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. -=-