on Thursday, 18 September 1986, at 10 a.m.
/…
Mr. TERZI (Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO))
The fate of the Namibian people is strikingly linked to the fate of the Palestinian people. Both of us are victims of the betrayal of a sacred trust known as the mandatory regime. In both cases we were betrayed and in both cases our peoples, in their respective countries, have fought and continue to fight against the forces of evil.
Both the racist regime in Pretoria and that in Tel Aviv are "occupying Powers" which violate all human rights and political and social rights of the Namibian and Palestinian peoples under their respective military occupation. In both cases racist doctrines – be it apartheid or Zionism – are concretely manifested by repressive measures and acts of State terrorism against our peoples. They deny us, at the end of a bayonet, the exercise and enjoyment of our fundamental rights, even the most fundamental of them – that is, the right to life and the right to self-determination.
Both racist regimes – ironically, Members of this glorious Organization of the United Nations – have demonstrated great disrespect, nay contempt, for the principles enshrined in the Charter which was meant to free humanity from aggression and the scourge of war, the Charter which was meant to establish, for good, respect for the principles of equal rights and self-determination of peoples.
The General Assembly and the Security Council have adopted scores of resolutions, and they have not been heeded. It is tragic that the racist regimes are entrenched and strongly supported in their contemptuous behaviour by Powers that refuse to ensure respect for the principles of the Charter and the provisions of international conventions on human, economic, social and political rights of peoples, provisions which are in conformity with the principles of justice and international law.
Thus, it was no accident that the International Conference for the Immediate Independence of Namibia, which was held recently – from 7 to 11 July 1986 – in Vienna and at which Chairman Yasser Arafat led the delegation of the Palestine Liberation Organization, condemned
The two racist regimes, forming the two poles of a racist axis that runs from South Africa to north-east Africa, from Pretoria to Tel Aviv, could not be in a position of arrogance and contempt were it not for the concrete support they receive. Both regimes, it is clear, are assigned a mission by the ex-colonial and imperialist Powers: to destabilize the respective regions and to deploy their forces in military adventurism against the peoples and Governments there.
The imposition of mandatory comprehensive sanctions against the Pretoria racist regime should have been the immediate answer by the Security Council to give effect to its resolutions 385 (1976) and 435 (1978). The permanent members of the Security Council – the United States and the United Kingdom – that have obstructed the employment of such measures are accessories to the crimes still being committed against the peoples of South Africa and Namibia by the racist Pretoria regime, and in our opinion they should be treated with equal contempt. What is needed, further, is adherence to the mandatory comprehensive sanctions. We know that, at the other pole of the racist axis, Tel Aviv is ready to provide a safety net for its kinsmen in Pretoria to render ineffective such sanctions in the economic field. It is a fact that more than 50 per cent of so-called Israeli exports are in fact South African products like diamonds – diamonds stolen from Namibia. So let us beware of safety nets, and let us ensure full respect for the implementation of mandatory comprehensive sanctions.
To our comrades-in-arms and brothers and sisters in South Africa and in Namibia, and particularly to SWAPO, we declare: "You enjoy the support of the international community; you enjoy the support of the freedom- and justice-loving peoples; you enjoy the support of freedom fighters all over; you enjoy our support, the support of the Palestinian people and the Palestine Liberation Organization. Pursue your diplomatic struggle, but do not lay down the freedom fighters' gun. It may sound strange and sad, but the enemies of peace do not heed reason. Twenty years of armed struggle might be just the start. It is a long march, and the road to freedom and independence is not a bed of roses: it is the bodies of our fellow comrades, the freedom fighters. Your mission is to ensure life with dignity for your people in an independent, sovereign Namibia where they can pursue happiness in freedom".
The meeting rose at 12.30 p.m.
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Document Type: Meeting record, Verbatim Record
Document Sources: General Assembly, General Assembly 14th Emergency Special Session
Subject: Human rights and international humanitarian law, Occupation, Palestine question, Racial discrimination, Self-determination, Situation in the OPT including Jerusalem
Publication Date: 18/09/1986