Page 3404 - 1970S

The United Nations - hailed at
its inception in 1945 as "the
world's last chance" for peace
- has finally turned full circle. The
General Assembly has gone on rec–
ord as endorsing war as a means of
"liberating" the "oppressed people" .
of South Africa and adjoining South
West Africa. also known - errone–
ously - as Namibia.
Thus the noble inscription from
the prophet lsaiah at the entrance to
the U.N. ("They shall beat their
swords into plowshares, and their
spears into pruninghooks: nation
shall not lift up sword against na–
tion, neither shall they learn war
anymore") has been trampled into
the mire of incredulous hypocrisy.
Eleven Resolutions
An unprecedented flurry of activity
in the current session of the U.N.
-the so-called "year of Africa"
-has culminated in the passage of
eleven highly dangerous resolutions
- even more potentially devastating
in their total impact than the notori–
ous resolution equating Zionism
with racism, passed in the last U.N.
session.
The resolutions include demands
for an arms embargo against South
Africa, its banishment from all in–
ternational sport, the severing of
economic relations with South Af–
rica and the banning of fore ign in–
vestment in the country - the latter
two in flagrant disregard of the eco–
nomic well-being of the very people
who supposedly need to be "liber–
ated." Apparently South Africa's
black people are expenciable for
"the cause."
Other of the resolutions condemn
what is called collaboration between
South Africa and Israel ; declare the
South African government " illegiti–
mate"; recognize the outlawed Afri–
can National Congress (ANC) and
the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC)
as the "authentic representatives" of
the South African people; endorse
the right of the "oppressed" of
South Africa to use armed force to
"seize power"; and call upon the
U.N. DELEGATES cast votes in re–
cent General Assembly meeting. On
one resolution, the Assemb/y, by lop–
sided vote, cal/ed for support for
revolutionaries in South West Africa.
The PLAIN TRUTH March 1977
members of the U.N. to give "all
necessary support and assistance" to
the "armed struggle" of the "Nam–
ibian people."
Fortunately, such extremely dan–
gerous General Assembly resolu–
tions - pushed through by the
supernumerous Communist-Afro–
Asian bloc- are nonbinding. Power
to implement such resolutions rests
with the Security Counci l, where
vetoes are certain. And even in the
Assembly itself. abstentions and
negative votes took sorne of the
sting off the rid iculous resolutions
introduced by what has come to be
called the "tyranny of the majority."
On sorne resolutions the number
of negative votes was higher than
those cast against simi lar resolutions
last year. But what has made things
ditferent this U.N . session is the
boldness of many Communist and
"Third World" nations to introduce
the resolutions espousing violent
overthrows of constitutional govern–
ments. Such activity shows the abys–
mal depth to which the "sounding
board of humanity" has sunk.
Columnist Smith Hempstone
couldn' t sit still when he heard the
U.N.'s most recent African decision
- the 107-6 (with 12 abstentions)
resolution endorsing war to "líber–
ate" South West Africa - in total
disregard of the fact that the repre–
sentatives of that South African–
ruled territory have already agreed
on a formula to peacefully achieve
independence in two years. Steamed
Hempstone: "With the passage of
time, one becomes inured to the
vapidities, travesties, calumnies and
outright líes uttered on the stage of
that theater of the absurd called the
United Nations. But the inmates of
that diplomatic funny farm the
other day delivered themselves of a
lalapalooza that cannot be allowed
to pass unsung." After discussing
the Namibia resolution in detail, he
concluded: "For its day 's work in
endorsing war, the U.N., in logic,
ought to condemn itse!fas a threat to
peace" (emphasis ours throughout
article).
Serious Charge
The Namibian resolution is bad
enough - but the one declaring that
the "racist regime of South Africa is
illegitimate" is a precedent-setting
ANGOLA
UN ITA
Controlled
Territory
The
Hushed–
Up
Refugee
Problem
SOUTH WEST
AFRICA
(Namlbia)
•
Windhoek
accusation. Regardless of one's own
personal views on South Africa. the
charges of "illegitimacy" against a
country which is not only a charter
member of the United Nations (its
great wartime Prime Minister, Jan
Smuts, was one ofthe U.N.'s princi–
pal founders!) but has been a duly
constituted independent govern–
ment for the past 67 years. is an
unthinkable intrusion into any
country's interna! atfairs.
Jan Smuts. as the saying goes,
"would turn over in his grave" if he
could see what · the U.N. has be–
come. and how weak and insipid the
response of the Western powers is to
the challenges continually made
against them in the General Assem–
bly!
U.N. Ignores Helpless Refugees
The deliverance of the unholy
eleven resolutions. however, is far
from the whole sordid U.N. story.
Above all the name-calling in the
General Assembly chamber, a real
human tragedy is unfolding - one
that beca use of its incredible ideo–
logical bias, the U.N . is choosing to
overlook.
T he tragedy is along the border
between southern Angola and
northern South West Africa. The
Marxist MPLA government in An–
gola. backed up by Castro's Cubans
(whom Fidel once promised would
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