International Day of Solidarity (1979) – Special bulletin

 SPECIAL BULLETIN ON THE COMMEMORATION

OF THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF SOLIDARITY

WITH THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE

I.  Commemoration of the Second International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People

II. Texts of statements made and messages received on the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People:

COUNTRY/ORGANIZATION – NAME AND TITLE

I. COMMEMORATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF SOLIDARITY WITH THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE

In accordance with operative paragraph 1(c) of General Assembly resolution 34/40 B, the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People was observed in New York and Geneva, as well as in several capitals, on 29 November 1979.

In New York the programme for observance of the Day included an exhibition of Palestinian works of art whose central theme was the Palestinian child. This exhibit was formally opened by the Chairman of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People on Monday, 26 November and was exhibited from that day to 2 December. Throughout the week the film "Palestinians Do Have Rights" was screened at the Bag Hammarskjöld Auditorium.

The main event in the programme of observance of the Day in New York were two special meetings of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, held at United Nations Headquarters on Thursday, 29 November. The film "Palestinians Do Have Right" was also screened at the Trusteeship Council Chamber for the benefit of those who attended the special commemorative meetings.

The Chairman of the Committee, the President of the thirty-fourth session of the General Assembly, the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council for the month of November 1979 were among those who addressed the meeting. The texts of their statements and of messages received from heads of State or Government, Foreign Ministers, the Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization and others are reproduced below.

II. TEXTS OF STATEMENTS MADE AND MESSAGES RECEIVED

ON THE OCCASION OF THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF

SOLIDARITY WITH THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE

Statement by the Chairman of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, H.E. Mr. Médoune Fall

We are gratified to convey to you our satisfaction at having you with us on this solemn occasion of the Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. Your participation in this special meeting of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People attests to the importance which you and all of us attach to the search for a solution to the question of Palestine. We are most gratified and wish to welcome you among us.

As you know, the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People was set up by the General Assembly for the purpose of helping, through a programme of action, the Palestinian people to regain and exercise their inalienable rights.

The commemoration, each 29 November, of an international Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People is in response to the wish of the General Assembly, expressed in its resolution 32/40, and is properly included in the framework of our programme of action. Essentially, it has two aims: to draw the attention of the world to the status of the Palestinian people and to mobilize public opinion on the need for taking action enabling that people to regain and fully to exercise its inalienable rights.

This appeal has gained a favourable response throughout the world and the international community, both in heart and in mind, has demonstrated its sympathy with the cause of the Palestinian people as shown by the numerous messages we received last year on the occasion of the commemoration of this international day of solidarity. These messages, approximately 60 in number, came from Heads of State and Government, ministers for foreign affairs and from various international organizations. This Day, which has also been commemorated in numerous places throughout the world, proves beyond any doubt the solidarity of world public opinion with the heroic Palestinian people whose struggle is on a par with the sacrifices of all forces fighting against oppression and injustice. We hope that once again this year our appeal will find a more resounding response in the community of men and nations.

The question of Palestine has been before the United Nations since 2 April 1947, that is, less than two years after the creation of our Organization. During that very year, on 29 November, the United Nations General Assembly adopted its resolution 181 (II) in which Palestine was partitioned into two States, Arab and Jewish, with the city of Jerusalem placed under international jurisdiction. But that resolution was only partially implemented; the Jewish State was established in May 1948, while the Arab Palestinian State and the city of Jerusalem fell under Israeli occupation as the result of three successive wars waged in the region in 1948, 1956 and 1967.

During that time, the question of Palestine was a basic element of the Middle East conflict was eclipsed by the more general question of the Israeli-Arab conflict. The majority of States Members of the United Nations maintained the theory according to which the Middle East crisis was basically a conflict between Israel and the Arab States, with its origins in the refusal of those latter States to recognize the existence of the Jewish State. It had almost come to a denial of the very existence of the Palestinian people as a national entity.

Fortunately, this situation took a positive turn when there appeared on the international scene formerly colonized nations which had suffered the same injustices as the Palestinian people and were, in consequence, more receptive to the tragedy through which that martyrized people were living. Thus, from the beginning of the 1970s, the United Nations began to pay more sustained attention to the problem of Palestine, placing it in its true human and political perspective.

However, it was not until 1974 that the General Assembly adopted its resolution 3236 (XXIX) of 22 November which was to define precisely the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including the right to self-determination, national sovereignty and to return to their homes from which they have been displaced and uprooted. On the same day, the General Assembly adopted its resolution 3234 (XXIX) granting observer status to the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the sole representative of the Palestinian people, and inviting it to participate in its work as well as in that of all international conferences convened under the auspices of the United Nations.

To ensure implementation of these resolutions, the General Assembly, the following year, adopted its resolution 3376 (XXX) of 10 November 1975, which created a Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, under whose aegis the organization of the commemoration of this Day of Solidarity was placed, in co-operation with the Special Unit on Palestinian Rights established under the Secretary-General in accordance with the provisions of General Assembly Resolution 32/140 B. I should like to take this opportunity to thank the Secretary-General and his colleagues for the objective and serious work accomplished by the Special Unit with regard to the guaranteeing of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, work accomplished despite all the difficulties, obstructions, blackmail and other attempts at sabotage faced by that Unit.

The political dimension of the question of Palestine broadened during previous sessions of the United Nations General Assembly. The international community, in all bodies, now accords it all due attention and importance. Thus, the recommendations of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, adopted by the General Assembly, have been endorsed in turn by the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries, the Organization of African Unity (OAU), the League of Arab States and the Islamic Conference. Countries like the European countries which, even in the recent past, showed a haughty indifference – at best – for the cause of the Palestinians, are beginning to display a more attentive understanding. In the light of the increasing international consensus, we even note confessions that are surprising to say the least. On the sixteenth of November, Mr. Abba Eban, the former Minister for Foreign Affairs of the State of Israel, said in an interview in the Jerusalem Post that:

On the same day the former American Secretary of State, Mr. Henry Kissinger, revealed at a press conference in London that one of his greatest regrets was that he had not pressed for Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank in 1974 and that if the problem had been studied when the disengagement agreement of July 1974 was adopted and the role of the PLO examined, there would have been a good chance for arriving at a comprehensive settlement. Considering that this American statesman was behind the agreement prohibiting any contact between his country and the PLO, it may only be hoped that his tardy repentance will cause him to take steps which will lead to the redress of all the harm he has done to the Palestinian people.

Such a step would be all the more useful as the triumph of the cause of the Palestinians is far from complete. The Security Council has not yet adopted the General Assembly's recommendations on the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people because of the abuse of the right of veto by one of its permanent members. Certain countries, while recognizing the legitimacy of the rights of the Palestinian people attach conditions to them which make them unrecognizable and impracticable. This attitude only encourages Israel in its intransigent policy of obstruction and defiance, manifested of late by stepped up oppression in the occupied Palestinian territories and by the establishment of new settlements or the expansion of those already in existence on the West Bank and in the Gaza district.

I should like to conclude my statement by reiterating the belief that we have expressed in these circumstances with regard to our deep conviction that the United Nations must play a principal role in the settlement of the question of Palestine. To this end, our Organization should give its resolute support to the just cause of the Palestinian people. Lessons drawn from past and present experience concerning the various attempts to reach a settlement in the Middle East have demonstrated that there can be no positive solution of this crisis without the effective participation of the representatives of the Palestinian people and that there is no representative of the Palestinian people but the PLO.

Statement by the President of the thirty-fourth session of the

General Assembly H.E. Mr. Salim A. Salim.

The long history of the United Nations involvement with regard to the question of Palestine imposes on the world body a special and urgent responsibility to see to it that justice is done in respect of the Palestinian people. The decision of the General Assembly to observe this day as the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People is therefore not just a matter of symbolic significance. It is an affirmation of the commitment of the international community to strive indefatigably for the realization of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people. Through this occasion, the General Assembly hopes to enlighten and mobilize international public opinion of the attainment of the lofty objectives of the United Nations in connexion with the question of Palestine.

Those objectives have been clearly set out in a number of resolutions adopted by the Assembly over the years. It is particularly relevant in this context to recall that the General Assembly has repeatedly called for the full and speedy exercise by the Palestinian people of their right to self-determination without external interference and to national independence and sovereignty, as well as their right to return to their homes and property from which they have been displaced and uprooted. In so doing this Assembly has been deeply conscious of the centrality of the Palestinian question in the entire Middle East dispute.

Indeed, events in the Middle East during the past decade have shown more clearly than ever before that a just solution of the problem of Palestine, which is at the very core of the Middle East conflict, remains the condition sine qua non of a lasting peace in the area.  A comprehensive settlement covering all aspects of the Middle East dispute cannot be conceived without regard to the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people. At the same time, proceeding from that widely acknowledged truism, there is increasing recognition that there cannot be a just and lasting peace in the Middle East without the effective involvement and participation of the Palestinian people and its representative the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).

Four times in the life of the United Nations, the Middle East has been plunged into awesome conflicts which have not only affected the lives of millions of human beings in the area, but also seriously and repeatedly endangered international peace and security. As you are all well aware, the situation remains most critical and explosive, as uncertainty, discord and violence continue to prevail in the area.

As we commemorate the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, it becomes all the more important that we should firmly rededicate ourselves to the promotion of a genuine and lasting settlement of the Middle East conflict. It is quite clear that the attainment of such an objective will continue to elude us unless the core of the Middle East conflict, namely the Palestinian question, is resolved. We must therefore work diligently for the realization of that objective and for the creation of all the conditions which are indispensable for a just and lasting peace in the area. These include the realization of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination, including the right to establish an independent State, the right of all States in the area to an independent existence, and the strict observance of the principle of the non-acquisition of territory by force.

The International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People provides an appropriate occasion for the world community to reiterate once again its solemn commitment and determination to extend maximum support to the Palestinian people and to associate itself with the defence of its cause. In that context, and in keeping with the mandate of the General Assembly, it is incumbent on all of us to work closely and co-operate fully with the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People in the discharge of its important task, to enable the people of Palestine to decide its own destiny in accordance with its freely expressed wish and true aspirations. For only through our collective effort and the scrupulous, speedy and complete implementation of the relevant decisions of the United Nations can the injustice inflicted upon the people of Palestine be corrected at last.

Before concluding, I should like to acknowledge with appreciation the very important work carried out by the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People under the outstanding and dedicated leadership of Ambassador Médoune Fall of Senegal. The role of that Committee within the context of the Organization's search for a solution to the Middle East conflict cannot be over-emphasized. I should like in that regard to reaffirm my personal conviction that the skill, wisdom and perception demonstrated by the Committee Chairman, my friend and colleague Ambassador Fall, will long be remembered and that the high standards he has set will continue to be upheld by the Committee towards the attainment of our common objectives.

Finally I wish to express my thanks to you, Mr. Chairman and to all the members of the Committee for the kind invitation extended to me to take part in this important and solemn meeting.

Statement by the Secretary-General, H.E. Mr. Kurt Waldheim

The annual observance of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, at the request of the General Assembly, serves to focus the attention of the international community on the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and gives the widest possible exposure to the facts relating to those rights. The observance not only is a measure of the international community's deep concern for the Palestinian people but also reflects its recognition that a just solution of the Palestinian problem is of overriding importance. As I said in my report on the work of the Organization:

Let me repeat here what I have said on previous occasions: "The Palestinian question is the core of the Middle East problem and there can be no solution to this problem without a positive settlement of this issue." Evidently the Palestine Liberation Organization must be involved in this process.

We are all only too well aware that the situation in the Middle East not only vitally affects stability in the region but carries a potential threat to the peace and security of the entire world. We can never forget that during the last thirty years the area has already seen four major conflicts. In spite of this awareness and despite the tremendous efforts that have been made to find a just and lasting solution to the problem, it continues to be one of the most complex, difficult and dangerous issues facing this Organization.

However, the fact that peace in the Middle East has eluded us for so long does not release us from our responsibility to continue our search for a solution. On the contrary, our commitment to this goal must be reinforced with a sense of urgency. The unresolved issue of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people remains a highly explosive one, and every effort has to be made to solve this problem on the basis of the Charter and the relevant resolutions of the United Nations. I remain confident that our Organization can make a significant contribution to this process.

In recent years the General Assembly has adopted several resolutions in its efforts to find a solution. Amongst them are resolutions which have reaffirmed the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including the right to self-determination, the right to national independence and sovereignty and the right of the Palestinians to return to their homes and property from which they have been displaced and uprooted. It was to draw up a programme for the implementation of those rights that the General Assembly established the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. This Committee has already made recommendations which the General Assembly has endorsed repeatedly and which, reflecting as they do the attitude of the majority of the membership, cannot fail to have an impact on the situation.

As you are aware, I myself have made a number of suggestions which, if accepted, would in my judgement make it possible to overcome the impasse that has lasted all too long. I wish to take this occasion to reaffirm my willingness to do everything in my power to contribute to this objective.

Mr. Chairman, this Committee, under your able leadership, is to be commended for its untiring efforts on behalf of Palestinian rights. The Palestinian people can take heart from the fact that our Organization is paying special attention to their rights. For them this meeting and the General Assembly's decision to commemorate this Day will undoubtedly carry a message of hope.

Statement by the President of the Security Council for the Month of

November 1979, H.E. Mr. Sergio Palacios de Vizzlo

First of all I wish to express to the members of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People my pleasure at taking part in this second commemoration of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. You were kind enough to invite me, in my capacity as President of the Security Council for the month of November, to attend this special, meeting which the Committee is holding pursuant to a decision of the General Assembly.

While I hold in high esteem a solemn moment such as this, I must say that my statement here does not reflect the collective views of the Security Council on this important question, nor does it in any way bind the Council as such. As the members of this Committee know, the Security Council has for several years been closely concerned with the efforts made to find a just and lasting settlement of the Middle East problem. As the organ entrusted with the principal responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, the Council has been called upon, very often on an emergency basis, to deal with Middle East problems which have been deemed to constitute a threat to international peace and security. In so doing the Council has been fully aware of the importance of the Palestinian dimension of this problem. At the very many meetings devoted to consideration of the problem of the Middle East and its various aspects the question of Palestine has been and continues to be today, a source of continued concern to the Security Council, as indeed it is to the international community as a whole. The international community has for a long time had the moral obligation to meet the humanitarian needs of those who find themselves homeless refugees as a result of the successive conflicts which have beset the Middle East since 1948. Naturally, first and foremost among those refugees are the Palestinian people, whose tragic destiny continues to evoke the understanding and sympathy of the world today. However, there is growing awareness of the fact that humanitarian assistance essential as it may be, cannot replace participation by the Palestinian people in the rights which all peoples enjoy under the Charter.

In commemorating this Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People in response to the wishes of the General Assembly, the Committee over which you preside, Mr. Chairman, is thus specifically emphasizing the need, which is increasingly and eloquently expressed, to enable the Palestinian people to enjoy the inalienable rights which have been recognized and reiterated in many General Assembly resolutions.

This day also offers us an opportunity to inform public opinion of the urgent need to rind a just and lasting solution to the problem. The Security Council is still seized of the recommendations made by the Committee at the thirty-first session of the General Assembly, which have been endorsed repeatedly by the General Assembly at subsequent sessions. When the Council met in June, July and August to deal with this question, many of its members who took part in the debate once again reaffirmed that there was no possibility of bringing about a just and lasting peace in the Middle East unless an equitable solution for the Palestinian question was found based on the exercise by the Palestinian people of its inalienable rights.

Without recalling in detail the main elements which have served as guides to your Committee in preparing its recommendations to the General Assembly, I wish to point out that the Security Council, in its resolution 242 (1967) adopted unanimously in 22 November 1967, has already affirmed some of the main principles contained in those recommendations. In its efforts to promote a just settlement to the question of Palestine, the Security Council will continue to be guided by the principles of the Charter and by the relevant resolutions of the United Nations.

Messages from heads of State

AFGHANISTAN

H.E. Mr. Haffizullah Amin, General Secretary of the Central Committee

of the People's Democratic Party, of Afghanistan,

President of the Revolutionary Council and Prime Minister

of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan

As the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian people is being observed throughout the world, I take pleasure in reiterating the well-known stand and firm revolutionary solidarity of the Government of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan and the freedom-loving, hard working people of Afghanistan with the liberation struggle of the heroic Palestinian people under the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the representative of the Palestinian people.

The ever-increasing world-wide support for the just cause of the Palestinian people, particularly the unreserved and many-sided support and solidarity extended to the continued struggle of the Palestinian people by the peace-loving and progressive countries and forces confirms the legitimacy of the struggle of the Palestinians for the restoration of their usurped rights. It is an undeniable fact that a just and lasting peace in the Middle East can be achieved only when all Israeli occupation forces are unconditionally withdrawn from the occupied Arab and Palestinian lands and not through partial agreements or secret understandings.

The restoration of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including their right to establish an independent national State of their own, is a prerequisite for any comprehensive solution to the Middle East problem. The Government of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan reiterates its support for the continued efforts of the United Nations in this regard.

The struggle of the Palestinian people, being part of the struggle of all oppressed peoples waged against forces of imperialism, colonialism, neo-colonialism, apartheid and racism, including zionism, will eventually succeed.

BAHRAIN

His Highness the Emir of the State of Bahrain Sheikh Isa bin Sulman Khalifa

Today the United Nations and the whole world are celebrating the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, at a time when the crimes of Israel are increasing through annexation of occupied Arab lands, Judaizing them and obliterating their characteristics. This is being done in order to realize expansionist Israeli aims in Palestine, against the Palestinian people who are under the yoke of occupation and are exposed to the greatest crime of annihilation, denounced by the international conscience.

On such a day 32 years ago – to be precise, 29 November 1947 – the United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution 181 (II) on the partition of Palestine, which was taken by Israel, with zionism behind it, as a pretext to invade Palestine and expel its peoples from their land and to disperse them so that they now live in exile. Ever since that time the area of the Middle East has known neither calm nor security, but it has witnessed the horrors of four terrible wars which were launched by Israel, bringing destruction to the people of the whole area. The whole world was on the brink of a serious war. This would not have happened if Israel had not refused to grant the rights of the Palestinian people – the very people who are still deprived of exercising their inalienable rights, as recognized by the international community, particularly their right to self-determination, provided in the United Nations Charter.

This people were exposed, and indeed still are, to dispersal, killings and terrorism at the hands of Israel and international zionism as a result of its refusal to recognize the factual position.

In spite of all these events, the Palestinian people are still struggling to restore their legitimate rights to self-determination and repatriation to their land and to the establishment of an independent State on the soil of Palestine.

