WORLD POLITICAL SITUATION

Press, Volume XCIV, Issue 28129, 19 November 1956, Page 6

WORLD POLITICAL SITUATION

PEACE COUNCIL VIEWS ON CRISES A statement on the world political situation has been supplied by the Christchurch Peace Council. It says. “The Christchurch Peace Council is part of the World Peace Movement, and as such tries to achieve co-opera-tion with all peace-loving forces in the country and the world. While the World Peace Movement is ultimately opposed to any kind of war it sees the greatest threat to mankind at the present time in a war between the blocs of powers led by the united States of America and the Soviet Union respectively. The World Peace Moevment has. during the last years of tension, contributed to the maintenance and stabilisation of peace by emphasising the need of peaceful coexistence between systems of different political, social or economic character. “Just when mankind was starting to breathe again more freely because of the improvement of international relations between East and West two new crises have descended upon us. “The basis of the World Peace Movement is the mobilisation of the people for peace so as to bring pressure on their governments to carry out a policy of peace, even if power-political considerations and vested interests militate against such a policy. The Christchurch Peace Movement calls on the people of Canterbury and New Zealand to maintain this independent attitude and not to allow the present situation to be used by hotheads to become the beginning of a world war. “This is not the time for recrimination. This is the time to stand fast and not to let our emotions run away with us. Even if the hands of neither West nor East are quite clean, there is no reason for going to war. Better relations between the countries of the Soviet bloc and those of the West are more important than ever now. The way to peace is not to accuse each other of crimes, but to lay even firmer foundations of mutual co-operation while popular pressure must grow to ensure a more moral behaviour of governments ” says the statement.