As part of the commemorative ceremonies marking the
United Nations 25th anniversary of the signing of the United Nations
Charter the summer session of ECOSOC which normally was represented by the
ambassadors of the member countries was held in Geneva in July 1970 at a
ministerial level. The leader of the Indonesian delegation was the Foreign Minister
Adam Malik.
One day during the session, I was invited by Adam
Malik for a chat in his hotel room. As I was at that time the president of
ECSOC, he wanted to know about ECOSOC programmes and activities in greater
details. We talked at length about the Council’s agenda.
Besides myself and Mr. Adam Malik, the other person
present was Mr. Elkana Tobing one of his close advisor. Adam Malik seemed satisfied with my
explanation and I sensed this was the opportune time to bring up a matter of even
greater relevance and importance.
The following year 1971 would be the turn of an Asian
to become President of the United Nation General Assembly. The presidency
rotated every year among the five regional groups, namely the West, the Eastern
bloc, Latin America, Africa and Asia.
The last Asian president of the General Assembly held the post in 1966
and so 1971 was to be the turn of an Asian candidate once again. I informed Pak
Adam that a number of Asian countries had already occupied that high office,
including the Philippines, Thailand, India Pakistan and Iran. I noted that
Indonesia stood a good chance of being elected that year. I stressed in
particular that Adam Malik himself would be our best candidate since he was
already well known internationally.
Should this chance pass us by, I reasoned than we
would have to wait for another 5 years until 1976 to be considered for the
presidency. And who knows what would happen in those 5 years. I wondered aloud.
Mr. Adam Malik was very surprised that I should raise
this issue. His first reaction was quite negative. He argued that he could not
even solve Indonesia’s domestic problems, let alone the problems of the world.
The year 1971 was also an election year in Indonesia, and he would be busy
campaigning that year. I was lucky to have had a firm supporter in Elkana
Tobing, who was quick to realize the significance of an Indonesian presidency
of the General Assembly. After further discussions, Adam Malik seemed to be
more open to the idea. At the end of our conversation he said that he would
think about it and would also consult president Suharto. As he would be in New
York in September to lead the Indonesian Delegation to the General Assembly, he
would give his reply at that time. This gave me enough time to set the wheels
in motion for Indonesia’s bid for the Presidency of the General Assembly.
Upon my return to New York after the ECOSOC session I
immediately approached several important Asian countries to seek their reaction
to Foreign Minister Adam Malik’s possible candidacy for the presidency of the
General Assembly in 1971. Their reactions were generally very favourable.
When Pak Adam arrived in New York in September I
immediately ask him for his reply. He nodded in agreement. I was delighted. Now
I had really to start intense lobbying to secure his candidacy. I requested to
have an additional assistant in the person of H. Rudy Gontha, a good friend and
colleague of mine at the Foreign Ministry.
Mr. Gontha assistance and advise would be of great
value in ensuring that Adam Malik’s performance as president to be effective.
The fact that Mr. Gontha enjoyed the full confidence of Foreign Minister Adam
Malik greatly facilitated our own duties and obligations.
I knew that during that time I could not count on the
full support of our first ambassador Mr. Roeslan Abdul Gani as his own term of
office was going to end by mid-1971.
In our lobbying we encountered one serious obstacle.
The representative of Saudi Arabia apparently was also lobbying on behalf of the
twin sister of the Shah of Iran, princess Asraf. We realized, however, that an
Iranian, the former Foreign Minister Roeslah Entezam, had already occupied the
post in 1951. In pressing the fact that Iran had once had the privilege of that
office, we gained considerable support for our candidate. We could also count
on the enormous respect Asian members had for him. When the Saudian envoy
finally realized that his candidate had only a slim chance, he gave up his
efforts and switched his support to
Adam Malik. Adam Malik was subsequently endorsed by the Asian group as their
sole candidate.
By this time ambassador Roeslan Abdul Gani had
already left New York and as Charge d’Affairs ad interim I was officially in
charge of the Indonesian Mission in the United Nations. I realized that Adam
Malik’s presidency was a heavy responsibility for our mission. I mobilized all
my staff, including members of the delegation to make Adan malik’s presidency a
success.
We gave him intensive briefings on United Nations
rules and procedures and in-depth background information on some pending
issues. We realized, however, that once he was in the chair, we had no means of
communicating with him. He was on his own. He did have 18 vice presidents he
could call upon to assist him. We even advised him to have one of the vice
presidents takes the chair when the difficult issues were to be debated. He
refused.
Among the many items to be discussed during Adam
Malik’s presidency of the General Assembly, three issues on the agenda were of
crucial and historical importance – the Indo-Pakistan war, membership of the
People’s Republic of China and the election of a new Secretary General.