It has been made clear on more than one occasion that the Emirate of Bahrain reaffirms the fact that the Palestinian issue is at the heart of the Middle East problem. This problem cannot be solved without finding a solution to the Palestinian crisis, which lies in granting the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, including their right to self-determination and to the establishment of a national State on their national soil under the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the legitimate and sole representative of the Palestinian people.

In this connexion, we have supported and endorsed the efforts of the United Nations in several resolutions which have been adopted on the Palestine issue with the aim of finding a peaceful and just solution to this cause and in order to bring peace and security to this part of the world.

Yet these resolutions have not been implemented, because of Israel's refusal to comply with them and its persistence in ignoring the national rights of the Palestinian people, which have been recognized by the United Nations and by the whole international community. Today, while the United Nations for the second time celebrates the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, we should like to take the opportunity to reaffirm the responsibility and the role which was – and still is – to be shouldered by the United Nations in ensuring that the Palestinian people obtain their legitimate rights.

Thus, the United Nations is requested today to support the struggle of the Palestinian people for the restoration of its usurped rights and for the cessation of the oppression practised against it.

On this occasion we commend the steadfastness of the Palestinian people in its struggle against international zionism and for the restoration of its inalienable rights, and we appeal at the same time to all, peoples of the world and all peace-loving countries to support right and justice and to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people and support it in its crisis aiding it in its struggle to attain its legitimate rights in order that peace may be restored to the Land of Peace.  

BANGLADESH

H.E. Mr. Ziaur Rahman,

President of the People's Republic of Bangladesh

It is with a sense of gratification that I have learned that the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People is organizing a special meeting to commemorate the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. On this solemn occasion I should like to emphasize once again that any comprehensive settlement must guarantee a just and lasting peace in the Middle East and that that settlement must accept the fact that the question of Palestine lies at the heart of the Middle East problem. All canons of justice and morality demand the restoration to the Palestinians of their inalienable national rights, including their right to a State of their own.

Bangladesh condemns in the strongest possible terms the continued attempt of Israel to perpetuate its occupation by force of all Arab lands through illegal settlement and through their efforts to change the demographic situation of the occupied territories in contravention of the Geneva convention.

In this regard Bangladesh lends total support to the decisions of the meetings of the Summit of the Islamic Conference and the declaration of the Non-Aligned Summit in Havana.

I convey my best wishes to the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People for the success of the commemorative meeting.

BULGARIA

H.E. Mr. Todor Zhivkov, First Secretary of the Central Committee

of the Bulgarian Communist Party and President of the

State Council of the People's Republic of Bulgaria

The courageous struggle of the people of Palestine to defend their vital interests, their right to self-determination and their right to set up a State of their own has always enjoyed the sympathy and the full support of my country. The tragedy of these people, driven away from their homeland and deprived of the means of existence and their fundamental human rights, is ever more clearly recognized in all its acuteness by world public opinion, and it arouses the indignation and anger of all progressive and democratic forces and nations throughout the world.

On this day, 29 November, the international community censures the Israeli Government's gross disregard of United Nations resolutions and its actions in the occupied Arab territories, including the uprooting of the indigenous Arab population, the expropriation of its property, the mass arrests, the construction of Israeli settlements, the annexation of the Eastern part of Jerusalem and the plunder and desecration of Arab historical and cultural values.

The People's Republic of Bulgaria has stated more than once that a just settlement of the Palestine issue cannot be achieved outside the framework of a comprehensive settlement of the Middle East problem. Therefore, my country resolutely condemns the Camp David accords and the separatist Egypt-Israeli deal as well as the current negotiations on the so-called administrative autonomy of the West Bank and the Gaza strip. Those plans are aimed not only against the vital interests of the Arab people of Palestine, but also threaten to eliminate the achievements of the Arab national liberation movement and to undermine international detente. In countering these attempts and in doing away with their fatal consequences in this complex and explosive setting, the cohesion and unity of action of all progressive and patriotic Arab forces and their friendship and co-operation with the countries of the socialist community, and the Soviet Union in particular, have acquired particular importance. We believe that a just and lasting settlement of she crisis can only be achieved through complete and unconditional withdrawal of Israeli troops from all Arab territories occupied in 1967, through the realization of the inalienable rights of the Arab people of Palestine, including their right to self-determination and to the establishment of a State of their own, as well as the right of the Palestinians to return to their homeland in conformity with the relevant United Nations resolutions, and through guaranteeing the independent existence and the security of all countries in the region.

In order to achieve such a just solution, the collective effort of all parties concerned is needed, together with the participation on an equal footing of the Palestine Liberation Organization as the sole legitimate representative of the Arab people of Palestine.

CHINA

H.E. Mr. Hua Guofeng,

Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China

On the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, I would like to extend, on behalf of the Chinese Government and people, our high respects to the Palestinian people who are waging a heroic struggle to regain their national rights.

Over the last 30 years or so, Israel, abetted and supported by the super-powers has been continuously carrying out aggression and expansion. Over a million Palestinian people were driven out of their homeland, deprived of their national rights and plunged into dire misery. However, fearing no brute force of sacrifices, the Palestinian people, led by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), have persisted in a struggle, which unfolded wave upon wave. They have gone through all kinds of difficulties, stood severe tests, and are winning support and sympathy from an increasing number of countries and peoples.

The Chinese Government holds that the United Nations is duty bound to adopt clear-cut resolutions on the settlement of the Palestinian issue, conforming to the national rights and interests of the Palestinian people and other Arab peoples, and take effective measures for their implementation.

This is a matter of great importance which concerns not only the upholding of justice but the defence of peace in the Middle East and the world as a whole. I would like to avail myself of this opportunity to reaffirm that the Chinese Government and people will unswervingly support the lust struggle of the Palestinian people to regain their national rights, including the right to establish their own State, and that of other Arab peoples to recover their lost territories. We strongly condemn Israel's policy of aggression and expansion and its pre-emptory attitude of obstructing an over-all settlement of the Middle East issue. We are sure that, as long as they close their ranks and join their efforts, the Palestinian people and other Arab peoples, supported by all the justice-upholding countries and people, will surmount all difficulties on their road to progress and win final victory.

CYPRUS

H.E. Mr. Spyros Kyprianou,

President of the Republic of Cyprus 

On the occasion of the observance of 29 November as the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, I wish to stress the necessity for the application of all the relevant United Nations resolutions on Palestine which can ensure peace and stability in this sensitive area of the world. I would like to add that it is imperative that the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people should be thoroughly respected including the right to establish their own independent sovereign state. Cyprus will continue to play its modest role on this question.

CZECHOSLOVAKIA

H.E. Mr. Gustav Husak, General Secretary of the Central Committee

of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia and

President of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic

The Czechoslovak people follow with great sympathy and support the heroic struggle which the Arab people of Palestine and their political vanguard the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), are waging against imperialism, zionism and reaction, in which they are supported by the progressive forces of the whole world. We are convinced that only a just and comprehensive solution of the conflict in the Middle East, with the participation of all the interested parties, including the PLO, can provide for a permanent peaceful settlement in that area and guarantee the legitimate rights of that people. A just solution must be based on an unconditional withdrawal of Israeli troops from all occupied territories, on the implementation of the inalienable rights of the Arab people of Palestine, including their right to self-determination and the establishment of their own independent State, and on safeguarding the rights of all the countries in that, region to a peaceful and safe existence.

DEMOCRATIC KAMPUCHEA

H.E. Mr. Khieu Samphan,

President of the Presidium of the State of Democratic Kampuchea

On behalf of the people and of the Government of Democratic Kampuchea, and on my own behalf, it is a special pleasure for me to convey to you and to the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People our warmest congratulations on the tireless and noble efforts which you have continuously undertaken to defend the just cause of the Palestinian people which for decades has been struggling, under the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization, to regain its independence and its freedom.

To the heroic Palestinian people and to the PLO I should like to reiterate our indefatigable support and solidarity and, at the same time, express our firm conviction that the enormous sacrifices they have made and the tests which they continue to withstand are in the last analysis the surest guarantees of the victory of their valiant struggle.

Today, the Israeli Zionists, despite the condemnation of world public opinion and in flagrant violation of international law as well as of United Nations resolutions, continue to pursue their policy of aggression and annexation towards Arab countries, including Lebanon, and the territories occupied by force since 1967. Along with such acts of aggression and annexation the Zionist authorities are stepping up their barbarous repression of the Palestinian population and other Arab peoples, and recently they arrogantly expelled the Mayor of Nablus from occupied Palestinian territory.

The people and the Government of Democratic Kampuchea condemn that Israeli policy which constitutes a serious threat to international peace and security. We consider it necessary for measures to be adopted to put an end to this inadmissible situation.

We stress once again that the Palestinian problem continues to be the key to the problem of the Middle East and that the peoples and countries of that region will only be able to live in peace and security when the Palestinian people fully exercises its inalienable national rights and, in particular, its right to reintegrate its country, its right to decide its own fate and its right to establish an independent Palestinian State on Palestinian soil.

It is on the basis of those feelings that I wish you every success in your important mission.

DEMOCRATIC YEMEN

H.E. Mr. Abdul Fatah-Ismail, Secretary-General of the

Central Committee of the Yemeni Socialist Party and Chairman

of the People's Supreme Council of Democratic Yemen

We of the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen welcome from the bottom of our hearts the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. On behalf of the People's Supreme Council and our Yemeni people, I should like to convey to you our deep appreciation and thanks for the efforts you are making in support of the just and inalienable rights of the Palestinian people. We also deeply appreciate the efforts of the United Nations to enable the Palestinian people to enjoy their legitimate rights, as other peoples have, for the benefit of security and peace of the Middle East.

The establishment of the Israeli aggressor State in the heart of the Arab nations has caused wars and instability in the area for more than 30 years, and the Middle East has never known stability and peace. This is because of the crimes committed by world zionism in usurping Palestine and dispersing the people of Palestine. Today, in spite of the various United Nations resolutions recognizing the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and their sole legitimate representative, the Palestine Liberation Organization, Israel continues to occupy the Arab territories and refuses to withdraw from them, while receiving support and encouragement from United States imperialism in carrying out its aggressive expansionist policy, as we can see today in the south of Lebanon.

Democratic Yemen, which has stated its position on the situation in the Middle East in the United Nations and in all other international forums, states once again that peace in the Middle East will not be achieved on the basis of the Camp David accords. There is only one path to peace in the Middle East, and that is complete and unconditional Israeli withdrawal from all the occupied Arab territories and recognition of the rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination and to the establishment of their own independent State under the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization, which has enjoyed international recognition and support. The International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, under the auspices of the United Nations, is a further affirmation of the international support the Palestinian people have received in their just struggle for the restoration of their legitimate national rights and it is also proof of the isolation and the failure of Israel and those who support it.

EGYPT

H.E. Mr. Mohammed Anwar El-Sadat,

President of the Arab Republic of Egypt

The people and Government of Egypt are truly happy to participate today in the celebration of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. The celebration of this day by the United Nations is a reaffirmation of the international community's commitment to the principles of the Charter as an expression of belief in the need for the establishment of an international order based on justice, equality and respect for the rights of peoples.

You will, I am sure, agree that throughout their long history the Palestinian people have been faced with attempts to destroy their national identity and that some of these attempts have even gone so far as to deny their existence. These attempts were the cause of the unique human tragedy with which our region has been afflicted. Throughout this period Egypt, with the support of all the forces that care for peace and justice, has been the leading advocate of the need for the Palestinian people to obtain their inalienable national rights so that it would be possible to establish the just and lasting peace which would safeguard the right of all the peoples of the region to live in security within their homelands free from threats or aggression. In all its endeavours, Egypt has made it clear that the achievement of peace in the Middle East must be based on the principles of international justice and legality and on recognition of the fact that the question of Palestine lies at the heart of the dispute. The current Egyptian initiatives are only a continuation of the earlier sacrifices made by Egypt with a view to enabling the Palestinian people to obtain their freedom and exercise their right to self-determination. It is our belief that these initiatives are currently paving the way for the Palestinian people to recover their rights and establish their national authority in their land.

Egypt believes that the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People should be marked by effective rather than merely verbal solidarity. After this long period of injustice and suffering, the people of Palestine expect the international community and, in particular, the countries of the region to transform their verbal solidarity into tangible actions which would enable this time-honoured people to obtain their freedom and exercise their right to self-determination.

GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC

H.E. Mr. Erich Honecker, General Secretary of the Central Committee

of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany and Chairman of the

Council of State of the German Democratic Republic

The International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People is an occasion for us to reaffirm the German Democratic Republic's consistent support of the just struggle fought by the Palestinian people and its legitimate representative, the Palestine Liberation Organization, for self-determination and the creation of its own State.

Abiding by the humanistic principles of our policy, we will also in future assist, and display solidarity with, the afflicted Palestinian people in its efforts for the safeguarding of its legitimate interests.

Developments in the Middle East confirm that the region remains one of those with the greatest potential of tension in the world as long as its crucial problem, the question of Palestine, is not settled on a basis of justice. The separate agreements have aggravated the situation further. Israel has been encouraged to persist in its policy of aggression and occupation. The German Democratic Republic declares its opposition to any attempts to involve the United Nations in some way or other in the implementation of the separate deals, which pose a danger to peace.

I take the opportunity to reaffirm on behalf of the German Democratic Republic, and in conformity with United Nations resolutions, that a just solution to the problem of Palestine in the context of a comprehensive Middle East settlement is only possible if Israeli troops are withdrawn from all the Arab territories occupied in 1967 and if the inalienable national rights of the Palestinian people are ensured. Both demands, which are organically linked, constitute the fundamental prerequisite for a just and lasting peace and for the independent existence and security of the States and peoples of that region.

GUYANA

H.E. Mr. Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham,

Prime Minister of Guyana

On the occasion of the anniversary of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, I wish to reaffirm the active solidarity of the Government and People of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana with the Palestinian people, a people who for the past three decades waged a heroic struggle for the restoration of their inalienable national rights.

It is one of the sad ironies of the contemporary world, which has seen the retreat of colonialism and the rise of independent nation States, that a whole generation of Arab people has been denied their patrimony and forced to exist as refugees, many of them in their on country.

In the current circumstances it is imperative that the international community should intensify its efforts to reach urgently a just and lasting solution to the question of Palestine, fraught as it is with the potential for causing a global conflagration. Such a solution must encompass the complete withdrawal of Israel from all Arab lands occupied since June 1967, the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, including the right to establish an independent State in Palestine, and the acknowledgement of the right of every State in the region to live within mutually recognized borders.

I reaffirm the unflinching support of Guyana for the legitimate struggle being waged by the Palestinian people under the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization, their sole and legitimate representative, for the recovery of their usurped national rights.

The Government of Guyana applauds the success of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People is securing ever-increasing support among the international community for the Palestinian cause.

HUNGARY

H.E. Pál Losonczi,

President of the Presidential Council of the Hungarian People's Republic

Adhering to the principles of its foreign policy the Hungarian People's Republic has most consistently supported and will continue to support the struggle that the long-suffering Palestinian Arab people wages under the leadership of its sole legitimate representative, the Palestine Liberation Organization, for asserting its national rights and establishing its independent and sovereign state.

The struggle of the Palestinian Arab people aimed at defeating the manoeuvres of imperialism and Israel in the Middle East has deservedly evoked the sympathy and solidarity of progressive world public opinion and those of the Hungarian people. We welcome and support the resolutions and activities of the United Nations aimed at promoting the victory of the just cause of the Palestinian Arab people and full international recognition of the Palestine Liberation Organization.

We are of the conviction that no lasting, comprehensive and just settlement can be achieved in the Middle East unless the inalienable legitimate national rights of the Palestinian Arab people are secured.

On the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People allow me to assure the Palestinian Arab people – on behalf of the Hungarian people, the Presidential Council of the Hungarian People's Republic and my own – of our continuing support in their heroic struggle and to express our wish that your struggle be crowned with success.

INDIA

H.E. Mr. Chaudhury Charan Singh,

Prime Minister of India

I would like to extend, on behalf of the Government and people of India, my best wishes on the occasion of the celebration of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. It is gratifying to note that the just cause of the Palestinian people is increasingly being appreciated by the world community. I would like to reiterate that India has always believed that a resolution of the Palestinian problem, in all its aspects, is essential for peace in West Asia and the world.

IRAQ

H.E. Mr. Saddam Hussein,

President of the Republic of Iraq

Your Excellency, the Chairman of the Committee, it gives me pleasure on this important occasion commemorating the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, to renew, in the name of Iraq, our great esteem and appreciation for the resolution adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 1 November 1977 in this connexion and the efforts which continue to be made by your Committee to commemorate this Day in a fitting manner.

This is a contribution by the Committee to creating general international awareness of the catastrophic situation of the Palestinian people living under the yoke of the Zionist occupation and the national struggle of the Palestinian resistance for restoration and liberation.

The Iraqi position with regard to the Palestinian cause is unshakable, clear and straightforward, and we have expressed our opinion several times. We consider the Palestinian cause to be the cause of the whole Arab nation, and the struggle of this nation with the Zionist entity is in fact a humane and civilizing conflict aimed at the liberation of the occupied Arab lands, giving the Arab nations the opportunity to have an effective role in human culture. Of real satisfaction to us and confirming our belief in the viability of the Arab struggle to realize its aspirations are such current developments as the awareness of the international community as to the dimensions of the imperialist-Zionist machinations emanating from the Camp David agreements and the conciliation agreements between Sadat and the Zionist entity, and the increasing sympathy for the Arab cause and the Palestinian revolution. What is witnessed by your General Assembly and its various Committees today, such as the positive and tangible progress in this just cause and the adoption of various resolutions condemning the Zionist occupation authorities and reaffirming the Arab and Palestinian requests are a real help to us and to the Palestinian people in combatting all the imperialist machinations aimed at imposing surrender on the Arab nations, and it helps us to continue our struggle to liberate all Palestinian and Arab occupied lands.

We commend the efforts made by the Committee to formulate the rights of the Palestinian people in all their dimensions and to achieve solidarity with the Palestinian Arab people and extend assistance to it in the broadest international sense.

We reaffirm to you that Iraq has made preparations to celebrate this Day in the best possible manner.

In conclusion, we wish your meeting all success.

JAMAICA

H.E. Mr. N.W. Manley,

Prime Minister of Jamaica

My Government welcomes the opportunity provided on this day to reaffirm our full support for the Palestinian people in their just struggle to exercise their inalienable rights.

Jamaica regards the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People as one of the most important events on the calendar of United Nations activities. We regard it thus because it serves to focus attention on one of the most vexing and potentially most explosive problems of our times. At the same time, it provides an opportunity for the world community to make a contribution to the search for a solution.

Jamaica wishes on this occasion to reiterate our firm belief that no over-all settlement is possible in the Middle East without a resolution of the issue which lays at the very core of the problem – the question of Palestinian rights.

