Situation in the Mideast – Letter from Libya

THE SITUATION IN THE MIDDLE EAST

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DECLARATION ON THE STRENGTHENING

OF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY

MEASURES TO PREVENT INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM WHICH ENDANGERS OR TAKES INNOCENT HUMAN LIVES OR JEOPARDIZES FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS, AND STUDY OF THE UNDERLYING CAUSES OF THOSE FORMS OF TERRORISM AND ACTS OF VIOLENCE WHICH LIE IN MISERY, FRUSTRATION, GRIEVANCE AND DESPAIR AND WHICH CAUSE SOME PEOPLE TO SACRIFICE HUMAN LIVES, INCLUDING THEIR OWN, IN AN ATTEMPT TO EFFECT RADICAL CHANGES

Letter dated 20 December 1977 from the Permanent Representative

of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya to the United Nations addressed

to the Secretary-General

I refer to document A/32/420 dated 8 December 1977, containing a letter by the representative of the Zionist racist entity in occupied Palestine, and would like to place on record in this respect, in order to avoid any misunderstanding or ambiguity, the over-all point of view held by the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya concerning two important issues currently being dealt with in the United Nations, namely, the question of Palestine and the question of international terrorism.

Over the past years, colonialist and Zionist circles have been persistently waging a malicious propaganda campaign against the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, both inside and outside the United Nations, in which they utilize the massive resources of their propaganda machinery and mobilize their followers and supporters in every area.  That propagandist campaign has been concentrated along two main lines:

I.  Attempting to accuse the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya of opposing peace;

II.  Falsely and baselessly accusing it of encouraging and financing so-called international terrorism.

The fact of the matter is that the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya does not oppose  peace in our Arab region and does not resist a just settlement of the question of& Palestine; rather, it believes that the only peace that can possibly be achieved is one which is based on justice and which eliminates the effects of Zionist J. colonialist aggression, the foundation of which is a clearly expansionist racism.

The Zionist colonialist onslaught on the land of Palestine was aimed at translating the Zionist philosophy into a concrete reality; thus, it seized the land by force, spread havoc and terror therein, uprooted its people, causing them to live dispersed all over the world, and established an entity based on racial  discrimination.

The philosophy of Zionism is built upon racial differentiation and racial supremacy, and this fact led the General Assembly to adopt its historic resolution 3379 (XXX) determining that Zionism is a form of racism and racial discrimination.

The continuation of the Zionist aggression is exemplified by the unceasing immigration of Jews into Palestine, which results in:

1. The need for more land to absorb the immigrants;

2. Continuation of the policy of aggression to gain more land; and

3. The displacement of the remaining part of the Palestinian people in order to seize its land.

Thus it has become evident that the Zionist entity is by nature aggressive and expansionist. Should Zionism persist in pursuing its policies and philosophies of racism and aggression, in collaboration with the racist minority regimes in Africa, and in transforming the entity it established in occupied Palestine into both a foothold for colonialism and imperialism and a tool for aggression against the Arab homeland, peace based on justice will be long in coming to our region.  The essential foundation for building a peace based on justice is the imperative abandonment of the racist Zionist philosophy and its aggressionist policies, in order that Jews may live amongst us in peace and safety, as they had previously done for generations and ages, and in order to enable the Palestinian people to exercise its right to self-determination in a climate of freedom not subject to any foreign dictates, in accordance with the purposes and principles of the United Nations and pursuant to its resolutions.

This is the over-all point of view of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya as regards the foundations of peace based on justice in our region.  It rejects any capitulative solution aimed at recognizing the status quo and blessing injustice and aggression.

The Libyan Arab Jamahiriya stands by the Arab people of Palestine in its plight, supports the Palestine Liberation Organization, which has gained global recognition as the sole legitimate representative of that, people, and stands ready to resist any dangerous scheme directed against them.  This policy is based on a firm principle of support for all peoples under the yoke of colonialism, racism and foreign domination.  Consequently the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya also stands by the rights of Africans and gives physical and moral support to the national liberation movements in the southern part of our continent, since they are recognized by both the Organization of African Unity and the United Nations.

It is natural that the provision of support to oppressed peoples and the adoption of pro-liberation policies are not acceptable to colonialist and Zionist circles.  Consequently, such circles have initiated a prejudiced propaganda campaign against the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, accusing it of lending its support to international terrorism by training terrorists and financing some terrorist operations.

The Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, which shares the international community's concern about the serious and worsening phenomenon of terrorism, declares that it condemns and deplores all forms of international terrorism, particularly the terrorism exercised by colonialist and racist regimes.  It rejects misleading propaganda campaigns aimed at distorting facts and confusing the legitimate and just struggle of peoples suffering under the yoke of colonialism, racism and foreign domination with violent terrorist operations which have no connexion with the legitimate struggle of peoples. The Jamahiriya regards any confusion of this type as an attempt to suppress the struggle of such peoples in a bid to control them.

The Libyan Arab Jamahiriya has not only condemned international terrorism but also translated this condemnation into concrete facts and actions, such as the following:

1. National laws in the Jamahiriya that provide for severe penalties against the perpetrators of crimes of terrorism;

2. Support for General Assembly resolution 3034 (XXVII), which established the Ad Hoc Committee concerned with the study of this phenomenon in an effort to eliminate it;

3. rapport for resolution 31/102, which renewed the mandate of that Committee,;

4. Co-operation with the vast majority of delegations, which sincerely wish to study this phenomenon seriously, in submitting a draft resolution which the Jamahiriya believes will considerably help the Committee to overcome the difficulties facing it.  The draft resolution was adopted by the General Assembly on 15 December 1977 "by 91 votes to 9 with 28 abstentions;

5. Active participation in the work of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Drafting of an International Convention against the Taking of Hostages.  The Jamahiriya also joined in the consensus to renew that Committee's mandate for another session, to be held early in 1978;

6. Joining in the consensus on the item entitled "Safety of International Civil Aviation", a consensus which was approved by the General Assembly in resolution 32/8;

7. Accession to the Convention on Offences and Certain Other Acts Committed on board Aircraft, which was signed at Tokyo on l4 September 1963;

8. Accession to the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Civil Aviation, signed at Montreal on 23 September 1971;

9. Accession to the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of-31 Aircraft, signed at The Hague on l6 December 1970.

The Libyan Arab Jamahiriya considers it necessary to support the efforts of the United Nations aimed at studying this phenomenon seriously and thoroughly and to desist from using the item concerning international terrorism for propaganda purposes whose objective is to blackmail small States that have limited potentialities.

This, in brief, is the over -all point of view of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya with respect to the cause of occupied Palestine and the issue of international . terrorism.  I emphasize this point of view in order to leave no room for any doubt or misunderstanding that might be created by the conduct resorted to by the representative of the Zionist entity, conduct which is not new in its kind, for we have become accustomed to seeing it both within the United Nations and outside it. This conduct follows the lines of a plan carefully concocted by colonialist and Zionist circles and is strongly supported by the vast propaganda potential available to them. This is done in an attempt to abuse the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya because of its pro-liberation attitudes in support of the peoples subjected to the yoke of colonialism and foreign domination and suffering the evils of racist discrimination, and because of its material -and moral support for national liberation movements and its vigilance in the face of dubious plans directed against the Arab people in occupied Palestine.

I have the honour to request that the text of this message should be circulated as an official document of the General Assembly under agenda items 31, 50 and 118 of the current session.

(Signed) Mansur R. KIKHIA

Permanent Representative of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya to the United Nations