
The Overseas Press Club presents Seymour N. Siegel moderating a panel of journalists with questions for Ambassador José María Ruda, Permanent Representative from Argentina to the United Nations.
The panel includes:
Leon Dennen, Newspaper Enterprise Association
Dean Johnsos, Associated Press
Gary MacEóin, freelance writer
Ambassador Ruda views the current troubled times as not conducive to "business as usual in the General Assembly of the United Nations. However, when comparing the United Nations to the former League of Nations, he views it as more successful at maintaining world peace. Internally, Mr. Ruda sees Argentina as returning to democracy once economic and social issues are solved. He thinks that Latin America is poorly understood by the United States, which may partly explain why the Alliance for Progress is not as successful as it should. But the Latin American bloc's unity has been key to the success of the United Nations as a whole; and while Argentina cannot get involved in every world issue (for example Biafra, Nigeria, Czechoslovakia), it has moved swiftly on matters that affect it directly. On that point, Argentina views the Non-proliferation treaty as harmful to its peaceful technological development and unfortunately cannot support it.
Produced by Sylvia [Sirota] Taylor and directed by Jay Martin. Prerecorded by Municipal Television.
Audio courtesy of the NYC Municipal Archives WNYC Collection
WNYC archives id: 151829
Municipal archives id: T5970
This is a machine-generated transcript. Text is unformatted and may contain errors.
W. N.Y.C. T.V. presenter international interview produced with the cooperation of the Overseas Press Club of America this is a series of informal on rehearsed interviews on problems and issues of international interest in our panel of newsman and our special guest moderator for the series is Seymour and Siegel here now is Mr Siegel I don't do ladies and gentlemen and welcome to international and we're delighted to have is our guest on this edition of INTERNATIONAL interview the permanent representative there watching Tina to the United Nations is actually in best of the Jose Maria rule. Welcome to all of you to question the ambassador or is a distinguished panel of news men who are now introduced themselves I am Leon then in the foreign affairs columnist for the newspaper enterprise Association. Dean Johnson also Associated Press and going and going freelance writer author of several books on Latin America thank you Ron much gentlemen the first question for Mr Dunne and this dumbass There you are the United Nations so the General Assembly rather is back in session and. Somebody suggested that the despite the Russian invasion of Czechoslovakia and spite of the various problems that face the United Nations the General Assembly's of gays in business as usual or is it best. That the climate today is not the best to go in business you should have always said the beginning of the assembly it would take to be one of the mystic group. But I think that they due to what has happened since you took a look of the general the same the not the best. Well has it ever be the best in the general assembly drawing your thank God that you now have one hundred twenty five members but the Personally when it comes to taking issues on crucial matters are the Security Council which is prevented by a Russian veto nor the General Assembly ever take action or are you going to take action the stem bass that well I think they do have to look at the UN in the perspective not of a few years' time with the United Nations has today but you had to take the United Nations in the perspective of of the whole history of international organizations I think if you look to the. United Nations in comparison with what has happened with the League of Nations after twenty three years of existence of the deed of nations you will remember that at this time we were already involved in a million more United Nations today trying to solve the problem we cannot avoid to be. Realistic institutional political institutions but is best used to be in the past in the last century in the last century You helped by powers in Europe. The same number that today to the Security Council although there were other. Than the premier this is to divide Belgium from Holland forty degrees from the Ottoman Empire but today at least we have a place where we can talk we can try to solve the problems the problems are very difficult but I think that the United Nations is edited to show that has not fading Jen and I think that we are maintaining the peace the best we can and that we are improving in comparison with what has happened in the past. Questions Mr Johnson. Mr Ambassador I believe in July one thousand nine hundred sixty six. Took over Argentina. During the course of which at the time I believe that he might rule for ten years. Could you comment on when perhaps Argentina might return to more democratic institutions or at least a democratic election what is in the future well I am not entitled to talk on the. Problems of my county. Diplomat in New York. Diplomat but I can tell you only difference that. The government has established according to all reports three times one is the economic time the other is social time political time you simply don't have any inside information I can tell you I've seen the now we are going into the social time that mean they cannot make situation of the country has improved in the last three years and then we hope that after that we can come to the political time I don't know what the. Keeper of the of the government is on the field I really don't have any information on the inside political of the country I am just an ordinary citizen with a question for Mr McKown Mr Ambassador the secretary general of the Organization of American States Mr Gannon Plaza recently saying that because of the growing gap between the haves and the Have Not nations there are signs that the peoples of Latin America who had looked to the to the Alliance for Progress for sensation are beginning to dispair. I wonder would you care to comment on this. Specifically in relation to the