Any proposed settlement or initiative, no matter how well-intentioned, which does not fully address itself to the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including the right to self-determination and independence, invites failure and begs non-acceptance by the vast majority of the members of the international community.

Jamaica continues to believe that the complex and multi-faceted nature of the situation which exists its the Middle East requires a comprehensive settlement which is best sought within the framework of the United Nations.

Further, it remains our view that the search for a just and lasting peace in the region requires the participation of all parties concerned, including the Palestine Liberation Organization, the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.

The prime concern of the international community must be with a just solution – a solution capable of bringing lasting peace and of removing, once and for all, this long-standing threat to international peace and security. Jamaica wishes to re-emphasize, particularly at this time, that such a solution can be found within the framework of the relevant United rations resolutions.

Once again, Jamaica reiterates its support for the Palestinian people in their just struggle.

JORDAN

His Majesty, King Hussein Ibn Talal,

King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

Ambassador Fall, Chairman of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, I should like to convey to you my sincere appreciation and deep conviction of the international solidarity with the Palestinian people who were evicted from their land, the land of their forefathers, by the Zionist movement. The Palestinian people are still suffering under the yoke of imperialism and zionism.

I believe as do the Jordanian people – and our fraternal people, the Palestinians, and the Arab people in general also have great hopes of this – that this International Day of Solidarity will inspire the United Nations to shoulder its full responsibility so as to bring about the withdrawal of the aggressive forces of occupation from all the occupied Arab and Palestinian lands, in particular from Jerusalem, and the restoration of the right of the Palestinian people to return to their sacred land of Palestine, and their right to self-determination and to the establishment of a national entity, an inalienable right which should be enjoyed by the Palestinian people and by all peoples of the world. That would be also a realization and implementation of the United Nations Charter and of the resolutions adopted during the last three decades.

Mr. Chairman, we commend your noble efforts exerted on behalf of the Palestinian people, which is represented by the Palestine Liberation Organization. We hope that your sincere efforts will be crowned with success so that the plight of the Palestinian people may be alleviated and we are fully aware of the support of the international community for the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people.

Lastly, I hope, Sir, that you will accept my deep appreciation and esteem, and I should like to express my full conviction that right will overcome all forms of oppression and aggression thanks to the struggle of our nation and the solidarity of all people of the world who believe in freedom and justice and real peace, principles that are represented at the United Nations. May God preserve and help you.

KUWAIT

His Highness Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah,

the Emir of the State of Kuwait

It is a source of satisfaction to direct to you this message, on the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. This day is a true indication of the great noble human feelings of sympathy with peoples who have suffered a great deal. They have been taken from their homeland unjustly, but the Palestinian people have stood for 30 years with determination against all types of injustice and ingratitude from the international community and they have fought alone to restore their own homeland. Unless the world does justice to these people and to their usurped rights and stands by them until their legitimate rights have been restored, the tragedy of the Palestinian people will remain, casting a shadow over the prospects of peace and understanding among States, particularly in an area of such sensitivity as the Middle East occupies in the world.

The world of today is witnessing intensified actions and efforts which are being deployed in order to improve relations between peoples and countries in a bid to increase understanding, to bring about closer relationships and to create an atmosphere of trust and understanding so that people may rebuild their country and provide the basic requirements of the people of each nation.

One of the most important requirements is that man should know that in this world he has a homeland which harbours him, particularly a man whose home has been usurped from him by force and who has been left dispersed and oppressed.

The members of this Committee are fully aware of this fact. Therefore, the sense of understanding and sympathy for the Palestinian people is a source of optimism. The time will come when justice and right will prevail and when these militant struggling people will regain their rights and return to their homeland.

I send my best wishes that your noble efforts will be crowned with success.

LEBANON

H.E. Mr. Elias Sarkis,

President of the Republic of Lebanon

The Declaration by the General Assembly of 29 November as the Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People seeks to lay down the basic ideals on which the United Nations depends and which are represented by freedom, justice and equality.

Lebanon, in announcing its solidarity with those who are defending the oppressed people, does so inspired by its commitment to every cause of justice and right, whether it be on its own territory or on any territory in the world.

Lebanon has suffered a great deal of distress and suffering and its peoples have suffered dispersal and destruction, as well as exile. The cause of the people cannot be dealt with other than within the natural framework and it must be pointed out that justice is indivisible. If the Palestinian cause, in all its dimensions and weightiness, has awakened the international conscience of man, the time has come to interpret this crisis of consciousness by taking practical and positive steps which will absorb the violent repercussions which shake the Middle East as a whole and threaten humanity.

I wish you, Sir, and your Committee every success in your work and your efforts in seeking justice and peace and permanent rights.

MADAGASCAR

H.E. Mr. Didier Ratsiraka,

President of_the Democratic Republic of Madagascar

On the occasion of the commemoration of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, I wish on behalf of the people of Madagascar, the Supreme Revolutionary Council of the Government, and personally, to join our voice to those many voices throughout the world which have expressed grave concern over the fate of the Arab people of Palestine.

Peace and justice, which are the cornerstone of our domestic and foreign policy, and the commitment into which we entered freely and resolutely to support the cause of people who struggle to free themselves from colonialism, neo-colonialism, imperialism and zionism, make it incumbent upon us unreservedly to express our full and active solidarity with the Palestinian people deprived of their national rights.

This martyred but courageous people require constant attention and urgent action by the international community. We realize that the efforts which have been undertaken are commensurate with the complexity of the situation in the Middle East and the tragedies which have been suffered by the Palestinian people for more than 30 years. It is widely recognized that the solution to the Palestinian problem, a recognized prerequisite for peace and security in the region, essentially lies in the achievement of the national rights of the Palestinian people and the exercise of their right to self-determination, independence and national sovereignty as well as the establishment of an independent State.

Any attempt at a settlement which disregards the inalienable rights or which deliberately ignores the Palestine Liberation Organization, the sole authentic representative of the Palestinian people, will inexorably be doomed to failure and will only exacerbate the situation in the region. Therefore we cannot endorse the Camp David agreements or the separate Egyptian Israeli peace treaty, which we consider to be a betrayal of the Arab cause and a serious obstacle to the search for a peaceful solution to the problems of the Middle East.

May the solemn commemoration of this Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People be a time for reflection and inspiration which will point the efforts of the members of the international community in the right direction in their search for a just and lasting solution of the Middle East problem.

MALI 

General Moussa Traore, Secretary-General of the Democratic Union

of the Malian People and President of the Republic

The second observance of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People provides me with a legitimate opportunity to reaffirm, on behalf of the Malian people, their party, the Democratic Union of the Malian People, their Government and myself, our deep concern at developments in the Middle East and their possible consequences. Being anxious about the disquieting degradation of the Islamic and Arab status of the Holy City of Jerusalem and convinced that its liberation can be achieved only with the withdrawal of Israel from the occupied Palestinian and Arab lands and the restoration of the inalienable and lawful rights of the Palestinian people in accordance with all the relevant resolution of the United Nations, we reiterate our active and unswerving support for the cause of the Palestinian people in their heroic struggle against occupation and repression, and our complete availability for any action to bring about their return to the land of their forefathers and to restore security, peace and prosperity in the region.

Wishing your meeting every success.

MAURITANIA

H.E. Mr. Mohamed Khouna Haidalla,

Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania

Mr. Chairman, dear brother, the celebration of the International Day of Solidarity with the valiant Palestine people provides us with an occasion to reaffirm our total and active support for the sacred cause of the Palestinian revolution. Furthermore, the defence of the holy places calls for our continued support and we join in the efforts of the Arab nations and all peace and justice loving peoples to that end.

We will make every effort to restore the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people. We are convinced that under the guidance of the Palestine Liberation Organization the cause of the Palestinian people will undoubtedly triumph.

In conclusion, I wish to pay a deserved tribute to you for the positive work which you have carried out as the head of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People.

The unquestionable success of the Committee in the international community and the progress made diplomatically by the Palestine Liberation Organization end the Palestinian people have largely been made possible not only by your determination but as a result of your outstanding qualities as a diplomat and your far-sightedness.

We are grateful for that inestimable contribution. In highest esteem. 

MONGOLIA

H.E. Mr. Yumjaagyn Tsedenbal, First Secretary of the Central Committee

of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party and President of the

Presidium of the Great People's Khural of the Mongolian People's Republic

On behalf of the Government and the people of the Mongolian People's Republic, as well as in my own name, I extend our heartfelt greetings to the Palestinian people and their legitimate representative, the Palestine Liberation Organization, on the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. On this memorable day I wish to reiterate that the Mongolian people, together with all the progressive forces of the world, continue in their unswerving support for and full solidarity with the just struggle which has been waged for many years by the Arab people of Palestine for their freedom and independence.

It should be noted that world public opinion has become increasingly aware of the fact that the Palestinian issue is the core of the Middle East problem and that a just and lasting peace in that region cannot be achieved without the exercise by the Palestinian people of their inalienable rights, including the right to self-determination and the right to establish an independent Palestinian State. This has been clearly demonstrated by the deliberations of the General Assembly and other United Nations organs and, most recently, at the Sixth Conference of Heads of State or Government of the Non-Aligned Countries, on the question of Palestine.

Our Government and people resolutely condemn the Egyptian-Israeli deal, reached with the direct participation of the United States, as an act which engenders serious difficulties in the way of achieving a just settlement of the Middle East problem, and particularly of ensuring the exercise of the legitimate rights of the Arab people of Palestine.

We sincerely wish the heroic people of Palestine and the Palestine Liberation Organization, its Executive Committee and Comrade Yasser Arafat new successes in the sacred struggle for foiling the designs of imperialism, zionism and other reactionary forces, and for strengthening the great cause of peace, national independence and the social progress of nation in the Middle East.

OMAN

His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin Said,

Sultan of Oman

On this occasion it gives us great pleasure to reiterate and extend our support to and solidarity with the Palestinian people in their just struggle to achieve their goals. The sufferings encountered by the Palestinian people constitute a human tragedy. It is the duty of every peace-loving nation to join in observing this day as a Day of Solidarity with and support for the Palestinian people, who have resorted to all legitimate means to restore their rights.

The political role played by the Palestine Liberation Organization on the international level towards the achievement of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East deserves our support and backing. Against this we note that Israel is still exercising illegal authority in the Arab territories occupied since 1967 and is practising treacherous policies against the Palestinian people. Israel continues its effort to crush the aspiration of the Palestinian people and to fabricate various excuses to drive them out of their homes and seize their lands. This atrocious and illegal policy jeopardizes peace and security in the region and threatens grave consequences unless we all forestall them by pressing Israel to change its policy, to recognize the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, to stop its aggression against the Arab nation and to refrain from its oppression of the people of Palestine.

On this occasion we hail the United Nations for devoting much of its effort and attention to the Palestinian cause, and we urge its continuing its role in supporting the just rights and aspirations of the Palestinian people, as expressed by their representative, the Palestine Liberation Organization.

Please accept our best wishes and appreciation for your efforts and those of the members of the Committee.

PAKISTAN

H.K. General Mohammed Zia ul-Haq,

President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan

Pakistan, ever since its independence, has given full and firm support to the people of Palestine in their struggle for the realization of their legitimate and national rights.

Solidarity with our Palestinian brothers transcends considerations and is based on inviolable and eternal principles of justice and equity. We have on numerous occasions reiterated our conviction that there can be no just, comprehensive and lasting settlement in the Middle East which ignores the legitimate and national rights of the Palestinian people and excludes the Palestine Liberation Organization, their sole legal representative from participation in peace negotiations.

While some satisfaction can be derived from the fact that there is increasing support for the restoration of the rights of the Palestinians, we believe that the momentum has not only to be sustained but accelerated to speed up the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on their territory.

As the world community observes, the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian people, we reaffirm our support to their just cause and our willingness to continue to render assistance in the realization of their objectives.

It is the inescapable obligation of the international community to exert all-out efforts to ensure that justice prevails and the long struggle of the people of Palestine is crowned with success.

PHILIPPINES

H.E. Mr. Ferdinand E. Marcos,

President and Prime Minister of the Republic of the Philippines

On behalf of the people and Government of the Philippines I take pleasure in extending sincere greetings to Your Excellency and through you to the members of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People on the solemn occasion of the observance of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People on 29 November 1979.

The people and Government of the Philippines are firmly committed to a just and lasting solution of the question of Palestine, based on Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973), providing for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from occupied Arab territories, as well as the right of all the States in the region to an independent existence within secure and recognized boundaries. An enduring solution must also include the recognition of the legitimate rights to self-determination and independence of the people of Palestine in their own homeland.

At the request of the Secretary-General of the United Nations and of the Committee and in keeping with the Philippine Government's policy of firm support for the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, I am pleased to inform you that the Philippines will observe the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People with an exhibition at the Philippine International Convention Centre in Manila on 29 November 1979.

I take this opportunity to congratulate Your Excellency and through you the members of the Committee, whose important work the Philippines supports, for your dedicated efforts to secure their legitimate rights.

POLAND

H.E. Professor Henryk Jablonski, President of the Council of State

of the Polish People's Republic, Chairman of the All-Poland

Committee of the National Unity Front

On the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, on behalf of the supreme authorities of the Polish People's Republic, the Polish people and in my own name, I wish to convey most cordial wishes and greetings to the heroic people of Palestine, its leading force, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and to you personally.

To the people of Poland which, unlike few other nations, has known the price of strife against aggression and militarism for the freedom and independence of its native land, the courageous and relentless struggle of the Palestinian people for the realization of its national aspirations, for the right to its own independent existence and development, is particularly close and appreciable.

It is for these reasons that we firmly and consistently proceed from the position that the Way towards a lasting and just settlement of the Middle East crisis leads through a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from all the Arab lands occupied since 1967 and the realization of the inalienable rights of the Arab people of Palestine, including its right to self-determination and the establishment of its own independent State.

The achievement of that goal cannot be possible unless collective efforts are taken towards a comprehensive solution of the Middle East problem, with the participation of all the parties concerned, including the Palestine Liberation Organization as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, the real exponent of the national aspirations of the Arab people of Palestine.

The separatist agreements have resulted in an even greater aggravation of tensions in the Middle East. Developments confirm that such a method delays, complicates and consequently prevents the attainment of a lasting peace, and poses the threat of an international conflict, particularly detrimental to the vital interests of all peoples and States in the region. The International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, observed under the auspices of the United Nations, is an important event both for the Palestinian people and the Palestine Liberation Organization, as well as for the entire progressive international community. The observances of the Day are ample proof of the general recognition of and support for the legitimate Palestinian cause, now becoming ever more evident among the States and peoples of the world.

On this important occasion please accept from the highest authorities of the Polish People's Republic and the Polish people the best and most cordial wishes for further accomplishments and successes in your struggle for the realization of the national aspirations of the Palestinian people. We are confident that this struggle, enjoying as it does the invariably firm support of the people of Poland, shall be crowned with total victory in the interests of peace and international security.

QATAR

His Highness Sheikh Khalifa ibn Hamad Al Thani,

Emir of the State of Qatar

We all know that, with the convening of this meeting on this particular day every year in the United Nations, it is our aim to remind the whole world that a resolution adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on this date in 1947, that is, 32 years ago, the resolution that divided Palestine and created the State of Israel on Arab territory, was the beginning of a tragic history of aggressive practices perpetrated by Israel since its creation. These practices are being continued relentlessly until this very day in order to entrench its usurpation of the Palestinian homeland and its dispersal of the Palestinian people and indeed their annihilation. It is continuing its aggression against more and more Arab countries everywhere and it continues to intensify its aggressive actions and abnormal crimes in violation of the legal principles and morality and all human and religious values. These crimes have also been perpetrated against the United Nations forces in the south of Lebanon.

It is an accepted fact that the world is unanimously agreed that the Palestinian question is the core and the very heart of the Middle East problem and that the problem should be fully and justly resolved in order to prevent any major explosion in the area whose repercussions would undoubtedly destabilize the area, thereby endangering international peace and security and the world economy. Proof of this may be found in the fact that the Secretary-General, in his annual report to the General Assembly, described the Middle East problem as one of the most serious international issues deserving of an early solution.

For the purpose of reaching such a solution the United Nations and its various organs and the specialized agencies have held hundreds of meetings and have adopted hundreds of resolutions, but all those meetings and resolutions have been in vain. The appeals made by world leaders and their Governments within the United Nations and outside it urging Israel to cease its continued aggression against the Palestinians also met with failure. There will be no peace in the Middle East unless the rights of the Palestinians are restored to them. There is no doubt that the continuation of the present situation constitutes a flagrant defiance of the will of the international community and a violation of the United Nations Charter, which is the constitution of the world and its highest basic law. This rebellion cannot be allowed to continue, for it is a blot that stigmatizes our civilized era, destroys the dignity of the United Nations and threatens its very existence.

The United Nations is a product of the struggle of mankind through generations to protect the rights and dignity of man and to preserve his peace and security.

That is why our international Organization should do its duty by discharging the great responsibility imposed on it by the Charter as affirmed and stipulated in Chapter VII. That duty, the highest duty, is discharged by taking joint, effective, decisive measures in order to eliminate the dangers which threaten international peace and security and to put an end to the aggression which endangers them.

On behalf of the State of Qatar I take this opportunity to reiterate my call to the peoples of the world, their Governments, leaders and thinkers, to organize constructive, joint positive action which would mobilize the greatest efforts, whether on the governmental or popular level, in order to achieve that great objective which is the goal of today's meeting, namely, solidarity with the struggle of the Palestinian Arab people for the full restoration of their rights.

ROMANIA

H.E. Mr. Nicolae Ceausescu.

President of the Socialist Republic of Romania

On the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian people I wish through this channel to reaffirm, in the name of Socialist Romania and the people of my country, our active support for, and solidarity with,the just struggle of the Palestinian people for the realization of their aspirations and their legitimate rights to achieve their development, in full freedom and independence, within the framework of their own national state.

As a country that is situated in the Balkans and in the Mediterranean area, a country neighbouring the Middle East, Romania is profoundly concerned by the continuation of the situation prevailing in the region. Our country constantly presses for a political settlement through negotiation, of the conflict in the Middle East, for the realization of a global, just and lasting peace, which would lead to the withdrawal of Israel from, Arab territories occupied following the war of 1967, to the solution of the problem of the Palestinian people in conformity with their right to self-determination, including the establishment of their on State, and to the guarantee of independence, integrity and sovereignty of all States in the region. We declare ourselves to be most resolutely in favour of a settlement of the problem of the Palestinian people, failing which there can be no lasting peace, tranquillity, or security in the Middle East.

