unitex@rubbs.fidonet.org (unitex) (10/03/89)
introduced in various socialist countries brought about hope for
more democratic and more prosperous societies to be established
there, and hoped that the old feelings of fear and mutual
distrust might gradually be transformed into ever-growing trust
through enhanced co-operation. Modern ways of communicating had
made the world shrink to village-like proportions, he
continued. No State could afford to live in isolation ignoring
the outside world. New technologies, research and progress, met
with difficulties in efforts for development in a centrally
planned system. A market economy, however imperfect, appeared to
be better suited for bringing about the third industrial
revolution. Facts, more than the subtleties of ideological
hairsplitting, demonstrated that a Western social and economic
model of development, together with the principle of a
pluralistic democracy, exerted an immense attraction for many
countries in the world. That was once again confirmed, in
Europe, by the continuous flux of refugees and immigrants from
the East to the West.
Economic and political reform should be accompanied by arms
control if political decision-makers wished to escape circular
reasoning, Mr. EYSKENS went on to say. He realized how
difficult and delicate the implementation of such a process of
political reform could be. The complementarity of economic and
political liberalization made for an extremely fragile balance.
As the Foreign Minister of France, Roland Dumas, had stated on
behalf of the 12 members of the European Community, the fact
that China had not acknowledged that exemplified a tragic
reversal.
He welcomed the favourable developments in the disarmament
negotiations. The reduction of the level of armaments had to be
established in a balanced and reciprocal manner and be
accompanied by absolutely trustworthy verification mechanisms.
He also welcomed President Mikhail Gorbachev's evocation of the
possibility of a "defensive defence", that is, a disarmament
process that rendered every attack impossible and, at the same
time, continued to warrant an efficient defence by means of the
most modern weapons at the lowest possible level of deployment.
That was exactly what Belgium had always tried to achieve.
Mr. EYSKENS, Foreign Minister of Belgium, went on to say that
disarmament and a better understanding between East and West
might also decisively influence the North-South dialogue and
shed a fundamentally different light on the way third world
issues had to be approached.
If confidence between East and West grew, it would probably be
possible to terminate numerous regional conflicts which were, in
fact, the tragic secondary effects of tensions between the two
big blocs. Whether there were efforts to find solutions to a
number of conflicts and chronic tensions at the regional level,
situations continued to exist as rending examples of violence
and repression, such as in the Middle East and in other regions.
He said Belgium paid tribute to the Arab League and to the three
mediators for their positive role in the Lebanese question. As
the world economy had improved and East-West relations were
evolving in a positive direction, it now seemed possible to
update the 1975 Belgian proposal on the growth of solidarity
between the industrialized and third world countries, and to
submit it to the appropriate organs of the United Nations for
examination.
Other proposals and ideas could be envisaged too. Why, for
example, should it not be possible to conceive triangular
development projects that would be implemented in a third world
country by a Western country associated with an Eastern bloc
country? he asked.
Concerning the problem of the external debt of third world
countries, Belgium supported the multilateral approach of the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. Most
recently, Belgium had decided to cancel the debt of 13 African
countries consisting of State-to-State loans. Moreover, Belgium
and Zaire had concluded an agreement aiming at cancellation of
the reimbursement of one third of Zaire's commercial debt to
Belgium and at rescheduling payments of the outstanding interest
due. Those operations were coupled with the creation of a
reutilization fund in Zaire currency to finance local
development projects. He hoped this agreement between Belgium
and Zaire could set an example for other creditors and debtors.
With respect to Africa and primarily to Zaire, Rwanda and
Burundi, he said Belgium pursued a coherent policy with a view
to reaching imaginative solutions to the debt problems geared to
managing jointly funds allocated for development assistance.
He said the problems of the third world had been considerably
aggravated by the scandalous arms traffic, too often financed
through even more disgraceful drug traffic. He expressed
Belgium's satisfaction at the "remarkable and extremely
courageous efforts" of the United States President, George Bush,
and those of Colombia's President, Virgilio Barco Vargas, in
their struggle against the production and trafficking of drugs.
He paid tribute to the "relentless efforts" of the United Nations
and, in particular, to the dedication of Secretary-General Perez
de Cuellar and his
staff which led to the elaboration of solutions in many conflicts
through negotiations and conciliation procedures.
Belgium participated in the United Nations action in Namibia and
had seconded officers to the peace-keeping operations. Belgium
fully supported efforts within the framework of the Conference
on Disarmament in Geneva to obtain an agreement to ban all
chemicals arms, he stated.
* Origin: UNITEX --> Toward a United Species (1:107/501)
---
Patt Haring | United Nations | FAX: 212-787-1726
patth@sci.ccny.cuny.edu | Information | BBS: 201-795-0733
patth@ccnysci.BITNET | Transfer Exchange | (3/12/24/9600 Baud)
-=- Every child smiles in the same language. -=-