15021957 Text of the Speech made by Mr. Tsiang (China) in the Security Council Meeting No. 768 held on 15 February 1957

Text of the Speech made by Mr. Tsiang (China) in the Security Council Meeting No. 768 held on 15 February 1957

I limit my remarks to an appreciation and study of the joint draft resolution that is before the Council.

It reaffirms the resolution of 24 January 1957 [S/3779] and the previous resolutions of the Security Council and the resolutions of the United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan. Therefore, what this draft resolution tries to do is to further the implementation of the resolutions which the Council or the Commission has already adopted. The co-sponsors have told us and the language of the draft resolution states that all those resolutions stand.

In order to promote the implementation of the existing resolutions and a final peaceful settlement of the problem, this draft resolution suggests two steps to us. It requests the President of the Security Council to undertake a mission to India and Pakistan. I find this suggestion to be a very happy and creative one. The President of the Security Council occupies a position of great importance in the United Nations. The mere fact that this Council requests its President to undertake this mission shows the peoples of India and Pakistan that the Security Council attributes the greatest importance to the solution of the problem. We cannot express our concern and interest in a peaceful solution of this problem in any better way than the suggestion that the President himself should take charge of this question for the time being. Therefore, that feature has the whole-hearted support of my delegation.

I was very happy to learn, in addition, in the course of this morning's meeting, that the President has had practical experience both in India and in Pakistan, so he knows the conditions in those countries of the world. His personal experience is an additional qualification for this task.

The draft resolution suggests consideration of the proposal of Pakistan that the United Nations force should be used temporarily. As I see the situation, this suggestion may cause considerable complication. Therefore, I would like to explain how I feel towards this matter.

If we study the records of the Security Council and of the Commission, we find that this problem of demilitarisation has played a very, very important part in all our thoughts on this subject. Why should the Security Council and the Commission pay so much attention to this problem of demilitarisation of Kashmir ? In the first place, it is realised that an army stationed in that State might coerce or intimidate the people to vote in favour either of India or of Pakistan. When we ask for a plebiscite we naturally want, and mean to want, a fair and free plebiscite. Even if we have pledges and guarantees. that the military forces retained in the State will be instructed to stand aside and not interfere in the voting, nevertheless the suspicion of military interference in the voting would be fatal to the final results. It is for that reason that the Council and the Commission have always attributed great importance to this problem of demilitarisation.

I have explained the necessity for demilitarisation, and I might ask what is the objection to it. The objection is based on the necessity for maintaining peace and order in the State before and during the plebiscite. So we have to devise a scheme to take care of these two requirements: first, the peace and security of the State during the plebiscite; and, second, that the force that maintains peace and security should not coerce or intimidate or give the appearance of intimidating the voters. These are the two requirements that we must always keep in mind in solving this problem of demilitarisation.

I do not know of a better way of meeting those two requirements simultaneously. With the temporary use of a United Nations force in Kashmir, we can contribute to the maintenance of peace and security in that State during the plebiscite. In the second place, the stationing of a temporary United Nations force in Kashmir cannot be suspected by anybody of intimidating or coercing the voters to vote in favour of either of the two parties. Therefore, I find that this idea of a temporary United Nations force really deserves consideration, We are considering this problem now under Chapter VI of the Charter. We have not come to the stage of imposing any solution on either party. Therefore, this draft resolution rightly asks the two parties only to give this proposal their consideration and asks the President to bring this proposal to the parties concerned and ask for their consideration. I cannot see that the feature weakens this draft resolution.

Therefore, my delegation is ready to support the draft resolution.