I think that at present it is more than ever necessary to intensify efforts and to act with increased energy to find ways of permitting all parties and countries concerned to participate in solving the problems of the region. To this end we think that it would be particularly important to organize, under the aegis and with the active participation of the United Nations, an international meeting, either by reconvening the Geneva Conference or in some other form, with the participation of all the countries concerned, including the Palestine Liberation Organization as the legitimate, authentic and recognized representative of the Palestinian people, two co-Chairmen of the Geneva Conference – the Soviet Union and the United States – and, if necessary, other States. We believe that everything should be done to ensure that the Palestinian people will as soon as possible realize their legitimate aspirations to live in their own independent State and to be able to concentrate, in calm and peace, their efforts towards free development through economic and social progress.

We believe that it is necessary to take decisive action to put an end to the disturbing situation in the Lebanon, by ensuring the integrity and independence of that country.

We consider that the solution of the problems of the Middle East, and, first of all, the problem of the Palestinian people, will have a profound impact on the international climate as a whole

and will be a particularly important contribution to the strengthening of confidence among peoples, of stability, détente and world peace.

For its part, Romania will in future do everything in its power to make its contribution to a just and lasting solution of the problems of the Middle East and to the realization of peace throughout that region.

I believe that the United Nations can and should play a more active role in the solution of the Middle East conflict and I express my conviction that it will act with increased vigour along those lines, and that it will seek, by political means, to achieve a solution to all conflicts and hotbeds of tension in various parts of the world, thus responding to the hopes and expectations of all peoples to live in a climate of peace and calm, and of broad and fruitful international co-operation.

SENEGAL

H.E. Mr. Leopold Sedar Senghor,

President of the Republic of Senegal

On the occasion of the commemoration of the Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, I wish to convey to you, in the name of the people and Government of Senegal, and personally, all my wishes for success.

The Palestinian people have experienced exile, persecution and oppression for more than 30 years. Their inalienable rights to return to their homeland, to self-determination and to the establishment of an independent State have still not been recognized or implemented, despite the adoption of numerous United Nations resolutions.

Senegal, which has always supported the just cause of the Arab people of Palestine, is firmly convinced that a just settlement of the problem of Palestine requires the withdrawal of Israel from all Arab territories occupied since 1967 and the realization of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people to return to their homeland, to self-determination and to the creation of an independent State in Palestine.

Similarly, Senegal gives its full support to the right of the Palestinian people and of its legitimate representative, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), to participate on an equal footing in all talks and negotiations aimed at finding a solution to the question of Palestine. The fact that a larger number of Governments have extended invitations to the leaders of the PLO is tangible proof of the growing support which the Palestinian cause is finding in international opinion.

The Day of Solidarity which you are commemorating today falls within the framework of the efforts made for many years by the United Nations peacefully to promote the implementation of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people. This is the appropriate place to reaffirm our conviction that the United Nations bears a major responsibility for restoring the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and must, therefore, continue to play an active and constructive role so as to achieve this aim.

In this connexion, it gives me pleasure once again to express our satisfaction at the remarkable work accomplished by your Committee for the promotion of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people. Your Committee, and the recommendations it has prepared, enjoy, and will continue to enjoy, our unswerving support.

The Government of Senegal, and I personally, encourage you to persevere in your efforts. By working to promote the rights of the Palestinian people, you are serving the ideals of peace and justice which are the very basis of the United Nations Charter.

SOMALIA

H.E. Major General Mohamed Siad Barre,

President of the Somali Democratic Republic 

Allow me on behalf of the Somali Socialist Revolutionary Party, the Government and people of Somalia and on my own behalf to express our full solidarity with the struggle of the Palestinian Arab people for the achievement of their inalienable national right to self-determination and for the establishment of a state of their own.

The International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian Arab people is an expression of the efforts exerted by the peace-loving forces and by the United Nations in support of the Palestinian people.

We call for the enhancement of the Solidarity with the Palestinian people and the efforts of the international community for the recognition of their inalienable rights to self-determination and the establishment of their own national state.

On this occasion we assure of our fullest support to the United Nations efforts for the achievement of just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East and of our support for the attainment of the basic national rights of the Palestinian Arab people.

SRI LANKA

H.E. Mr. J.R. Jayewardene,

President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka

I am happy to have this opportunity of conveying to you, on the occasion of the first anniversary of the observance of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, my personal felicitations and those of the Government and people of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.

There is no need for me to emphasize the purpose and significance of this occasion. The decision of the General Assembly of the United Nations to set apart a date for observing the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People reflected the feelings of the overwhelming majority of those peoples who have supported and continue to support the Just cause of the Palestinian people in their struggle for their rightful homeland.

Today the Palestinian question remains as greet a problem as it was when we first took note of its human and political dimensions.  My Government and the people of my country view with sympathy the fate of a people denied their basic right of returning to their homeland.

In Sri Lanka our solidarity with the cause of the Palestinians is as firm as ever. The notions of justice, of self-determination and of basic human rights now find expression in the lives of our people through a 'Dharmishta' society – a just and free society. I am particularly happy to mention that Sri Lanka, during its stewardship as Chairman of the non-aligned Conference, steadfastly supported the aspirations of the Palestinian people, and it gave me a sense of personal satisfaction that this support continued undiminished at the non-aligned summit in Havana this year. We shall continue this support until the aspirations of the Palestinian people are realized in letter and spirit.

SUDAN

H.E. Mr. Gaafar Mohammed Nimeiri,

President of the Democratic Republic of Sudan

On the occasion of the commemoration of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, I should like to express my appreciation for the fruitful role played by the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People under your chairmanship, and to thank you for your great efforts to support the rights of the Palestinian people. I take this opportunity once again to reaffirm the stand of the Democratic Republic of the Sudan in its continuous and unswerving support of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, and its support of the restoration and exercise of the Palestinian people to self-determination and all their legitimate rights including the right to return.

I should like to call attention to the fact that the continued intransigence of Israel and its ignoring of the rights of the Palestinian people constitute a grave threat to peace and security in the Middle East and throughout the world. Therefore, the Democratic Republic of the Sudan considers that a just and lasting solution to the question of Palestine cannot be achieved unless Israel withdraws from the occupied Arab territories, including Jerusalem, and unless the Palestinian people are able to enjoy their right to independence and national sovereignty.

The growing support of friendly States for the Palestinian people, under the leadership of the PLO, underscores the belief by the international community in the legitimacy of the rights of the Palestinian people. That people no longer needs to beg for sympathy; what it does need is constructive and positive action by the international community in support of the Palestinian people and of the PLO, its legitimate representative, and action to put an end to the changes which the Zionist entity is carrying out in the occupied Palestinian territory in order to alter its demographic, natural, economic, cultural and religious character.

The designation of 29 November as the annual Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People is a reminder to all peace-loving peoples of the world of the just cause of the Palestinian people and urges them to support that people in its struggle for the restoration of its legitimate rights. It is also on occasion for all peace-loving peoples and countries to express their solidarity with all peoples under foreign domination in their struggle to gain their rights to self-determination, independence and freedom, in accordance with the principles of the United Nations Charter.

We feel sure that the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People will exert every effort to rally the support of the international community in aid of the Palestinian people and for the restoration of its legitimate rights.

For its part, Sudan will work for the achievement of these noble objectives through the world Organization, to which it belongs, as well through the Non-Aligned Movement, the Islamic Conference, the African Group and the Arab Group. It will continue to make contributions in all forums in order to arouse interest in this cause until an end is put to the suffering of the Palestinian people and its legitimate rights are restored so that it may take its place among the peace-loving peoples of the world.

SYRIA

H.E. Mr. Hafez Al-Assad,

President of the Syrian Arab Republic

It is a source of pleasure to me to respond to your invitation to address the special meeting which the Committee is holding on the occasion of the commemoration of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People and to transmit to you on this occasion the greetings of the Syrian people for whom the question of Palestine is the focus of interest. They have kept the cause alive in their souls and in their daily lives, day after day and year after year since the problem arose, and they shall continue to do so until the Arab Palestinian people actually exercise their inalienable rights, foremost among which are the rights to self-determination, to return to their homes and to set up a State in their own homeland.

As far as Syria is concerned, the links of our people with the Palestinian cause are stronger than ties of mere solidarity. The link is one of a unified and single faith since, as you know, Palestine is part of our Arab homeland and its people are part of the Arab nation. Their cause is therefore the cause of the people of Syria and of our entire nation.

The great injustice which was perpetrated against the people of Palestine from the start of the imperialist Zionist manoeuvres to usurp the land of Palestine has befallen the entire Arab nation because the objective of that plan is to destroy and to divide the Arab nation and to put impediments in the path of Arab unity particularly since the manoeuvres and plots of imperialism and zionism against the peoples of Palestine are paralleled by a similar plan carried out in order to divide the Arab nation.

The Palestinian people have carried out a heroic struggle against this imperialist Zionist plan and the Arab nation has also fought at their side and resisted the invasion of secular Zionist imperialism. The people of Palestine and the peoples of the entire Arab nation have made sacrifices so as to confront and put an end to the invasion which is supported by the forces of imperialism and colonialism in the world.

The Palestinian Arab people have always sought to make their choice heard in the world and to present their just cause to international public opinion in order to elicit understanding and support for the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people. The Palestinian Arab people would also like the United Nations, which expresses the opinion of the international community, to understand the nature of their inalienable rights and recognize them as a basic factor among the elements that could bring about just peace in the Middle East.

This true desire for a just peace that has been expressed by the Arabs – and among them by the Palestinian Arab people – has been met on the part of Israel by intransigence and determination to continue along its path of aggression, invasion and usurpation of rights. Israel is inspired in this attitude by its racist Zionist nature which was condemned by the General Assembly of the United Nations in its resolution 3379 (XXX) of 10 November 1975. In addition to that resolution, there was a series of General Assembly resolutions which recognized the rights of the Palestinian peoples, including their right to return to their homeland, their right to self-determination and to establish an independent State in their own territory. However, all these resolutions in no way deterred Israel which continued along its path, in defiance of the United Nations and international public opinion.

The United Nations undoubtedly bears special responsibility regarding the flagrant injustice that has been perpetrated against the Arab Palestinian people and the consequences of that injustice. We therefore welcome the resolution of the General Assembly declaring 29 November as the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People and we consider that it is a contribution to redressing that injustice, returning Palestine to its rightful inhabitants and to establishing a just peace in the Middle East which has suffered a great deal as a result of the ambitions of imperialism and as a direct result of the resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 29 November 1947.

We hope that the special meeting held by the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People to commemorate the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People will be a new step towards the objective of establishing a just peace in the middle East through the recognition of the inalienable rights of the people of Palestine.

TUNISIA

H.E. Mr. Habib Bourguiba,

President of the Republic of Tunisia

At the time when the international community is celebrating this second International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian people

I have the pleasure of addressing to your Committee my appreciation of the efforts that they exert in support of rights and justice and the struggle of the Palestinian peoples for the restoration of their legitimate rights.

For more than 30 years the struggling Palestinian people has been subjected to the worst type of injustice, oppression and imperialist practices, and Israel, which derives its very existence from resolutions of this international Organization, carries out its policies of usurpation and aggression in defiance of the principles of the Charter of the United Nations and its resolutions and challenges the international conscience. Israel has carried out a policy of dispersion and dispossession so that one human group, alien to the area, may take the place of the original sons of that area, and it has concentrated its settlements within the occupied territories and continues to carry out its oppressive policy aimed at obliterating the sacred religious character and nature of the area.

Israel's intransigence and determination in continuing along that path is a clear indication that it is trying to entrench Zionist hegemony and to confront the world with a fait accompli.

The current situation in the Middle East, its abnormal nature and the dangers it contains mean that that area is experiencing a constant state of war and a series of disruptions and problems. The four wars that have swept over the area and the armed clashes, destruction and tragedies it has experienced are due to the fact that Israel ignores the core of the problem and has carried out its policy of intransigence and the denial of the most basic human rights.

I appeal to you in your conscience and awareness to think deeply about how such an adventurous attitude and conduct may lead to dangers, the first evidence of which has started to emerge and has marred relations between peoples and worsened the economic situation that governs relations between countries. I fear that matters will escape from our control if we do not assume responsibility and show determination. The world may in fact begin to take a downward course whose dangerous consequences and results for the fate of mankind no one can foresee.

I have on more than one occasion explained the position of Tunisia on the Palestinian question, and I still believe that a comprehensive and just peace cannot prevail in the world unless we work together within the framework of international legitimacy in order to remove the greatest injustice of the twentieth century so as to enable the Palestinian people, under the leadership of its sole legitimate representative, the PLO, to recover its legitimate rights to return home, to exercise self-determination and to establish an independent State on its own territory. From my experience throughout my life and my understanding of my responsibility as the leader of a people, I have known what it means to struggle and have carried out my responsibility as a Head of State. I share with you the heavy burden and responsibility that you bear before history, and therefore I would say to you that there can be no solution to this question without taking the path I have indicated and that it would be better to embark upon it willingly now before being obliged to follow it tomorrow. It is important to state that we are facing the start of an era where our Organization may be able to embody the principles for which it was established and put an end to all the challenges that are directed against those principles, and where we can work together to spread the spirit of justice, peace, security and stability amongst the peoples of the area, which would encourage those peoples to try to build a better future for themselves in which peace, understanding and amity would prevail.

UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS

H.E. Mr. Leonid Brezhnev, General Secretary of the Communist Party

of the Soviet Union and President of the Presidium

of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union

On this day which is being commemorated throughout the world, as is proper, mankind, which loves progress, once again reiterates its solidarity with the struggle waged by the Palestinian people to achieve its legitimate rights, including its inalienable right to self-determination and to the establishment of an independent State.

In the vanguard of the struggle we find the authentic representative of the Palestinian people, the Palestine Liberation Organization. It truly is in the vanguard of the Arab liberation movements. Due to its courage and unswerving loyalty to its principles, that organization has gained solid international support. Support for the just cause of the Palestinian people is the unswerving line adopted by the Soviet Union, which opposes the anti-Arab policy of separate settlements. We support a general settlement and the establishment of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East.

To the Arab people of Palestine and to its political vanguard, the Palestine Liberation Organization, we should like to convey our warmest wishes for their victory in the struggle they are waging against the Israeli aggressors so as to be able to achieve national independence and establish their State.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

H.E. Mr. Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan,

President of the United Arab Emirates

Your Excellency Ambassador Fall, Chairman of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People: on behalf of the people of the United Arab Emirates I greet you and recall with thanks and appreciation your support for the Palestinian people and your work towards enabling it to exercise its inalienable rights. We feel the observance of 29 November as the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People to be a reflection of the realization by the United Nations of the oppression perpetrated against the Palestinian people since 1947 and the partition of its land and the dispersion of its people from its land. We also view it as expressing the commitment and the determination of the international community to eliminate oppression and assist the Palestinian people in its struggle to recover its rights.

We also note with satisfaction the increasing international support for the struggle of that people for the restoration of its rights. We also find there is condemnation of any agreement which does not take into consideration those inalienable rights and which does not provide for the participation of the Palestinian people, represented by the Palestine Liberation Organization, as a basic party to any attempts to solve the Palestinian problem.

I should like to restate that we shall not spare any effort to support the Palestinian people in its struggle. We shall extend every assistance to it so that it will be able to gain restoration of its rights.

VIET NAM

H.E. Mr. Pham Van Dong,

Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam

On the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, 29 November 1979, I have the honour, on behalf of the Government and the people of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, to address to Your Excellencies, and, through you, to the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, my warmest greetings.

At a time when imperialism, together with Zionist Israeli aggressors and reactionary forces, are trying to impose a separate solution aimed at eliminating the national rights of the Palestinian people and rejecting the role of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the only authentic representative of the Palestinian people, the observance of this Day constitutes a demonstration of solidarity and firm support for the just and certainly the victorious struggle of the Palestinian people.

The Vietnamese people cordially welcomes the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People and reaffirms its resolute support for the struggle of the Palestinian people to regain its sacred national rights, including the right to establish an independent and sovereign Palestinian State. We believe that any just solution of the problem of the Middle East must include the withdrawal of Israel from all the occupied Arab territories and requires the participation of the Palestine Liberation Organization.

YUGOSLAVIA

H.E. Mr. Josip Broz Tito, President of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

The International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, rightly observed by the United Nations, reminds us of the unfulfilled obligations of the international community and impels us to exert even greater efforts for the solution of the question of Palestine.

Although the whole international community recognizes, today, that the question of Palestine constitutes the core of the Middle East problem and that, without resolving this question, there can be no lasting peace in the Middle East, the Palestinian people has not yet – after more than thirty years been enabled to realize its inalienable national rights. The suffering and tribulations of this heroic people have not ended, nor have they been alleviated.

The rights of the Palestinian people are just as inalienable as the rights of the other peoples of the world; they are founded on the provisions of the Charter and confirmed in numerous resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council.

I wish to reiterate, on this occasion also, our deep conviction that a just and lasting settlement of the Middle East crisis must be based on the withdrawal of Israel from all territories occupied in the war of 5 June 1967 and on the realization of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including the right to return to its homeland and its right to self-determination and the establishment of its own State. Recognition of the Palestine Liberation Organization as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people is of crucial importance to the settlement of the crisis. Only a comprehensive solution can guarantee independence and a secure existence and development to all the peoples and States in that sensitive region.

Unfortunately, despite energetic condemnation by the whole international community, we are witnesses to aggressive acts perpetrated continually by Israel in the occupied territories, acts which arc in direct contradiction with the Charter of the United Nations and the Geneva conventions as well as relevant decisions of the United Nations and constitute a direct challenge and threat to peace in the region and beyond.

Yugoslavia, together with the other non-aligned countries, has constantly urged that a solution to this question, as well as to other acute international problems, should be sought within the framework of the United Nations. The world Organization should exert maximum efforts and take new measures, including indispensable sanctions, in order finally to compel Israel, in the interest of peace and security, to comply with the decisions of the General Assembly and the Security Council of the United Nations.

I avail myself of this opportunity to pledge, through your Committee whose activity we highly appreciate the most resolute support of socialist and non-aligned Yugoslavia for the just struggle of the Palestinian people and to convey my best wishes to the friendly Palestinian people for a speedy realization of its full freedom, independence and sovereign rights.

Messages from heads of State of Observer States

DEMOCRATIC KOREA

H.E. Mr. Kim Il Sung,

President of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea

On the Occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, on behalf of the Government of Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the Korean people and on my own behalf, militant greetings to you and through you to the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian people and I express my firm solidarity with the Palestinian people in their just struggle against imperialism and zionism and for the complete restoration of their legitimate national rights, including the right to regain their lost homeland and to establish an independent State.

I take this opportunity sincerely to wish the Palestinian people greater successes in the struggle for a comprehensive and fair solution to the questions of Palestine and the Middle East.

