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.
Posted: 28 April 2002 Admin: rudyct https://tumoutou.com