HOPE FOR PEACE

Taupo Times, Volume 19, Issue 100, 30 December 1970, Page 4

HOPE FOR PEACE

While we all continue to hope for world peace and understanding the solution is still a long way off. One man vitally involved in the problem is U Thant, SecretaryGeneral of the United Nations, who makes the following observations as we prepare to enter another New Year: I believe the nations have perhaps only ten years left to subordinate their ancient quarrels and launch a global partnership to curb the arms race, to improve the human environment, to defuse the population bomb and to supply the required momentum to world development efforts. So I appeal to them to set aside their fratricidal course and change from confrontation and division to the building of a safe world habitat. It is high time to respond to the aspirations of all men on earth and face together the unprecedented physical biological and environmental changes which lie ahead. While there is still time, cannot the less developed but more populous nations become educated in world solidarity so that they will not engage tomorrow, once they are powerful, in the old sterile game? Cannot all admit that ideologies and political systems are perfect only in theory, that each system has good and bad aspects, so that nations should enrich each other with whatever has proved good, and do it flexibly and nondogmatically in a rapidly changing world?