SAN MARINO

Their Excellencies Mr. Giuseppe Amici and Mr. Germano Debiagi,

Captains Regent of the Republic of San Marino

The Captains Regent of the Republic of San Marino wish to express their warmest complacency for today's celebration of the day dedicated to the solidarity toward the Palestinian people, a day which we consider a timely and important moment of reflection on the grievous problems which particularly concern the Palestinian refugees and on which the attention of people and governments must be vigilant and constant.

The Sammarinese people, whose continuous historical characteristic has been that of jealous custody of its own autonomous independence and sovereignty, is deeply aware of the grievous tragedy of the Palestinian people deprived as it is of its own land and of its own country. Each people, whether large or small, has the right to a territory of its own, with defined and secure borders on which it may live and prosper safe from oppression, influence and interference.

San Marino confides that the Palestinian problem may be rapidly solved through peaceful channels and negotiation. For this purpose it addresses a warm appeal to those who are in the position to influence and decide such a solution in order to make them act quickly and with good will for the pursuit of agreements, to which the Palestinian people must be called to contribute.

We avail ourselves of the opportunity to express to you, Mr. Chairman of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, the feelings of the warmest complacency for a prolific carrying out of this high and delicate task for which we wish a positive outcome.

Messages from heads of Government and Deputy Prime Ministers

MALTA

H.E. Mr. Dom Mintoff,

Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Malta

This year's observance of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People marks an important development in their long and arduous struggle for their legitimate rights. The overwhelming consensus that has emerged over the past year in favour of the establishment of a Palestinian homeland within the context of an over-all peaceful solution to the Middle East question is indicative of the just cause of the Palestinian people, and it is now hoped that practical action will be taken to realize their long-cherished aspirations for self-determination, national independence and sovereignty.

The Socialist Government of Malta wishes to reaffirm their solidarity with the Palestinian people and pledge their continued support of the Palestinian cause and their struggle for their legitimate rights.

SAUDI ARABIA

His Majesty Fahd Bin Abdul-Aziz,

Crown Prince and Deputy Prime Minister

On the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People , I am pleased to express our esteem and appreciation for the constructive role undertaken by the Committee for the exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, under your Excellency's chairmanship, and its relentless efforts towards the restoration of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people. I wish also to take this opportunity to renew the assurances of the firm position of the Saudi Arabian Government, its unwavering support and continuous efforts to uphold the struggle of the Palestinian people for the restoration and exercise of their legitimate rights, including the return to their homeland and the exercise of self-determination on their native soil.

On this occasion, I find it necessary to draw the attention of the international community to the obstinacy of Israel and its continued disregard of the rights of the Palestinian people, which have been reaffirmed in international conventions, foremost of which is the United Nations Charter.

This Israeli defiance and obstinacy constitutes grave challenge to the security of our region as well as international peace and security.

Therefore, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is fully convinced that a comprehensive and just peace in the Middle East cannot be achieved without taking into consideration the withdrawal from the Arab territories forcedly occupied by Israel, and primarily Arab Jerusalem, and unless and until the Palestinian people exercise their rights of self-determination, independence and national sovereignty. I also take this opportunity to express the Kingdom's appreciation and esteem for the increasing support and solidarity now being accorded to the Palestinian people, under the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization, from all friendly nations within the framework of the United Nations. It is our hope that this International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People will afford an opportunity for peace loving States and nations to demonstrate their solidarity with all peoples subjected to foreign rules, whose rights for self-determination, liberty and independence, are guaranteed by the United Nations Charter.

YEMEN ARAB REPUBLIC

H.E. Dr. Hasan Makki,

Deputy Prime Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Foreign Affairs

On the occasion of the celebration of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People at the United Nations, I have pleasure in saluting your sincere and diligent endeavours to enable the Palestinian people to exercise their legitimate national rights to self-determination and national sovereignty on their Palestinian soil.

The people and the Government of the Yemen Arab Republic are following the work of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People with interest and appreciation and regard the celebration by the United Nations of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People as an acknowledgement of the untiring efforts being made by the United Nations in general and the Committee in particular.

The celebration is also a manifestation of international understanding and support for the just struggle of the Palestinian people, under the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization, against Zionist occupation in order to obtain their national rights to self-determination and the establishment of their independent State on their national soil in Palestine.

May God prosper and guide your humanitarian work on the path of right and justice.

Messages from Ministers for Foreign Affairs

BARBADOS

H.E. The Honourable Henry deB. Forde,

Minister of External Affairs of Barbados

Once again I am glad, on behalf of the Government and People of Barbados, to have the opportunity of associating with this Special Meeting which commemorates the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian people.

Barbados believes that peace throughout the world is a very necessary precondition for the betterment of mankind and the attainment of prosperity among nations, therefore, my Government is particularly concerned at the slow pace of the negotiations for peace in the Middle East.

This concern is shared by almost all, if not all, of the international community. We must therefore redouble our efforts to secure a peaceful, complete and lasting settlement of the problems in the Middle East acceptable to all the peoples of that region.

The Barbados Government continued to recognize and support the rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination and independence, and my Government will continue to give its fullest support to the United Nations in its efforts to secure a speedy and peaceful achievement of these objectives.

GAMBIA

H.E. Mr. O. Jallow,

Deputy Minister for External Affairs

The serious situation in the Middle East continues to pose a grave threat to international peace and security. My delegation would wish to reiterate the Gambia Government's conviction that the Palestine Question is the crux of the Middle East problem. A just and permanent solution rests therefore in the restoration of the legitimate and inalienable rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination and sovereignty and in Israel's unconditional withdrawal from all occupied Arab territories, including Jerusalem. The Gambia Government also maintains that the Palestine Liberation Organization is the sole representative of the Palestinian people in their legitimate struggle for an independent Palestinian state and the Gambia will continue to give its unequivocal support to the just and legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people under the dynamic leadership of the P.L.O.

Mr. President, the Palestinian people like each of us have aspirations and legitimate expectations. If Auschwitz reminds us of the Nazi contempt for man and his fundamental rights, the forcible evacuation of the Palestinian people and the reign of terror in the refugee camps of Lebanon, equally brings to the fore Israel's contempt for the Palestinian people and their right to live in their homeland in peace and in dignity.

As a member of the Non-Aligned Movement, it is the position of my government that no just solution to the problem could be found or peace restored in the region until the following principles are applied in their entirety:

Mr. President, Israel must recognize that the Palestinian people will not just disappear. Common sense and moral judgement dictate that Israel make accommodations that will satisfy the Palestinian people and at the same time ensure its security.

GREECE

H.E. Mr. George Rallis,

Minister of Foreign Affairs

I take the opportunity offered by the celebration of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People to express, once more, our full support of the inalienable right of the people of Palestine to self-determination, including their right to a homeland.

This right is one of the cornerstones of the edifice of the United Nations. It has led to the emergence of a great number of free and independent nations in Africa, Asia and elsewhere in the world. Whenever it has been trampled, there have resulted tensions and confrontations which, in some cases, have endangered world peace. It is therefore unthinkable that the noble people of Palestine should be deprived of the sacred right of every human being to have a home of his or her own.

It is the sincere hope of the Greek Government that the efforts of the United Nations to find a lust and peaceful solution of this long-standing problem will be crowned with success, and that the Palestinian people will be given the opportunity to determine freely their own future, in accordance with one of the most elementary principles of our Charter.

INDONESIA

H.E. Dr. Mochtar Kusumaatmadja,

Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia

On the occasion of the commemoration of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, the Government and the people of Indonesia join the other members of the international community in extending their unfaltering support to the determined efforts of the Palestinians to achieve their noble aims and aspirations. At this crucial juncture in their struggle for the achievement of their inalienable rights, the continued solidarity on the part of the international community constitutes a milestone in transforming their aspirations, for which they have struggled for over three decades, into a reality.

Another momentous year has passed since we last gathered here to express our support for the Palestinian people. The Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People has made tremendous efforts in the past year on their behalf. As a result, there is now a growing recognition on their rights and of the urgent need to restore them.

Indonesia has always maintained that the solution to the Middle East conflict cannot be separated from the elimination of the injustices inflicted upon the Palestinians. It is, therefore, incumbent that in any settlement of the Middle East conflict these injustices should be redressed in a comprehensive framework.

We are therefore pleased to reaffirm our continuing and unflinching support for the people of Palestine and the achievement of a just solution of their problem on the basis of the attainment of their inalienable rights of the Palestinian people.

It is the fervent hone of the Government and the people of Indonesia that the efforts of the struggle of the Palestinian people, supported by the international community, will result in the attainment and liberty for the Palestinian people.

JAPAN

H.E. Mr. Saburo Okita,

Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan

On the occasion of the second International flay of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, it is my great pleasure to express my sincere felicitations and best wishes on behalf of the Government of Japan.

It is the common view of the world today that the Palestinian problem is the core of the Middle Eastern problem and that there can be no peace in the Middle East and the world without its solution. In Japan, too, its importance is becoming increasingly understood by people at all levels.

I wish to take this opportunity to reaffirm Japan's basic position toward this problem as follows:

First, resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973) of the United Nations Security Council should be implemented promptly and completely and the legitimate rights of the Palestinians, including their right of self-determination, in accordance with the United Nations Charter must be recognized and respected.

Second, the participation of the Palestine Liberation Organization in the process for peace is indispensable to an early realization of peace, with Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization mutually recognizing each other's position.

I would like to state here that Japan is prepared, in accordance with the above position, to cooperate for the attainment of the common aim of achieving a comprehensive peace in the Middle East. I sincerely hope that the efforts by the parties concerned to that end will not fail to bear fruit.

LIBYA

H.E. Dr. Ali Abdussalam Treiki, Secretary for Foreign Affairs of the

Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya

The international organization and the world as a whole are celebrating the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People in accordance with the General Assembly resolution 32/40 B which it adopted, amongst other resolutions, regarding the recognition of the international organization of the national inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and its right to return to its homeland and to self-determination. The recognition of the international community, represented by its organization, of these rights emphasizes the determination of the peace-loving peoples to eliminate the injustices inflicted upon the Palestinian people which is a victim of zionism, racism and colonialism. Furthermore, supporting it in its heroic struggle to gain back its arrested rights.

The allocation of 29 November as a day of solidarity with the Palestinian people after the recognition of its national inalienable rights and of the Palestine Liberation Organization as its legitimate and sole representative and the condemnation of zionism as a racist movement has clearly exposed the Zionist racist régime backed by imperialism in its oppressive policy against the Palestinian people and its challenge to the world which supported the Palestinian people's issue in various international and regional organizations.

The Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya reiterates its support and solidarity with the Palestinian people's struggle and stands against all conspiracies plotted against it; of which the most recent plots are the "Camp David" agreement and the Egyptian-Zionist Treaty. The Arab world as a whole has rejected these agreements in the Baghdad Conference. They were also rejected by the rest of the countries of the world in the Islamic Conference, the Monrovia Summit and the Non-Aligned Summit Conference in Havana. Furthermore, the Palestinian issue has recently realized other victories, namely by the recognition of a number of Western countries of the Palestine Liberation Organization and these countries' conviction of the ineffectiveness of the recent agreements in establishing peace. We do not wish for this day to become of only superficial celebrations in which speeches are delivered, but we opt for establishing more on the path of liberation and consolidation of the Palestinian people's struggle and that this day becomes a day of evaluation of what it has realized for the sake of the consolidation of rights and putting a limit to the Zionist Entity challenges to the will of the majority of the international organization.

Colonialism, zionism and racism have no place in today's world of liberation from slavery and exploitation. The 29 November Day is a day of rejection of injustice, a day of more determination towards liberation and rejection of suppression.  It is the day of declaring the outrage of the world towards the continuation of the occupation of Palestine and the continuous violations of the Zionist entity and its disregard for the resolutions and the principles of the United Nations.

I would like to express to Your Excellency, Mr. Secretary-General, my greetings for the genuine efforts which you are rendering for the sake of realizing justice and I wish you success in your services for peace and international security.

MALAYSIA

H.E. Mr. Tengku Ahmad Rithauddeen,

Minister of Foreign Affairs

On the occasion of this year's International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, I am pleased to extend my sincere greetings to our Palestinian brothers and to wish them every success in their struggle for the exercise of their inalienable rights as recognized by the United Nations.

As a country which has consistently supported the lust struggle of the Palestinian people, Malaysia is pleased with the increasing awareness and understanding of their cause. This occasion, which focusses world attention on their plight, is therefore significant for its goes a long way towards reinforcing the universal awareness and understanding which is important for their ultimate victory.

I take this opportunity to reiterate Malaysia's continued support for the Palestinian cause and to reaffirm our solidarity with the Palestinian people in their struggle to realise their inalienable rights to return to their homeland and to achieve self-determination and independence.

PHILIPPINES

H.E. Mr. Carlos P. Romulo,

Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of the Philippines

On behalf of the people and Government of the Philippines, I take pleasure in extending sincere greetings to Your Excellency and through you to the members of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People on the solemn occasion of the observance of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People on 29 November 1979.

The people and Government of the Philippines are firmly committed to a just and lasting solution of the Question of Palestine based on Security Council resolutions 242 of 1967 and 338 of 1973, providing for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from occupied Arab territories, as well as the right of all the states in the region to independent existence with secure and recognized boundaries. An enduring solution must also include the recognition of the legitimate rights to self-determination and independence of the people of Palestine in their own homeland.

At the request of the Secretary-General of the United Nations and of the Committee, and in keeping with Philippine Government policy of firm support for the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, I am pleased to inform you that the Philippines will observe the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People with an exhibition at the Philippine International Convention Center in Manila on 29 November 1979.

I take this opportunity to congratulate Your Excellency and through You the members of the Committee, whose important work the Philippines supports, for your dedicated efforts to secure their legitimate rights.

TURKEY

H.E. Mr._Hayrettin Erkmen,

Foreign Minister of the Republic of Turkey

On the occasion of the second anniversary of the international Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, which is being observed today, I would like to extend, on behalf of the Turkish Nation, Government and on my own behalf, my most heartfelt wishes for the success of the justified cause of our Palestinian brethren in the struggle they are engaged in under the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization, for recovering their legitimate and historic rights and for their happiness and prosperity.

As is known, Turkey herself, has undergone a successful liberation struggle under the examplary leadership of Kemal Ataturk, one of the staunchest defenders of the principle of independence, and thus gained the appreciation of all nations.  It is, for this reason, that Turkey has always supported and will continue to support liberation struggles.

With this understanding, Turkey considers that the realization of the legitimate national rights of the Palestinians, including their right to establish a State of their own, and the evacuation of all the Arab territories occupied since 1067 as the two main requisites for the establishment of a just and durable comprehensive peace in the Middle East and expresses these views on all possible occasions. Consequently Turkey supports or co-sponsors all resolutions adopted to this effect in the Islamic Conferences and the United Nations. It is, again, as a result of this basic attitude that Turkey actively participates in the work of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People.

I would like to seize this opportunity to reiterate my most sincere wishes for the success of the struggle of our Palestinian brethren with whom we share common moral values and historic ties, for the restoration of their legitimate national rights so that the sufferings and wrongs that they have been subjected to for over 30 years can soon come to an end.

Messages from the Palestine Liberation Organization

PALESTINE LIBERATION ORGANIZATION

Mr. Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the Executive Committee

and of the Palestine Revolutionary Forces

On this significant day for the Palestinian people, I wish to start by conveying my compliments and appreciation to the United Nations and its Secretary-General, Mr. Kurt Waldheim, especially because it is the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. In the name of the Palestine Liberation Organization, I express my deep gratitude for the great role played by the international Organization in achieving peace in the Middle East on the basis of enabling the Palestinian people to exercise their basic rights in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations.

In the history of the struggle of the Palestinian and Arab people, 29 November is not an unmarked day. Actually it is an historical day and an international event which underlines the stand of international society, represented by the United Nations, on the side of cherished humanitarian virtues and values. It is an international day of recognition of human rights and a resounding condemnation of the law of the jungle which still threatens the human being and life in many parts of the world, particularly in our land, Palestine, as well as in other areas which fall under the tyranny of colonialism, zionism, racism and oppression.

Our just struggle is aimed at the achievement of peace based on justice in the Middle East. Resolution 3236 (XXIX) adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations at its twenty-ninth session provided the basis for the establishment of a firm and comprehensive framework for peace in the Middle East. But the ruling Israeli military junta, instead of responding to the appeal for peace issued by us and by the international Organization, managed with fervour to blot out the human, educational, cultural, economic and social life of our people. No doubt representatives examine the reports issued by special committees and institutions related to the Middle East and assess for themselves the destructive results of the policy of annihilation followed by Israel and zionism in our occupied Palestinian land.

A pack of savage wolves in the disguise of fanatical racist settlers desecrate our land and defy the will of our people, occupying their land and violating the sanctity of their shrines and their human values, in the sight and hearing of the world. This armed group plays the role of a forward column for the Israeli occupation army.

Our people are subjected to the complete annihilation which forms the official and firm policy of this Israeli Zionist military junta.

Since our people have the human right of self-defence to ensure their existence, they are courageously exercising that right despite the difficult conditions and the imbalance of forces imposed by the unlimited support of the United States of Israel, its ally and advanced bridgehead in our Arab region and the tool through which it strikes against the aspirations of peoples.

Representatives no doubt know that Israel costs the United States more than $20 million daily and that the United States pays two million dollars annually for each Israeli settlement established on occupied Palestinian soil, while our Palestinian camps have become testing grounds for the most destructive and modern American arms.

Representatives have no doubt also examined the official reports issued by the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which describe the extent of the destruction inflicted on our Palestinian camps and the Lebanese villages and towns in South Lebanon. That destruction has resulted in the displacement of 600,000 Palestinians and Lebanese, who now face a very cold winter since their homes have become mass graves and they live at present in the open, in valleys and on mountains.

Why are my people subjected to all these sufferings which are beyond the capacity of the human being to bear?

The fault of our people is that they defend their lives and their existence against the enemies of life and man. In their defence and resistance to ensure their existence they ask for no more than to be allowed to live in their homes in freedom, like any other people of the world.

It is time now, on this International Day of Solidarity, to put an end to the war of annihilation to which our people are subjected, as an expression by the international community of rejection of the suffering of our people. If we keep the peace and adhere to United Nations resolutions, it is because we know the high price which otherwise will be paid by mankind in general, and by the people of the Middle East in particular, especially in light of the incessant acts of aggression against the Palestinian people, and because what takes place in the Middle East will affect not only our area but the whole world.

Here I should like to stress some facts which have now become very well known. The first fact is that the theory, propounded by Israel and the United States, based on providing peace and stability in the Middle East by destroying the Palestinian people, is a false one. Events which have taken place lately in that part of the world prove how impossible it is to implement it.

