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UNITED NATIONS, Oct 6 (AFP) - Rwanda is an ideal candidate for a seat on the U.N. Security Council because, having just emerged from a war itself, it is well aware of the value of peace, its president said here Wednesday.
"Emerging itself from a war which it has tested it so much, Rwanda can estimate the price of peace at its true value, this peace which it has just recovered largely thanks to the efforts of the international community," President Juvenal Habyarimana told the U.N. General Assembly.
"Rwanda believes that it is better able today than yesterday to bring its modest contribution to maintaining peace in the world and in restoring it in troubled countries and regions," Habyarimana said.
His address came a day after the Security Council voted to send U.N. peacekeepers to Rwanda to help implement a peace accord between the government and rebel forces, which provides for elections in 1995.
Rwanda is seeking one of five non-permanent seats on the Security Council which fall vacant in January, and its candidacy has already been endorsed by the Organization of African Unity.
"In my capacity as head of state I seek the confidence of your august assembly for my country, Rwanda, which has not yet sat on the Security Council," Habyarimana said.
The Rwandan head of state also paid tribute to the United Nations and the international community for its efforts in reaching a peace accord in his country.
"The end of this war in my country is the result of a miracle of international solidarity" as well as the willingness of the two sides to agree on peace, he said.
But he argued that Rwanda now needed continued assistance in the form of financial help to recover from the physical effects of a conflict which had displaced almost a million people and destroyed much of the country's infrastructure.
"Despite the willingness and the determination of the Rwandan people and their government, we are forced to admit that the internal resources available are far from adequate to accomplish the titanic task ahead.
"We also need support from the international community to complement our own efforts," he said.
sjk/vs AFP AFP
