrean refugees for decades, many of whom had become Sudanese citizens. At the same time, the Government of Eritrea was only allowing the return of select refugees to their homeland. He noted that the Eritrean Government had publicly declared its support for the armed opposition to the Sudanese Government.

General Assembly - 8 - Press Release GA/9119 25th Meeting (PM) 7 October 1996

His country's relationship with Ethiopia had been good before the regrettable assassination attempt. Then, Ethiopia's position toward the Sudan changed and was accompanied by outrageous accusations. He asked why the Sudan had not been granted the right to interview those who accused the Sudan, or at least see a transcript of the incriminating testimony. For years the Sudan had offered support to Ethiopia, including the prevention of armed attacks from Sudanese territory.

* *** *