The second factor shows that the seeking of a just solution to the problem of the Palestinian people is the cornerstone of the solution to the crisis in the Middle East. If American strategy in defending its oil resources constitutes the cornerstone of Washington's policy in the area, then the rights of the Palestinian people are part of the strategy of the people in this area and their political power. Zionist Israel not only usurps the rights of the Palestinian people and their home, but the independence and sovereignty of the people in this area.  Furthermore, it openly threatens to strike at the people in this area and their countries, from Morocco to Iran.

The third fact shows that the Palestinian people have now been waging a comprehensive national resistance for fifteen years. Their resistance begins with reliance on arms and a rejection of the aggressive de facto situation in terms of the strength to subdue and annihilate.

Our people are resisting aggression, occupation and resettlement in order to achieve their aims, aims which were endorsed by the twenty-ninth session of the General Assembly – that is, the right to self-determination, the right of the refugees to return to their homes and the right to establish an independent Palestinian state on the soil of Palestine.

These are our people's objectives; they are the main aim of the World Day of Solidarity with our struggle and just cause. The will of the international community was stressed by supporting these aims and by endorsing the resolutions which were adopted by the United Nations, and the resolutions of Arab, African, Islamic, non-aligned, friendly and socialist countries.

The United States alone shoulders the responsibility of the huge conflagration which looms over the Middle East. I assure the Committee that the United States, despite its new and old dreams, despite its huge fleets, especially those which are now used around our region, and despite its arming of "Israel" with the most sophisticated weapons of death and destruction, will not be able to impose its power, control and domination over the Middle East countries and peoples.

Instead of recognizing the new status of international relationships, the United States is using its atrocious power as a way of ensuring its vital oil and other interests. The Camp David accords and the Israeli-Egyptian treaty emphasized United States' ambitions in the region and unmasked the new United States military strategy in the Middle East.

Following the downfall of the Shah of Iran, which took place with the ratification of the treaty, came another announcement of the ratification of the treaty – namely, the formation of the American Fifth Fleet in the Arab Gulf region, as well as the establishment of an American intervention force ready to protect the oil fields.

I do not want to speak in detail in order to unmask the false peace that underlies this intensive huge military build-up in the Middle East. It clearly demonstrates the nature of the Camp David treaty as an American military alliance in the region.

Our realistic analysis enables us to perceive the potential threats in this American aggressive strategy, the dangers which daily imperil us, and certain dangers which threaten the world community, for which peace and stability in the Middle East represent its security and stability.

No wonder that tension and disorder increase in that vital part of the world. No wonder that the United States, which backs with all its power the Israeli aggression against our Palestinian and Arab peoples, is the source of this tension and instability.

The world must think deeply about this aggressive policy, which is based on short-sightedness and on military force in the Middle East. The acknowledgement of the Palestinian people's right to return home and to self-determination and right to establish their own independent States and to regain our Arab Jerusalem is a firm base from which to secure peace in the Middle East.

Aggressive alliances, military threats and the deployment of the most modern weapons of death and destruction can no longer intimidate the people of the region because they are ready for long-term resistance.

Is it possible to avoid a huge conflagration in the Middle East, and can peace be brought to the land of peace? In spite of all the death and destruction inflicted upon our Palestinian and Arab people by Israel and the United States, I answer in the affirmative: peace is demanded by the people of our area and such a monstrous conflagration can be avoided.

Unfortunately, our readiness for peace based on justice is met by more aggression and racist genocide by Israeli settlers against our land and villages in Palestine. Hence, our people have no choice but to withstand and resist, in our deep conviction and from our permanent readiness to realize this promised just peace. We do not fight because we like fighting, but because we struggle to achieve our political aim on which just peace in Palestine is based.

Therefore we look for a responsible international move vis-à-vis the continuing Israeli barbaric attacks against our people, which continue despite all the United Nations resolutions and the force of international will. In this connexion, Israel is defying these resolutions, one of which was the basis of its existence.

We aspire to international action and international will to restore matters to order and to regain the rights of the owners and to restore the Palestinian people to the international political map, having eliminated the oppression from which they suffer, in order to spare the world a destructive and chaotic war which we see through the American-Israeli guns and missiles in our region.

On behalf of our people, I extend our greetings and our appreciation to all friendly and allied countries and forces which support Palestinian rights, the just Palestinian cause and the just struggle of the Palestinian people for a life of freedom and dignity, so that our people may live on their national soil within a free, independent state, in common with peoples on earth.

Our struggle will continue so that we may bring about peace and justice. Revolution until victory.

PALESTINE LIBERATION ORGANIZATION

Mr. F. Qaddoumi,_head of the Political Department

I am happy for this opportunity on the occasion when we are marking the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, to extend to you all our appreciation and gratitude for your being here and participating with us in this celebration. We wish to extend to you our deep gratitude for the faithful, loyal and wonderful words sent by your leaders on this occasion expressing the solidarity of your peoples and friendly Governments with the people of Palestine in their legitimate and just struggle for the restoration of their inalienable rights under the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization.

I also wish to express my thanks to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the President of the General Assembly and the President of the Security Council for attending this meeting. It indicates the extent of the United Nations interest in the Palestine question and the struggle of the Palestinian people. Your solidarity with and support for the Palestinian people show also solidarity with all national liberation movements throughout the world and support for the cause of freedom and justice.

Our Palestinian people place great hopes in the United Nations and its Member States because this is the natural forum in which to seek a just solution to the causes of oppressed peoples. Your celebration of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People is an expression of the determination of the United Nations, with all its organs and bodies, to continue its action and to deploy every effort to solve the problem of the Middle East in a just manner.

The Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, under the Chairmanship of Ambassador Fall, came into being as the fruit of the efforts which you have deployed in order to deal with the question of Palestine by taking large and constructive steps.

That Committee has shown great capacity and efficiency in disseminating information and awareness in every part of the world through the publications and booklets which it has issued. It has also worked to ensure that the Palestinian people may enjoy their national rights as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, the Committee's efforts have met with impediments and obstructions. Despite that, it has not remained quiet, but has continued in its actions and its work in order to achieve its objectives.

Our peoples – the peoples whom you support – wish to express their appreciation for what you have done and for your continued support and solidarity. That solidarity is dear and precious to them in their daily violent struggles within the occupied territories, as well as outside, for the liberation of their territory, the return to their homeland and the setting up of an independent Palestinian state on their national territory and soil. They will remain loyal and committed to the principles and the Charter of the United Nations and to the cause of peace and justice.

In conclusion, I have the pleasure of reiterating, on behalf of the Executive Committee of the PLO and also in the name of the Palestinian people and their militants, our gratitude and appreciation for the valuable and continuous efforts of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Bights of the Palestinian People and the great actions and work carried out by the Committee throughout its mandate. I wish also to pay tribute to our dear friend, Mr. Fall, for his dedication and for giving all his time in guiding the work of the Committee. We wish him every success and satisfaction in his future work and actions. Finally, I extend to you all our deep gratitude and appreciation of your continued support and assistance and of your solidarity with our Palestinian peoples and their just cause. May God's peace and blessings be with you.

Statements by Committees of the General  Assembly of the United Nations

H.E. Mr. Paul John Firmino Lusaka,

President of the United Nations Council for Namibia

Mr. Chairman, allow me first of all to express my thanks to you and the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People for having extended an invitation to me, in my capacity as President of the United Nations Council for Namibia, to address this special meeting commemorating the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.

The Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, under the dynamic leadership of my colleague, friend and brother, Mr. Fall of Senegal, has been instrumental in the promotion of knowledge and mobilization of world opinion regarding the implementation of the recommendations of the General Assembly as a basis for the settlement of the question of Palestine.

The commemoration of this Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People must be seen in the light of the struggle to put an end to the colonialism and foreign occupation, that many peoples in the world are still carrying on. The fate of the Palestinian people, driven from their own homes, dispossessed of their property, deprived of their rights, is an ineludible responsibility of the United Nations.

Just like the Namibian people, the Palestinian people have suffered the brutal occupation of their territory, massive forced removal from their homes, the confiscation of their property and the denial of their rights. They have continued their legitimate struggle for self-determination and independence, under the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization, against Israel, which, like the régime in Pretoria, has attempted to impose an unacceptable solution in violation of all United Nations resolutions on the Palestinian question.

Furthermore, Israel has, with its usual arrogance and defiance, ruthlessly employed all means to thwart the aspirations of the Palestinian people. Confronted with growing international pressure, Israel has resorted to increased violence against the Palestinian people, substantially building up its military power in the occupied territories and establishing terror and oppression to the detriment of the genuine aspirations of the Palestinian people for self-indetermination and independence.

On this Day of Solidarity, the progressive and peace-loving forces of the international community should firmly reassert their unwavering support for the struggle of the Palestinian people.

The Palestinian question has serious implications affecting international peace and security and the interests of the world community as a whole. Therefore it is of overriding importance that the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council should renew and strengthen their efforts to find solutions to this question which challenges the very foundation of our Organization and its Charter. It is by the concerted and firm action of the international community in support of the struggling people of Palestine that their just aspirations will be fulfilled.

H.E. Mr. B. Akporode Clark,

Chairman of the Special Committee Against Apartheid

The United Nations Special Committee Against Apartheid attaches the highest importance to the observance of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. That observance is a further manifestation of the dedication of the United Nations to enhance the realization of the right of all peoples of the world to self-determination, equality and justice. The United Nations Special Committee Against Apartheid believes that the right of peoples to self-determination is sacrosanct.

The General Assembly, by strongly reiterating the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination, including its right to return to its homeland, has contributed significantly to the establishment of real peace and security in the Middle East and indeed in the world.

The irony of the situation in Palestine, as it is in South Africa, is that the more the international community decries the policies of Israel and South Africa as being in violation of international law and common human decency, the more self-righteous those two countries become. No sooner does the international community call upon them to fulfill certain obligations, than Israel and South Africa withdraw into their shells to defy the will of the international community in arrogance and by brandishing their military might.

The level of political consciousness of the oppressed peoples of the world is such that no one can deny the liberation movements of South Africa and of Palestine their authentic legitimacy and the fact that they are the true representatives of their peoples. Logically, therefore, those liberation movements must participate in all processes or negotiations on determining the future of their countries and peoples.

The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which has been gaining and will continue the respect and support of the international community, cannot and should not be excluded from the efforts to establish a just peace in the Middle East. Speaking in my other capacities as a Nigerian and an African, I proudly recall the numerous resolutions of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) pledging full support and recognition of the undeniable role of the PLO in the liberation struggle of the Palestinian people.

While there has been increasing support for the struggle of the people of Palestine, the Government of Israel persists in its policies of contempt towards the United Nations and world public opinion. While for instance the Government of Israel professes to abide by the United Nations resolutions denouncing collaboration with the apartheid régime in South Africa, there is mounting evidence that Israel and South Africa are intensifying not only their economic and commercial relations, but are also actively collaborating in political, security, military and nuclear matters.

Therefore Israel has become one of the main suppliers of arms to South Africa. Its contemptuous attitude towards the struggle of the people of South Africa and its expanding co-operation with the apartheid régime is becoming a matter of doctrinal conviction rather than a so-called tactical response to the solidarity of the African peoples and Governments with the struggle of the Palestinian people for justice and their own homeland.

The United Nations Special Committee Against Apartheid would continue to insist that Israel should abandon its collaboration with South Africa and scrupulously abide by the resolutions and decisions of the General Assembly and the Security Council calling upon it to cease its collaboration with the apartheid régime of South Africa.

In conclusion, on behalf of the Special Committee against Apartheid, I should like to express to you once again, Mr. Chairman, our appreciation for your excellent leadership and tireless efforts to discharge the mandate of the General Assembly in assisting the people of Palestine to attain their right to self-determination and to return to their homeland, I also assure you of our fullest possible support.

Statements by regional groups of States at the United Nations 

Groups of African and Arab States

Mr. Juma M. El-Gariani, Counsellor, Permanent Mission of the

Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya to the United Nations

It is an honour for me to speak today on behalf of the Arab Group of States as well as the African Group of States and I should like to begin by thanking all those who were involved in the organization of this meeting which the international community, represented at the United Nations, has decided to hold each year in order to affirm the solidarity of the States and peoples of the world which love peace and freedom with the Palestinian people in its honourable struggle for freedom, self-determination and return to its homeland. The designation of this date, 29 November, each year to show international solidarity with the people of Palestine is the best proof and evidence that international society and the international community affirm and believe in the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, namely, its right to its homeland, Palestine, its right to exercise self-determination without any external interference, and its right to return to its land and to sovereignty.

I should like on this occasion, on behalf of the Arab and the African Groups of States, to pay a tribute and to affirm our commitment and complete loyalty to the heroic struggle which is being waged by these brotherly Palestinian people under the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organizations its sole legitimate representative. Our unlimited support for the Palestinian people is a national duty and an affirmation of the inalienable rights that have been enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, in United Nations resolutions and in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The resolutions of the Arab Summit conferences and the African Summit conferences and of the international community as a whole have also stated, along with us, that the question of Palestine is the key and the heart of the problem of the Middle East and that any solution which aims at peace and justice in that area cannot succeed without responding to the aspirations and affirming the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people. Any solution to the question of the Middle East must take into consideration the inalienable and legitimate rights of the Palestinian people to return to its homeland and property, to achieve and exercise self-determination, independence and national sovereignty. Any solution which does not take all those factors into consideration will not contribute to the achievement of a just and lasting peace in the area of the Middle East.

The participation of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the representative of the Palestinian people, on an equal footing with the other parties on the basis of General Assembly resolutions 3236 (XXIX) and 3376 (XXX), is important to all international deliberations and negotiations regarding the rights of the Palestinian people. The natural and inalienable right of the Palestinian people to return to its homeland is affirmed by the General Assembly practically every year, and the Security Council unanimously recognized that right in its resolution 237 (1967).

The time for the implementation of United Nations resolutions came long ago and I therefore ask the United Nations, and particularly the Security Council, to take suitable and practical measures to enable the Palestinian people to exercise its right to return to its homeland and to exercise and enjoy self-determination. The Security Council must put an end to the aggression of the Zionist racist entity and its inhuman practices against the Arab peoples in Palestine and in the occupied Arab territories. The record of the racist Zionist entity and that of its ally, the racist régime of South Africa, constitute one of the most horrible records in the history of mankind. Its racist practices have exceeded anything that might be imagined and we consider that the time has come for the international community to stand together and to take the necessary effective measures to put an end to those racist practices.

I should like to take this opportunity to pay a tribute to the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People for the intensified efforts which it has made to bring about the implementation of its resolutions. I should also like to recall those resolutions which were prepared by the Committee and which were supported by the General Assembly on more than one occasion as the basis for the solution of the question of Palestine.

In conclusion, I should like to extend my thanks and appreciation to all friendly peoples which love peace and freedom and which have supported the just cause of the Palestinian people. A tribute must also be paid to the heroic struggle of the Palestinian people under the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization.

Group of Asian States

H.E. Mr. Jasim Yousif Jamal,

Permanent Representative of Qatar to the United Nations

I have the pleasure of participating, on behalf of the Asian Group of which I have the honour to be the Chairman this month, in the events taking place today wherein the United Nations pays a tribute to the struggle of the Palestinian people for the liberation of their territory.

When the United Nations adopted the resolution which designated 29 November the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, the aim was naturally not to hold an annual commemoration when speakers would support the Palestinian people who have been waiting for over 30 years and still wait at the artificial barriers that have prevented their return to their homeland. That resolution has more than a traditional meaning and goes so far as to affirm the unanimity of the international community in its support for the national aspirations and the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people. That unanimity has been expressed in deeds, not just in words, by the long list of resolutions adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations over the past 30 years which affirm and recognize the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people.

That is a clear and strong expression of the isolation of Israel which stands alone in its intransigence and defiance of international public opinion both at the official and the popular level, paying no heed to the resolutions of this international community – although the very existence of Israel is unfortunately based on one of the resolutions of the international Organization. It would be no exaggeration to say that this defiance of the United Nations on the part of Israel is one of the basic factors which have defaced the image of this Organization until, in the minds of men, that image is almost one of impotence and passivity.

What is the fate of the Palestinian people two million of whom have been living either in refugee camps or in exile, while the third million are on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip under Israeli military occupation: which exercises against them all, means of oppression, torture and brutal and hateful racist suppression? But it would be a fatal error for Members of the United Nations, particularly Member nations the size of Israel or South Africa, to think that they can impose their illegal will on the international community. Unfortunately, these countries which defy international unanimity could not have continued their flagrant defiance and violation of laws, resolutions and international agreements if they had not depend d for their basic support on a major Power, in defending their strange logic within this Organization, providing them with economic assistance, and supplying them with the means of life and with developed weaponry. This tempts them to entrench their occupation of the land of others and to carry out their brutal aggressions, thus violating the sovereignty of another State, Lebanon, under the pretext or myth of the physical liquidation of the Palestinian people.

The Asian Group, on whose behalf I have the honour to speak today, believes that the time has come for the international community to lift from the shoulders of the struggling Palestinian peoples the great burden of the tragedy that occurred in 1918. The international community, which does not accept the usurpation of a sovereign State, will not remain unmoved by the usurpation of an entire homeland.

At at time when we reaffirm the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people we support the struggle of that heroic people, who have stunned the world, end continue to do so, by giving the most heroic examples of sacrifice and martyrdom in seeking restoration of the usurped homeland of Palestine, under the leadership of their sole legitimate representative, the Palestine Liberation Organization.

Group of Eastern European States

H.E. Mr. Oleg Aleksandrovich Troyanovsky, Permanent Representative

of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics to the United Nations

At the outset of my remarks I wish to say how gratified I am that you have given me an opportunity to speak in my capacity as Chairman of the Group of Eastern European States for the month of November, during this special meeting commemorating the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.

On behalf of the people of the Byelorussian SSR, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, the German Democratic Republic, Poland, Romania, the Ukrainian SSR and the Soviet Union it has become customary to commemorate this Day in the United Nations, which has recently adopted numerous valid and important resolutions directed at supporting the legitimate rights of the people of Palestine.

It is well known that in 1974 the United Nations General Assembly adopted a special resolution reaffirming the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination, with external interference, and to national independence and sovereignty, and recognizing the Palestine Liberation Organization as the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.

In past years the unswerving and courageous struggle of the Palestinian people to obtain their rights has attracted the wide-ranging support and understanding of the international community. The overwhelming majority of States now recognize that the Palestine resistance movement is the vanguard of the Arab national liberation movement, and that if the legitimate demands of the Palestinian people are not met it will be impossible to establish stable, just and lasting peace in the Middle East.

The position of principle of the aforementioned socialist countries on the Palestinian problem is well known, and remains unchanged. These countries categorically demand that the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including the right of that people to self-determination, as well as their right to the establishment of an independent State, be speedily granted. These States give their full support to the just cause of the Palestinian people and their struggle to obtain their national rights, freedom and national independence.

