22. Mr. DOS SANTOS (Mozambique): Mr. President, I welcome you to the United Nations. My delegation is pleased to see you presiding over the affairs of the Council during the month of October. Your mastery of many languages-American, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Braz- ilian, Russian and others-will, I am convinced, help you understand the cries and plight of our women and child- ren, the old and the infirm, who are being crushed by the brutal war machine of South Africa and Israel in Africa and the Middle East: in Angola and Mozambique, in Bo- tswana and Zimbabwe, in Lesotho and Namibia, in Lebanon and Tunisia. 23. I also wish to pay a tribute to your predecessor, Sir John Thomson, who, with Shakespearian language and wisdom, handled the Council’s affairs last month. 24. It would be remiss of me not to express my delega- tion’s gratitude to you and to the other members of the Council for the opportunity given to me to address it. 25. Africa is once again the victim of barbarous aggres- sion perpetrated by two equally barbarous, blood-thirsty regimes: the apartheid regime and Israeli regime. The two regimes shudder at any prospect of peace, for peace would mean their demise. They fear peace as one fears cyanide, for it kills in seconds. Aggression is as essential to their existence as oxygen is to human beings. 26. The cyanide time-bomb has been ticking during the past several months in the Middle East, and Israel was thrown into utter confusion, for it was not able to deal with it effectively. Finally it found a way by throwing it at innocent people in Tunisia. The target was carefully chosen in order to arouse the utmost disgust and thus derail the peace process. Had the attack been carried out 
**Analysis**
The text is a speech delivered to the United Nations, focusing on the topic of war and aggression in Africa and the Middle East. The speaker, Mr. Dos Santos, is condemning the actions of South Africa and Israel, and calling for peace. The speech does not mention specific economic, environmental, or technological issues, but rather emphasizes the humanitarian consequences of war on civilians.

**Category**
Humanitarian aid and relief, International relations