Argentine Richards Well you know Argentina is. If you take into account what he's done of the income per capita of the country of the most developed of all countries in Latin America so I don't see that we are. Particularly nice but in general I can be very frank. Talking as an American citizen of the Americas I think that up to now the Alliance for Progress has not been a complete success we thought that the very beginning has been an effort to have in some institution like the bank for the dramatic and their long term that has been very important development of their countries but. Something like a little bit of the life. We are not moving in. Fully with what I said in Washington. Question for Mr Dunne the Muslim masses say the Alliance for Progress is not moving who is responsible for that I visited Latin America not long ago and I. Must say that I still lies for progress being sold on the black market the America that is things that the United States sent to them now who is responsible Monday you're playing the alliance will work after all Argentina is a country that's one of the leading countries in Latin America good new friends the Alliance for Progress then I think there's a not a chance it will work soon Well I think there is a chance to work now I can see we are working now precisely in this very safe moment in big enterprises like forest and several other which is a big down that we have been doing but that one year will be one of the biggest of the we're going to be no big bridges across deep but I'm not even have all the problems is what we call them we support them in linking with the rest of the country we are doing all we can and the case of Argentina is particularly different from the other Latin American countries because of the background and the economic situation of. I cannot speak for other Latin American country but we are doing our best even now we are lending money to other that in America and. Some five million dollars to your why we had less than thirty million dollars that is recently to Chile well doing everything we can to make our own for and to try to help to our brothers in that. But of course you are right does. Everybody United State under that in America we hope that we can get. What should the United States do to speed up the progress of the Alliance for Progress Well I think what do you think is necessary what was the missing link there I think the missing link is the following that you have to Americans you have to understand that this is the first program I don't see the understanding of the problem. That's in American if they can somehow for. This position. To to get help not only the economic sense but also the social sense you have to realize that we had a county we had a continent different abroad of Mexico are not the problem the problem but I see that not the problem of Chile Argentina you weigh. In this. With oversimplification of the problem. The problem of Latin American custom in that not superficially and this having been done this is my. Question for Mr Johnson what we might develop is a little farther How would you propose Mr Ambassador to develop this understanding what could be done we are not doing now. Well I think that the first problem that we have to take into account is the culture probably this means to wait for me one in the university level because we need much more. Change in between Latin America and the United States we need much more in the sense of. Culture. Economies and so on all the intellectual people coming to this country are going to serve. American to understand us then the second one is on the educational level one of the probably I was reading percentage of the yesterday night some of the United Nations and you see not my country because my country has a very few of people who are not of it but all countries has a tremendous country that has forty three fifty percent. Can you develop an economy an economy of the twenty percent of the having people half of the country that doesn't know how to read and how to write would be one of the first things that we have to do in South America did what was precisely what was done in my country one hundred years ago. It was the policy. Question for Mr McKown. Mr Ambassador. Of course you know. The American foreign aid program has been in Congress recently is the lowest since sometime in the one nine hundred forty S.. I read recently that the word bank has been estimated that more than half of all the foreign aid returned immediately to the United States in repayment of loans interest and capital. Which they cut it would mean that nearly all of it would return would you care to comment on the impact the negative impact of this on your development programs Well I have not an economic diplomat that well I will try I can tell you the following all depends on seems to me on the monetary policy of the country you have a country with your investment. And you know that the ability to monitor the market you know that the process doesn't go down you have any beneath the economic instability with a development at the same time in the county in this condition you would have all the money in South America depend of the rate of of of the amount that the capital. Own have in each of the country I think this is an economic situation it's not a political situation and if we the monetary situation in South America the capital will be there well specifically in your own country well that's what I was going well that's what has happened to you not that the monetary situation now for. More than one year and a half prices because. The rate of of inflation. Going down a little now the increase has been in the last year only ten percent not twenty or forty that it used to be before and now we've. Seen the kind. Of. QUESTION Mr Dunn the master the get back to the United Nations. Is a Czechoslovakia going to come up with a General Assembly perhaps Argentina is going to do so there's a Lucian on the Russia's aggression and. We have. The community. Around one month ago at the very beginning of the whole conflict but you know the Turks themselves. That the nation not to deal with the