Today, nobody will deny the irrefutable fact that if the Palestinian problem remains unsolved there can be no just and stable settlement in the Middle East. That fact is self-evident. Such a settlement can be obtained only with the equal participation of all the parties concerned, including the PLO, the sole authentic representative of the Palestinian people.

The position of principle, the constructive position of the PLO with regard to a settlement of the Middle East crisis and its contribution to strengthening the unity of action by the Arab States, despite the existence of separate agreements has been accurately assessed throughout the world. Israel, which has signed the Charter of the Organization stubbornly continues to flout the important resolutions of this organization. Those resolutions call for the implementation of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, but Israel refuses to tread the same path as that taken by the international community. However, the Israeli leaders must have known for a considerable time that no behind-the-scenes activity, no talks relating to a so-called autonomy for Palestinians, can bring any closer a stable peace in the Middle East.

The path leading to peace will be found by the bringing about of a just solution to the Palestinian problem within the context of a general settlement of the situation in the Middle East. The absence of any solution to this complex international problem will lead to a further deterioration in the situation in the region and will create a situation which is potentially dangerous to international peace and security as a whole.

Responsibility for this falls squarely on Israel and the imperialist forces that fully support it.

In conclusion, I should like to express our satisfaction at the useful work accomplished by the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People with the aim of ensuring that a just solution to the Palestinian problem will be found. I should like to affirm that the socialist States, on whose behalf I speak, will continue, as they have in the past, actively to participate in the work of the Committee and will do their best to co-operate so as to ensure that its decisions and recommendations are implemented.

Group of Latin American States

Mr. Hugo V. Palma,

Deputy Permanent Representative of Peru to the United Nations

Once again, it is a pleasure for Latin America to be present and to participate together with other regional groups, in this commemoration of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, thus demonstrating the world-wide support for the just cause of the Palestinian people.

Although the Latin American countries have different views regarding certain aspects of the question, they all agree in expressing their will to co-operate in the settlement of the Palestinian problem within the framework of the relevant United Nations resolutions, while naturally maintaining their respective positions on those resolutions.

In more than a century and a half of independence, Latin America has recognized and promoted fundamental principles which have consolidated its independence and facilitated the accession of other countries of the region to independence. Among these principles we must especially highlight the principle of the self-determination of peoples and the principle that occupation by force does not confer territorial rights. We need hardly repeat that these principles are of special relevance to the solution of the complex problem of the Middle East and to the attainment of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people.

For more than 30 years, these principles have guided the countries of our region in the initiatives they have taken or supported with regard to the Middle East and the question of Palestine. Latin America has been, and continues to be, in solidarity with the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and urges the prompt elaboration of arrangements conducive to a just settlement, with the participation of all concerned, of this complex problem which affects not only the region, but also the maintenance of international peace and security.

Latin America also hopes that the solution of these problems will be found by peaceful and concerted means, for only such a solution can be just and lasting. Armed forces must be withdrawn from the occupied territories, there must be recognition of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of all the States of the region, and their right to live in peace, free from threats or acts of force and the rights of the Palestinian people must be recognized and exercised. Our Organization should, for its part, do everything in its power to promote conciliation and co-operation, to reduce tensions and to promote the just and lasting peace in the Middle East for which we all hope.

For historic and religious reasons, Latin America is closely linked to the problems of the region and feels that the continuation of the crisis besetting it impedes the establishment of higher forms of coexistence and co-operation, which the peoples of the regions deserve by virtue of the age-old civilizations established there. Because of the contribution made by these civilizations to mankind and the great things that may be expected from the unification of the area, Latin America believes that the signing of a peace based on justice will set its stamp on the future – we hope the very near future – of the Middle East region.

To the Palestinian people, to whom we reiterate today our solidarity through its representatives here, we also express our most profound desire for the full and peaceful realization of the future which it deserves.

Statements by inter-governmental organizations with

observer status at the United Nations

ORGANIZATION OF AFRICAN UNITY

H.E. Mr. Winston Tubman,

Representative of the Chairman of OAU

Mr. Chairman, I wish to thank you and the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People for honouring the Organization of African Unity (OAU) by inviting its current Chairman, the President of Liberia, through his representative, to say a few words here today. As that representative it is therefore a great honour and a pleasing duty for me to extend warm greetings to the Palestinian people on the occasion of this special programme commemorating the International Day of Solidarity with them. Your involvement of the OAU in this programme, Mr. Chairman, no less than the efficient and dedicated services which you, a son of Senegal, that proud African nation, have rendered for several years as Chairman of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, underscores the close ties that link the African and Palestinian peoples in bonds of fraternal solidarity. Both peoples have suffered alien domination and exploitation; both peoples have been denied basic human and political rights; yet, throughout all those hardships – in fact, partly due to them – both the African and Palestinian peoples have never lost faith in themselves nor in their future. It is that faith and the indomitable spirit to overcome the adversity which nurtured it that has brought those two heroic peoples to the threshold of a new day and a brighter future.

The States of the OAU, which are linked as much by their common allegiance to the African motherland as by an unshakeable determination to preserve their hard-won liberty, have long recognized that the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination and its entitlement to a homeland of its own lie at the heart of the Middle East problem, but, more than merely recognizing Palestinian rights in idealistic and abstract terms, the members of the OAU have persistently and actively supported the Palestinian cause, even when such support required the payment of a high price by our countries, most of which, after all, are still struggling to find their own feet. There was a time when the important link between the Palestine problem and the settlement of the Middle East crises and wars was not recognized by many States; indeed, the destiny, the hopes, even the right of existence itself of whole people, a people of character and genius, seemed banished from the international agenda, relegated to oblivion. But the conscience of humanity could not remain for ever burdened by so monstrous a neglect. Today, due largely to the exertions of the Palestinians themselves, things are very different. The conscience of the whole world has been aroused and the just cause of the Palestinian people has won and continues to win understanding, sympathy and support in all parts of me world. Even some Governments which have so far been unable to recognize the national liberation movement of the Palestinian people, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) no longer deny – indeed many of them have stated – that unless and until the problem of the Palestinians is resolved no comprehensive or lasting peace in the Middle East can be found.

The grievance of the Palestinian people is the crucial reality of the unresolved dangers in the Middle East and reality, especially when it is supported by the demands of justice, cannot be ignored indefinitely. Therefore today, as we commemorate the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, the member States of the OAU, all of whom have known great suffering but who none the less still love and cherish justice, are heartened by the growing signs that, after so many years of the most grinding oppression and neglect, the gallant Palestinian people will soon be able to exercise its right to self-determination and will be able at long last to establish what shall surely be a peace-loving resourceful State of its own. This is the sincere wish of the current Chairman of the OAU for the Palestinian people on this solemn day, because the Palestinian cause, which is a cause for justice and freedom, is more than an Arab cause. It is also an African cause; indeed, it is a cause for lovers of freedom wherever they may live.

ISLAMIC CONFERENCE

H.E. Dr. Amadou Gaye,

Secretary-General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference

Thirty-two years ago today the United Nations proclaimed in resolution 181 (II) of 29 November 1947 the creation of two distinct territorial entities on the soil of age-old Palestine, each with an equal right to exist.

That resolution thus gave rise to the birth of two sovereign States, a Palestinian Arab State and the State of Israel, both solemnly recognized by the international community.

It is edifying to note in retrospect that resolution 273 (III) adopted by the General Assembly on 11 May 1949 linked the admission of Israel to the United Nations to two essential conditions:

By a bitter irony of fate, we were to learn over those 30 years what value Israel would attach to those solemn commitments.

We see that of Arab Palestine, whose existence, together with that of the Hebrew State was recognized by the United Nations in 1917, there remains nothing but dismembered and fragmented territories occupied by Israeli forces.

For those many long years, the Palestinian people would be subjected to oppression within the occupied territories in violation of international conventions on the protection of civilian populations in armed conflicts.

In addition to suffering oppression, the Palestinians would see their lands ravaged and their property stolen and they would be expelled from their homeland. What we are witnessing today is the pursuit of a policy whose foundations zionism has been laying for many years.

Even before the establishment of the State of Israel, Ben Gurion did not hesitate to state:

And, as we know, 20,000 persons were expelled in accordance with those plans in a single year.

In addition, we are witnessing each day the establishment of new Jewish colonies in the occupied territories, and even in the very heart of Jerusalem.

Thus, the number of Jews in Jerusalem, which was 10,000 in 1918, reached 290,000 in 1967 and 390,000 in 1976. The Israeli authorities already estimate that the number will reach 500,000 in 1980. Their aim is to "ensure the phased and gradual establishment of Jewish colonies in contiguous areas so as to create a 'material reality' within a geopolitical framework, which can be used to justify a new boundary."

The International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, which the international community is observing with us on 29 November 1979, is thus a Day of law and justice, a day for affirming the primacy of law over force, a day for affirming the eternal nature of justice and law.

In this connexion, the United Nations Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People has made a masterly analysis of the determining phases which can lead to the establishment of a sound peace in the Middle East based on respect for the legitimate and inalienable rights of the Palestinian people.

In the Committee's view, the United Nations, in co-operation with the States directly involved and the Palestine Liberation Organization, must take the necessary measures to enable Palestinians displaced between 1948 and 1967 to exercise their right to return to their homes and recover their property, in accordance with the relevant United Nations resolutions, particularly General Assembly resolution 194 and Security Council resolution 237 (1967).

The Committee has further stated that with the return of the Palestinians to their homes and the recovery of their property and with the establishment of an independent Palestinian entity, the Palestinian people would be able to exercise its right of self-determination and to decide its form of government without external interference.

In short, what is needed is to reaffirm and restore once for all the inalienable national rights of the Palestinian people, including its right to return to Palestine and, more basically, its right to self-determination and to national independence and sovereignty.

Those are the principles which have always guided the actions of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, from its first summit at Rabat in 1969 to its tenth conference at Fez from 12 to 19 May 1979.

The same principles have been reaffirmed with equal relevance at all the sessions of the Jerusalem Committee of the Organization of the Islamic Conference. The use of brutal force for the past 30 years against the Arab peoples of the region, and especially against the Palestinian people, cannot wipe out the traces of the long Arab and Moslem history with which Arab Palestine and "Al-Quds" (Jerusalem) will always be identified.

The Zionist authorities' policy of taking dangerous action to avoid what they consider the greater dangers of inaction cannot promote a constructive solution to the problem of Jerusalem, Palestine and the occupied Arab territories.

It is even less capable of concealing the tragedy which the Palestinian people has been living for more than 30 years.

It cannot put down the resistance of a people aware of its rights and its identity. It cannot shake the faith of a people fighting for its survival.

In observing today the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, we are observing at the same time the solidarity of destiny which links the Governments of the States members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, a solidarity of destiny which links all justice-loving men and peoples. For the Islamic peoples and communities throughout the world, the Palestinian question is the crux of the conflict in the Middle East. For the Governments of the Islamic States, as for the international community, failure to recognize this reality gravely jeopardizes peace and security in the Middle Eastern region.

Jerusalem and the Palestinian cause have always been regarded by the Organization of the Islamic Conference as the fundamental issues on its agenda.

Any concession on these issues would constitute an unacceptable departure from the principles and objectives which the Organization of the Islamic Conference was created to promote.

For us, to observe the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People is to affirm that no agreement can decide the destiny of the Palestinian people unless it respects the right of the Palestine Liberation Organization to participate as the sole authentic representative of the Palestinian people on an equal footing with the other parties, in all meetings of international bodies on the Palestinian question and peace in the Middle East.

To observe the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People is to affirm with the serene confidence which comes from the knowledge of a just cause, that there has never been any instance in which an entire people committed to a national liberation struggle has failed to triumph in the end over domination based on violence and force.

This applies today to Arab Palestine and the Palestine Liberation Organization.

And this is the message which the Organization of the Islamic Conference wishes to convey to the Palestine Liberation Organization and to occupied Palestine on this International Day of Solidarity with the entire Palestinian people.

LEAGUE OF ARAB STATES

H.E. Mr. Chedli Klibi,

Secretary-General of the League of Arab States

The Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People is the crowning of the efforts that the United Nations is carrying out to explain the characteristics and dimensions of the Palestinian question. However, the highlighting of the justice and legitimacy of the struggle of the Palestinian people, an awareness of which you, Mr. Chairman, have tried to inculcate in the very soul and conscience of mankind, would appear to have been insufficient. In order to bring out those aspects of the Palestinian question, we have tried to expose the false actions carried out by zionism to obliterate the rights of the Palestinian people, actions whereby Israel wishes to efface the glorious aspect of the struggle that the Palestine Liberation Organization is waging.

The Palestinian people have achieved great victories on the international scene, and its greatest victory has always been in its direct, continuous and intensified confrontation with Israeli aggression in all its various aspects and wherever it occurs. One of Israel's aims is to sap the Palestinians physically by haphazard bombing of their refugee camps from land, sea and air in Lebanon and by installing settlements under the guise, on the one hand, of security requirements and, on the other hand, of racist ideological beliefs. All these attempts have been unmasked through the heroic and comprehensive struggle of the Palestinian people and the information campaign carried out by the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinians under the leadership of its wise Chairman, Mr. Fall.

Peace based on justice remains the objective of the Palestinian struggle. Throughout the years of the long and bitter struggle the Palestinian people, like all other peace-loving peoples of the world, refuses to set up entities based on racism, while the Israeli justification is based on colour, origin, race or religion. The Palestinian people remain convinced of the need to work to achieve a durable and just peace which can be brought about only through the implementation of the principles of the Charter and the resolutions of the United Nations, to enable all oppressed peoples to exercise the right to self-determination and to give them the opportunity to participate effectively in the implementation of those principles.

The settlement of the fateful question of the future of millions of people is linked to the choice of the correct course of action. Peace cannot be created by ignoring the rights of peoples or ignoring the participation of the parties directly concerned in the conflict. Furthermore, we cannot speak of peace within the framework of a plan to impose a fait accompli or a policy aimed at the seizure of further territory and at depriving peoples of their basic political, human and national rights. For that reason, we are meeting today in solidarity with the just struggle of the Palestinian people. We recognize that the question of the Palestinian people reflects the cause of those peoples throughout history who have been subjected to injustice, and who have joined this Organization after their struggle against imperialism and colonialism had resulted in their attaining independence. The day will come when the Palestinian people will join the group of independent States and lend greater strength to their support for the struggle of peoples for their dignity and in support of mankind's march towards a world in which justice and equality prevail.

On 29 November 1947, the date which marked the division of Palestine, the United Nations had a limited membership. Through the years the United Nations has become a broad Organization, including all the peoples of the world, particularly the peoples of the third world. In 1974, the United Nations invited Mr. Arafat, the Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, to bring the real voice of the Palestinian people to the international community. The United Nations showed greater understanding, and the just Palestinian cause achieved greater acceptance in the international community. On 29 November 1978 the first International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People was commemorated. As a result of the emergence of Arab power through consolidation and solidarity, as shown for instance in the summit conferences of Baghdad and Tunis, all attempts to remove the question of Palestine from its central position in the conscience of mankind were thwarted. This is the second time we have celebrated the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. Let us hope that next 29 November will be a day of international, celebration of the implementation of all United Nations resolutions pertaining to the rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination and the establishment of their nation in their own homeland and on their territory. To those who say that this is optimistic we say that it is a commitment of the international community to restore rights where they belong.

In conclusion, allow me to pay a tribute to the actions taken by the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Bights of the Palestinian People under your wise leadership, Mr. Chairman, in spite of the difficult circumstances in which you have worked. We wish you and your successor every success.

Statement by other inter-governmental organization

H.E. Mr. Fidel Castro Ruz, President of the Council of State

and of the Government of the Republic of Cuba,

Chairman of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries

The International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People affords me an opportunity once again to reaffirm the unswerving solidarity which we feel towards that heroic people. The Sixth Summit Conference of Heads of State or Government of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries, in dealing with the question of Palestine, emphasized that the Zionist occupation of Palestine and usurpation of the rights of its people are at the crux of the conflict in the Middle East and that a solution cannot be achieved unless the Palestinian people regains its inalienable national rights, including its right to self-determination and the creation of an independent Palestinian State in Palestine.

In the past few months the world has witnessed concerted manoeuvres under the Camp David accords aimed at continuing to deprive the Palestinian people of the exercise of those rights. Encouraged by those accords, zionism has stepped up the implementation of its policy of confiscation of Palestinian lands in the occupied territories and the establishment of Zionist settlements and the installation of new military posts, as well as of acts of aggression by land, sea and air against Lebanon through the use of the most sophisticated weapons supplied by the United States, sowing death among millions of Palestinians and Lebanese. These facts show once again that the racist and Zionist policy of Israel continues to challenge the decisions of the international community, which makes it essential to show real solidarity of all kinds with the Palestinian people, led by its sole legitimate representative the PLO, in the political, cultural and informational fields and in military assistance programmes which would serve the interests of the struggle of that people for the liberation of its homeland.

Never before has there been a more urgent need for the forces that cherish peace and progress to pool their efforts in order to lend their full support to the courageous struggle of the Palestinian people for the recovery of its inalienable rights to sovereignty and to the creation of its own State.

Statements by other invited speakers 

WORLD CONFERENCE IN SOLIDARITY WITH THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE

General Costa Gomes, President

We thank, the Special Unit on Palestinian Rights and the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, and in particular its Chairman, Ambassador Médoune Fall, for the invitation which has been extended to us. We are most honoured to be able to participate in a ceremony as meaningful as this, the second commemoration at the United Nations of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.

Perhaps in the choice of 29 November as this International Day of Solidarity as in other decisions and efforts of the General Assembly in recent years – there is a self-critical pang of conscience, the beginning of historical reparations. We have in mind certain grave injustices, certain grave dangers resulting from the way in which the General Assembly resolution of 29 November 1947 has been implemented.

Rarely in modern times has a people been the victim of a tragedy as cruel as that of the Palestinian people, deprived not only of its independence, but also of its native land. And now, should the Camp David accords not become null and void, the Palestinian people may see its right to be considered as a people threatened. Such injustice is obviously unacceptable and inadmissible and must never be victorious in our era.

This is why the Middle East crisis – with the Palestine question as its central and essential issue – has become a very dangerous permanent hotbed of international tension and of war. If the problem of Palestine is not resolved in a just, comprehensive and lasting way, its repercussions and consequences will continue to menace the Mediterranean region and the progress of the African continent towards complete independence, as well as unity, security and peace in Asia.

There can never be just and lasting peace in the Middle East or in the world if the inalienable national rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination without outside interference, including its right to return to its land of Palestine and to establish an independent State in its native land, are not fully recognized, respected and guaranteed.