For over three decades, the United Nations had been
concerned with the dispute between India and Pakistan over Khasmir. In 1971
another conflict broke out between India and Pakistan, this time in connection
with the civil strife in East Pakistan, which later became the independent
state of Bangladesh. As millions of refugees of East Pakistan streamed into
India, tensions increased in the region. Thus at the General Assembly session,
the discussions on the Indo-Pakistan war quickly erupted into heated exchanges
between the two parties concerned. Each time either India or Pakistan took the
floor they were interrupted by point of order, which according to the rule
should be given priority. Both the Indian and Pakistan representatives even
asked the president to make a ruling. Adam Malik refused and allowed the debate
to continue until lunchtime for adjournment.
During the lunch I asked him why he did not make any
ruling as was requested. His answer was simple. “I know these people” he said.
“Let them fight it out until they get tired. Everything
would then pass calmly”. He was indeed right as both parties eventually
accepted a cease -fire resolution calling for a withdrawal of their armed
forces. The resolution further called for intensified efforts to ensure the
voluntary return of the East Pakistani refugees to their homes. After the
resolution was passed, the representatives of both India and Pakistan came up
to Adam Malik to congratulate him on his leadership.
The question of the People’s Republic of China’s
membership in the United Nations proved to be a more contentious issue. China
had become an increasingly insular society after the victory of the communist
forces, effectively putting off all contacts with the outside world. In the
absence of PRC in the world arena, Taiwan had come to represent China at the
United Nations, and other international forums. This situation gradually became
untenable as the People’s Republic of China began to assert its rightful place
in the world community, raising the issue of “one China”.
Within the United Nations a growing number of members
supported the PCR claim to membership. This issue culminated in the General
Assembly debate on the China question under Adam Maliik” presidency. It was a
vote of historical significance, the political ramification of which were
not lost on Adam Malik.
It became evident during the debate that a majority
of members supported the PRC claim. Once it became known that the Secretary of
stae, Henry Kissinger, was at that very time visiting Beijing on president
Nixon’s instructions, the majority tended to become an absolute majority.
Realizing this turn of events, Adam Malik forced the Assembly to vote on the
China question, despite the very late hour (it was then close to midnight) and
in spite of the objection of several members, who preferred the voting until
the following day, Adam Malik rightly viewed their proposal as mere delaying
tactics.
At his insistence a vote was then taken. The result
of the vote was indeed in favour of the People’s Republic of china, with 76
votes in favour, 35 against and 17 abstentions. China thus acquired the
necessary two-thirds majority votes as required by the rules to overturn a
previ9us decision. The resolution on the lawful rights of the People’s Republic
of China to the United Nations and to expel forthwith the representatives of
Chiang Kai Shek from the place they had unlawfully occupy at the United Nations
and all organizations related to it. As of 1971 the People’s Republic of China
occupied its lawful seat in the United Nations.
The last item on the agenda was the choice for
successor to the outgoing United Nations Secretary General U Thant. There were
several candidates in the running representing the regions of Latin America,
Africa, Asia and Europe. One day during
the session, the Foreign Minister of Austria met with Adam Malik to request
Indonesia’s support for the candidacy of Dr. Kurt Waldheim, who was at that
time Austrian Ambassador to the United Nations. Dr. Waldheim was also present at the meeting. Adam Mailk promptly
gave his support to the Austrian candidate, for which Dr. Waldheim was so
grateful that he promised Adam Malik to appoint a qualified Indonesian national
should he be elected, since no Indonesian had as yet attained the rank of
Under-Secretary General or Assistant-Secretary General in the United Nations.
When the Foreign Minister and Dr. Waldheim left the
office, I immediately asked Adam Malik why he had been so quick to endorse Kurt
Waldheim’s candidacy.
There were after all other capable candidates as
well. I myself had no idea who would be
the eventual winner since the race seemed to close to call. Adam Malik just
smiled and replied confidently ”You’ll see. He will be the winner”.
Adam Malik’s premonition proved to be correct as. Dr.
Kurt Waldheim eventually was elected by acclamation by the General Assembly on
the recommendation of the Security Council. Dr. Waldheim was appointed as the
new Secretary General of the United Nations for a term of office of five years
commencing 1 January 1972. He was later re-elected for an additional five years
and served the United Nations until 1981. Aside from thee three critical
issues, the 26th General Assembly under Mr. Malik’ presidency also
adopted a number of other important resolutions. One such resolution pertaining
to the right of self-determination “reaffirmed the legitimacy of the struggle
of the colonial peoples and peoples under alien domination to exercise their
right to self-determination and independence” Another resolution concerned the
rationalization of the procedures and Organization of the General Assembly
which amended previous rules on , among others, time limitation of each
speakers organization of the work of the main committees; submission of draft
resolutions, their contents an financial implications and voting procedures.
The proposed measures were based on the conclusion of the Special Committee on
rationalization and procedures and organization of the General Assembly. Under
Adam Malik’s presidency a real effort was made to streamline the procedures of
the General Assembly, which at time could be unwieldy and time consuming.
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