problem nobody checks are not free to not to. The you know the. Well the United Nations the Guardian the world freedom of the something about well in this particular case. We follow. The lead of a bloc which is a Western bloc we have ready to assist in any way in this but if United States. Did with. More Hundley that we I'm already there national interest we are ready to help to put in a given situation but we think that for the time being is not so great the problem. We have our own country has been in the national politics the problems that are related to our own national interest we of course take the lead. Role in that. Remote or not one. Of the most powerful countries. Should do something immediately. What about if after the start making trouble tomorrow in Argentina this is another opening this is a problem that via the Internet in this case we are going to move to moving the. Question for Mr Johnson I believe Mr Ambassador. There are twenty two countries in South America should give. You delegates in the U.N. A. Considerable bloc of force if you vote together is there usually a consensus of opinion among Latin delegations on how to move on certain issues. The Latin American bloc. In the last two or three yes really developing a unity discipline could say perhaps but really a unity that has been one of the main factors in the United Nations. In the question of the Middle East last year when we were members of the Security Council together with. Members of the Security Council in this case with. Very well no we came to first in the county and then they came into the general assembly session of July sixty seven of the Latino American bloc what idea. Resolution the resolution was passed not what passed any resolution in this assembly and then the same idea where. Back in the country in the Council on the basis of the British resolution. The mandate. In the Middle East I think that in general the unity of the Latin American block is. One of the main. United Nations it was not the same in the past. Thank you question for Mr McGraw and Mr A massacre in April of last year the president of the American nations went to the nest agreed to establish a common market between nineteen seventy and one thousand eight hundred fans an idea which was first proposed by your famous countryman right British. Perhaps you're going to tell us what progress has been in all I don't know the. Countries of the. American fleet. Meeting now to be their. Discussions are very very difficult it seems that now they are growing into some products that are very touchy for. Countries for the economies of the country and I think that their perspectives are not the best at this precise moment that such a market would get something in the future but this moment is very important the company has been already two months in session. To start it looks to me has not been the best for the country obstacles are really going to come from they come from from from the protection that his country is given to their national product I mean they don't want to open it was a national problem for the Eastern in petroleum culture probably in order not to destroy the natural that the National cut it was very difficult problem. Question for Mr Dunne muscle mass so there's a great debate going on in this country now on whether to sign or not to sign the McClure nonproliferation treaty or what is a larger dies down on this issue I know Brazil was against what I'm not sure about well we were also one of the country that in the resolution that encouraged the countries to sign. It we think that that is not the best instrument for the technological development of the countries we have no security problems for us in the security we are very secure in the cells of the cells of the world well the southern of all countries in the world you know this one world you're sick you feel secure with security yes we are secure also but. By that real treaty which has obligation on all the countries of South America. United States of course and we see in this problem of the Nonproliferation Treaty that this is a neutral meant that does not permit peaceful explosions for research or for other economic development and we think that this is. Going to you know like the seal of six million square kilometers they've got on the United States or three million square kilometer layers into you know that we need to do their one of our own things Knology for peaceful purposes. And for this reason we have not to vote in favor of the resolution and we have not signed it and I don't think that in the very near future we would be ready to sanction such as this is. Very clear that in your life simply. Sorry to be in a different position the many flavors of Latin America United States and Europe but this is the position of the country. Well actually I'm. Countries are again signing was German is a good sign even I'm afraid that's right yet India is again signing. There for security. Reasons. Development. Question for Mr Johnson. Mr Ambassador I believe. Argentina declined with thanks. To accept U.S. Peace Corps. I also believe it has its own type of peace corps could you comment on just how successful the origin time version of the Peace Corps has been well I I don't know about this question really I don't know about why we held the. I don't have any information I don't have any information that. I'm not that they have been a presence in Latin American. Countries. As intended to cover sort of. Among ourselves and this is just in the prevent people even though the state is nothing really definitive from this. Question to Mr McCraw and Mr Minister is going to take you back once more to the United Nations and ask Argentines position and more generally the Latin American position on the. Nigeria the Africa situation both in terms of its politics and in terms of the breadth from starvation. In this problem of Nigeria we are fully totally of the countries one of the reason why we are in this because one of the responsible for one of the articles in the Declaration on the freedom of call on the people. Nationally to be kept in all the countries but on the other hand of