The Palestinian people is a small people which has already taken its place in history because of its long martyrdom, its limitless devotion to its homeland, its political conscience and maturity and its heroic struggle under the leadership of its sole authentic representative, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). Today, it has become a stumbling block, a major obstacle to the plans and interests of those who, against the flow of history and the will of peoples, wish to perpetuate their strategic and economic domination in the Middle East.

It must be clearly stated that the key to a comprehensive solution is the true independence of the Palestinian people and of the other peoples of the region. This profound, inevitable change must occur simultaneously with the deepening of political and military détente, and the strengthening of world peace; that is to say, within the framework of the United Nations and the principles of its Charter.

I am speaking to you in my capacity as President of the World Conference in solidarity with the Aral people and its central cause: Palestine, which took place in Lisbon, Portugal from 2 to 6 November this year. This active non-governmental Conference – because of the quality and number of the participants coming from all regions of the world, and the active support by the Portuguese democratic forces and people – was an event unprecedented in the international movement of. solidarity with the Palestinian people.

The presence of President Yasser Arafat – who was received by the highest Portuguese authorities as well as by the masses of the people, in a very warm and unforgettable manner – lent the World Conference at Lisbon great importance and brilliance. Hence, it was able to make a breakthrough for the Palestinian cause in the Western mass media. From this standpoint, the World Conference marked the consummation of the current process – which is due largely to the initiatives of the PLO – of widespread international recognition of the justice of the Palestinian cause. The Conference also marked the beginning of a new higher-level stage in the international movement of solidarity with the Palestinian people.

In general terms, it is recognized today that world public opinion, in it various democratic trends and movements, plays an increasingly important role in implementing United Nations resolutions, in the very vitality of the Organization and in the defence of peace. But with regard to the just cause of the Palestinian people, the role of world public opinion in the implementation of United Nations resolutions is even greater, for well known reasons. Only within the framework of the United Nations – which the Camp David accords and the Washington treaty sought to ignore, as they ignored the Palestinian people and the PLO – can a just and lasting peace be found in the Middle East.

Now we must not lose time. The Lisbon Declaration which emerged from the world conference, correctly stresses that if on the one hand international support for the Palestinian cause is making great progress, on the other hand, the situation in the Middle East is more explosive than ever, and to a great extent as a result of the Camp David accords and Israel's aggressive policy.

In such a context, the programme and the activity of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, the present debate on the Palestinian question at the General Assembly of the United Nations and the action on implementing its resolutions acquire even greater importance than they had in the past.

The programme of action resulting from the Lisbon world conference will also provide support on the level of world public opinion – for initiatives and resolutions of the United Nations on the independence of Palestine, on the freedom and happiness of the Palestinian people and its children and on a just and lasting peace in the Middle East and in the world.

PALESTINE HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN

Dr. James Zogby,

Chairman, Palestine Human Rights Campaign

We thank you for the invitation extended to our Palestine Human Rights Campaign to participate in this Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. We come today to express our support for the rights of the Palestinian people. We feel obliged to begin by highlighting our special concern and expressing our special support for those Palestinians living under Israeli occupation, whose rights are being actively violated daily. Especially we wish to cite our concern and support for Mr. Bassam Al-Shaka, the Mayor of Nablus in Palestine. Today Mayor Shaka begins the fourth week of confinement in Ramle prison. We are outraged by his imprisonment and by the continued efforts of the Israeli military Government to expel him from his homeland. We and thousands of our members and supporters have expressed our condemnation of this violation of rights and we are determined to continue our campaign to defend his rights and the rights of the Palestinians living under Israeli military rule. We come today to express our support for the rights of all the Palestinian people: their right to return to their homes; their right to be represented by their chosen leadership, the Palestine Liberation Organization; their right to live as a free and independent people with full national sovereignty. As we witness today, the vast majority of humanity recognizes those rights of the Palestinian people. Only a few States, led by our Government, the United States, remain outside this international consensus. We in the Palestine Human Rights Campaign draw special attention to the fact that our Government has chosen to boycott these meetings. We feel that in doing so the United States has turned a deaf ear to the causes of human rights and peace which it so ardently claims to pursue. This unfortunately does not surprise us, however, for while claiming to maintain those goals for the peoples of the Middle East, evidence of United States commitment is hard to find. For example, while the United States Government called lest year for an investigation into Israeli practices of torture of Palestinian prisoners, it allowed Israel to investigate itself, ignoring United Nations findings, and Israel gave itself a clean bill of health; and while there exists the United States law which makes it illegal for the United States Government to give military and economic aid to countries which are violators of human rights; and while not only the United Nations but the United States State Department itself shows that Israel is violating human rights in at least five significant areas, still Israel continues to receive the lion's share of United States military and economic aid – $12 billion since 1973. And while the United States has expressed concern for Palestinian rights, it proceeded, together with the Egyptian and Israeli Governments at Camp David, to define away all meaningful rights of the Palestinians and instead offered them only continued occupation or exile.

Thus we have sadly concluded that it is not only as a result of the racism and expansionism of the Israeli Government that Palestinian rights are violated, but it is sadly due to the policies of our own Government that the Palestinian people is denied its national and human rights.

Our Palestine Human Rights Campaign was therefore formed to call on our Government to speak and act with one voice and to commit itself to the recognition of Palestinian rights by recognizing the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people as outlined in United Nations resolutions on the Palestine question, by recognizing the Palestine Liberation Organization as representative of the Palestinian people and by calling on Israel to end its occupation of Palestinian lands. Our Palestine Human Rights Campaign declares its intent to intensify its efforts to build a mass movement of the American people and to mobilize public opinion to change United States policy into a policy committed in both word and deed to human rights and peace. We are confident that our people will unite around the cause of justice for the Palestinian people. In the past few months alone we have seen evidence of what profound changes can occur in the United States; not only black and Arab Americans have come forward to join our campaign for Palestinian rights, but major Hispanic and American Indian organizations and church and peace organizations have committed themselves to building a movement to put recognition of Palestinian rights on the United States political agenda. This is why we are here today: to commit ourselves as Americans to peace, to human rights and to the recognition of Palestinian national and human rights.

PARLIAMENTARY ASSOCIATION FOR EURO-ARAB CO-OPERATION

Mr. Michel Achilli, Vice-President,_Member of Italian Parliament

and Representative of the Parliamentary Association for Euro-Arab Co-operation

It is a great honour for the Parliamentary Association for Euro-Arab Co-operation to participate in the commemoration of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. Over the past years, we have constantly worked to broaden the awareness of European public opinion of the need for a deep dialogue with the Arab people, and particularly for supporting the Palestinian cause and the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination, to return to their homeland and to establish their own national independent State.

In the beginning it was not easy, but now the situation is changing, very rapidly at the public opinion level, but too slowly at the governmental level. That is why we must now make a major effort, because the situation is full of tension and dangers for peace. We are sure that the solution of the Palestinian problem could help us to find a lasting peace in the whole area.

The Parliamentary Association is moving in this direction: each member is working in his Parliament, as well as in the European Parliament, and is pressing his Government for full recognition of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the legitimate representative of the Palestinians, as a basis for full implementation of United Nations resolutions.

Recently, as you know, the nine countries of the European Economic Community (EEC) reaffirmed that in respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of every State in the area concerned, the legitimate rights of the Palestinians should be taken into account, including their right to a homeland.

That is still a little, and just the first step after years of guilty silence, but it is an important basis for future developments, if the political forces to which the individual members of the Association belong become aware of the need to work harder towards that end.

That is the reason, I believe, why Ambassador Fall said in his speech of 29 June this year that the Committee of which he was the Chairman was ready to support any decision by the Security Council based on the terms of that statement by the nine European countries.

Because now is the time to pass from resolutions to decisions and to implement declarations, all those political forces that continually put obstacles and vetoes in the way of finding a solution will be assuming a grave responsibility.

We are deeply convinced that time is very short and that it is necessary to multiply efforts to mobilize public opinion – and, as far as we are concerned, the parliaments – in order to reach a solution and bring about a solid and lasting peace, which means the recognition of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people to independence and to a sovereign State in which to live in freedom and peace.

SOUTH WEST AFRICA PEOPLE'S ORGANIZATION

Mr. Peter Mueshihange,

Secretary for Foreign Affairs, SWAPO

The South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) of Namibia is gratified to carry out its revolutionary duty in expressing its militant support for and solidarity with the Palestine Liberation Organization and the struggle Palestinian people on the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.

It will be understood if we sound emphatic and strong. Our Namibia and Palestine, as represented by the PLO, share certain similarities deeply rooted in our colonial past and based on our common struggles to bring about national independence and social liberation in our respective countries. In the eyes of the imperialists and colonialists at the Versailles Conference, both our peoples were mere chattels spoils of war relegated to inhuman alphabetical categories. Throughout the long period since the end of the First World War, which has seen the creation and demise of the moribund League of Nations and the creation of the United Nations, our peoples have remained faithful and committed to the sacred principles of the right to self-determination and national independence. Today the PLO and SWAPO are recognized universally as the sole and authentic representatives of their respective peoples. Equally, the legitimacy of the armed struggle has been recognized and endorsed in each case.

As regards Palestine, SWAPO recognizes only the Palestine Liberation Organization as the spokesman and representative of the Palestinian people who are fighting so gallantly to recover their legitimate and inalienable rights, including the right to a homeland, as an independent, sovereign State. On the other hand, SWAPO vehemently and strongly condemns the Zionist entity of Israel which, in defiance of the numerous United Nations resolutions and decisions, continues illegally to occupy Palestine and other Arab lands. We categorically reject any claim by that entity or from any other quarter purporting to represent or speak for the Palestinian people.

Much has been said and written about the Israeli-South African connexion which has been extended and broadened by leaps and bounds in all spheres and activities since the Second World War. We reiterate our resolute condemnation of this unholy alliance and similarly condemn the major Western imperialist Powers which support and abet this connexion, which increasingly endangers southern Africa and the Middle East and poses a serious threat to world peace and security.

We appeal to the international community and all progressive and peace-loving forces to continue and increase their support and assistance of the Palestine Liberation Organization until the rebirth of democratic Palestine.

We thank the Chairman of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People and its members for allowing us to add our militant voice to this commemoration. The struggle continues.

AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS OF SOUTH AFRICA

Mr. Johnstone Makatini,

Chief Representative to the United Nations 

The African National Congress appreciates and attaches a great deal of importance to the invitation extended to it to attend and address this solemn meeting marking the second commemoration of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. We warmly welcome the initiative taken by the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People which, under your able, dynamic and dedicated leadership, Mr. Chairman, has always associated our movement with the Palestinian struggle. We do so not only because of the position of the Organization of African Unity, which recognizes the Palestinian cause as the African cause but also because of our own analysis which has led to the conclusion that there exist far-reaching and striking similarities as regards the root cause of the creation of the Zionist and apartheid régimes, artificial creations that can be traced to the same source, that is, the decisive role played by the imperialist countries at a time when the majority of the countries that today wield considerable influence on the side of justice were themselves still under colonial subjugation because the architects and champions of both the Zionist and apartheid régimes fanatically believe they are God-chosen races inspired by divine right; because the raison d'être of the policies pursued by the two has always been and continues to be an intention to perpetuate the denial of the rights to self-determination and citizenship of our two peoples, whose lot is one of alienation and exploitation; because both régimes were created to serve and continue to serve as imperialist outposts and bases for repression internally and aggression beyond their borders in order to perpetuate the status quo in the region and to serve as bases for launching aggression against the neighbouring States; because the two régimes pursue a policy of close collaboration and alliance in the political, economic, military and nuclear fields; because both rely on the same group of Western countries which not only buttress their repressive and oppressive potential but also frustrate every effort by the international community to impose punitive measures to achieve a just and lasting solution of this problem; and, finally, because the systems of the two régimes constitute a threat to peace and international security.

The Secretary-General has today correctly said that the fact that the desired just and lasting solution of the problem in the Middle East, the problem whose core is the Palestinian question, has eluded the United Nations for so long does not exonerate this body from the pressing and imperative responsibility to redouble its efforts for the realization of this goal. It is also generally agreed that a just and lasting solution of the Palestinian and southern African problems is an unavoidable prerequisite to the solution of the problems of those two regions, because they are the root causes of the problems in the areas concerned.

We take this opportunity to appeal to all the individuals, organizations and States committed to the principles and purposes of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, whose universal implementation was regarded by the founding fathers of the United Nations as a guarantee of the maintenance of world peace and international security, to rededicate themselves, to stand up and be counted on the side of justice and to facilitate the attainment by the Palestinian people of the full exercise of their inalienable right to self-determination, including the establishment of an independent and sovereign State on Palestinian land.

To those whose support of the Palestinian people, rendered through the Palestine Liberation Organization, its sole legitimate representative, has always been unswerving, we appeal for a redoubling of such support. To those whose support has been of a lip-service character and wavering, we appeal for a renewed, full and unequivocal commitment. To those whose role has been one of duplicity, those who profess support for the principle of self-determination for all peoples, including the Palestinian people, while buttressing the Tel Aviv régime economically and militarily, we make an appeal to abandon this policy before it is too late, before they are irreversibly dragged into a position of alliance with the doomed Israeli expansionist positions, which are definitely not in the long-term interests of their own people or conducive to the maintenance of international peace and security.

For our part, and in keeping with our role as the vanguard of the liberation struggle in South Africa, we wish to declare that our solidarity will also take the form of redoubling our efforts towards the replacement of the apartheid régime with a democratic State based on the will of all the South African people, regardless of race, colour or creed. We shall remain unflinching in our resolve to pay the supreme sacrifice to attain that sacred goal.

Finally, Mr. Chairman, we wish to place on record our deep appreciation for the highly commendable work that this Committee has done and continues to do under your leadership.

PATRIOTIC FRONT OF ZIMBABWE

Mr. Mtshana Ncube

The Patriotic Front is honoured to share in this second commemoration of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People established by resolution 32/40 B of the General Assembly of the United Nations.

The question of Palestine is one which the international community has rightly taken up at all levels.  The United Nations, the Organization of African Unity and the Non-Aligned Movement have concerned themselves in detail with the implementation of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people. Many resolutions bearing on this question have been passed by those organizations. What remains is an active solidarity. However, we see an aspect of that in the convening of this meeting by the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People for which we congratulate the Committee and its able Chairman.

The Patriotic Front salutes the heroic Palestinian people and its sole and authentic liberation movement, the Palestine Liberation Organization, for fighting valiantly in defence of its inalienable right to sell-determination. We salute the Palestinian people for daring to struggle against the powerful forces of zionism and imperialism and showing us that no odds can be greater than the collective spirit of a nation united against dispossession, oppression and exploitation.

The Palestinian nation is today's most blatant case of dispossession. Accordingly, from the very beginning of this thirty-fourth session of the United Nations General Assembly it was clear that there is a general consensus among Members of the United Nations that the Palestinians have loon displaced by zionism and that the denial of the rights of the Palestinian people is at the centre of the long conflict in the Middle East.

But more importantly, the majority of mankind has declared that an aggressive colonialism and racism in the form of zionism, supported by imperialism and particularly American imperialism, lie behind the denial of the rights of the Palestinian people to their own land.

For a long time now the people of Zimbabwe have experienced colonialism, racism and apartheid.  Recently, when we took up arms to liberate the oppressed nation of Zimbabwe, we were confronted by colonialism, imperialism, racism, apartheid and zionism which has become one of the sustainers of the Smith-Muzorewa military machine and a supplier of mercenaries.

This is the daily experience of our people in refugee camps in Zambia, Mozambique and Botswana: the young people, old women and men who sought refuge in those countries after having survived the bombardment of their homes and the torture by the racist colonial troops of Smith and Muzorewa then face bombs and napalm from jets and helicopters flown by Israeli pilots. Our people therefore fully comprehend the terror and massacres faced by the Palestinian people at the hands of the Zionist State.   Our people therefore fully understand the crimes of zionism since they, like the Palestinian people, have been victims.

Not only have the Israelis committed these crimes against our people, they have also served as the conduit for the illegal supply of war planes, helicopters and small arms to the Rhodesian colonial régime by the United States of America and other Western countries.

These are the acts which have proved the inseparable relations among colonialism, racism, zionism and imperialism. These are the acts which unite the Palestinian people with the peoples of Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa who have suffered at the hands of the same enemy. It is evident that there cannot be peace in the world and indeed there cannot be a solution to the problems of national oppression, hunger, starvation and exploitation as long as the hateful syndicate of imperialism, colonialism, racism and zionism persists in the world.

It is those forces which drove the Palestinian people into the wilderness in order to establish a Zionist State in Palestine. The rights of the Palestinian people have been trampled upon. Thus the Palestinian nation was left with no choice but to fight back to regain its birthright. It is now the consensus of the international community that without the restoration of the Palestinian right to self-determination and nationhood in Palestine there cannot be a solution to the conflict in the Middle East. No just solution is possible which does not recognize the Palestine Liberation Organization as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian nation.

The people of Zimbabwe, through their sole legitimate representative, the Patriotic Front, stand firmly behind the Palestine Liberation Organization in its just struggle against the Zionist occupation of Palestine. We join the non-aligned countries in condemning Israel's persistent violation of the fundamental rights and freedoms of the inhabitants of occupied Palestine and Arab territories. We also condemn the Zionist State of Israel for its policy of expelling the indigenous Arab population, the destruction of Arab homes and cultural and religious institutions in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, and its persistent aggression against neighbouring States and Palestinian refugee camps.

We equally condemn the racist and fascist military co-operation between Israel on the one hand and South Africa and Rhodesia on the other. This alliance has resulted in untold massacres of innocent people, including worsen, elderly people and children in Palestine, Arab countries, Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa.

The Patriotic Front is convinced that the Palestinian people will be victorious. We extend our militant solidarity to our Palestinian brothers and sisters who face the same struggle against the same enemy. We call upon the international community to redouble its efforts in the struggle for the restoration of the inalienable national rights of the Palestinian people. The Patriotic Front stands shoulder to shoulder with the PLO in that struggle. Their victories are our victories. Victory is certain. Long live the Palestinian people.

III. OBSERVANCE OF THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF SOLIDARITY

WITH THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE BY STATES MEMBERS OF THE UNITED NATIONS

The Secretariat has to date received reports from 53 States Members of the United Nations on the programmes in these countries, both of Governmental involvement and other institutions, including NGOs and support groups. On the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People in all instances, the United Nations Information Centres played a central role in both the organization of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People and the dissemination of information concerning the plight of the Palestinian people.

In addition a special commemorative programme was held at Geneva at which meeting His Excellency Ambassador A.H. Tabibi of Afghanistan, Vice-Chairman of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, presided.

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