course we are very worried about the. Situation of the people the evil people. We think if we can do something next in a. Humanitarian point of view but from the political point of view we are in agreement with the national daily Is there a specific project before the assembly not the. Question from a Muslim but. As a member of the Latin American bloc you're in a position to do things now Biafra is a dying but it thousand man is then the bill so I have a million people in the synonyme big deal surely in this respect the United Nations can act a little faster than the generally do and you realize I'm out of the black and four sections I fully agree with you without discussing this with other members of the you have to remember that during the Security Council police that the only other solution that was approved in June except for the ceasefire they only said don't give a solution on the system to the to the people that have been a victim of the war in the ME that it was a resolution that response it wasn't He then it European and I had the pivotal introduces a solution so this is enough they listen might settle this a mission that was a little but we had. We can do something for the evil people that we are going to Mr Ambassador on no we're going to bring this interview a close I've been taking great many notes as we went along sun You told us that the climate is not the very best to have business as usual at the United Nations right now but certainly due to what's happened in Central Europe the outlook for the General Assembly is not the best use that you feel the United Nations must be looked at my perspective of the entire history when they shouldn't you would like to compare the U.N. with the with the League of Nations at the twenty three years and certainly you want to show on greater progress you certainly feel that the world has a place where we can try to solve problems that the United Nations is maintaining the peace is best. It's an improvement certainly over the past you so that you can talk to us about the internal problems of the. Margin Tina you're a career diplomat here at the United Nations are not informed but certainly you feel that your government seems to be entering the social time of the development you've improved your economic situation certainly perhaps later on you through the lens of the political area. Argentina you tell us is said in the most developed of Latin American countries and up until now the Alliance for Progress in your view has not been a great success something is lacking you told us he said The spirit is lacking something is not moving you feel that there's a chance for it to work you said that you're building a great day and for example in the Patagonia you're building bridges Argentina is take a look different from other countries you feel that you're doing your best in lending money to other Latin American countries you told us you're certainly making a great effort the missing link in your view is that the United States has to understand the Latin Americans that Latin America you feel is being taken for granted in this country and you are your commitment. Your continent you tell us has different problems it's been all over simplified you feel and seven must be studied in depth you feel that a cultural problem must be considered for example he said there must be more intellectual interchange between the countries than on the educational level if you want to get it as that half of the population were literate in many countries and one hundred years ago Argentina concentrated on the educational problem you're not an economist but you feel a surprise the monetary policy instability is concerned this is an important attracting investment it's stable in Argentina for the past year and a half you indicated that inflation only going up about ten percent compared to twenty or forty percent you feel Rajan Tina's position on the check situation was made very clear you follow the position of the Western bloc you're ready to follow the US position and help if you are able to but you will not raise the problem yourself and problems working with regard to your own national interest you take the lead but certainly something like Castro for example you'd move fast as you have in the past there's a consensus of opinion and unity in the discipline among the American bloc you told us which in your view is the main factor of the United Nations today. You told us all that about the looting was taking place and one of the diode that the prospects for common market is not by the very best that obstacles come really from the supper touch in the interests of individual countries Europe Stayman running on the Nonproliferation Treaty your view is that it's an instrument but there's not permit of technical development and feel that you still have this need and so far as the Nigerian and Biafra problems are concerned we are in flavor of the National territorial integrity of all countries you know worried about and you're ready to assist from the humanitarian view but not publicly this list of best on some leaflet indicate what your views were during this interview. I think that you kind of left out unite the nation and then decide what is likely to follow what meeting you had that the somebody of a car that I mean in my life and whether it was on a bus or a letter that is complement to Bristol now thank you very much we thank also the very distinguished members of our panel I will see you all again next week. If you went by the T.V. has presented international interview produced in cooperation with the Overseas Press Club of America I'm moderator for this series is Seymour in sig and his guest to this program was Ambassador Jose Maria Rudolf permanent representative from Argentina to the United Nations our panel of newsman included Leon Denon foreign affairs columnist for the newspaper enterprise Association. Dean Johnson of The Associated Press. And Gary McCoy a freelance writer be with us again next week at this time for another international interview this program was produced by Sylvia Tatar directed by J. Martin Peter courted by municipal television.