Suggestions To End War

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31521, 8 November 1967, Page 1

Suggestions To End War

The exclusion of China from the charter of the United Nations was one of the greatest bungles of history, said Brigadier-General H. B. Hester, United States Army (retired), in Christchurch yesterday.

No permanent peace could exist, he said, while a quarter of the human family was excluded from the mainstream of international communications. Brigadier-General Hester was giving the opening address of his New Zealand tour lecturing on opposition in the United States to the Vietnam War. He spoke to about 40 Christchurch trade union leaders and others in the Trades Hall. He said that successive United States Governments had largely been responsible for the ill-functioning of the United Nations. If the' Vietnam War was not stopped we would have

World War 111. Before such a war was over, every weapon in the arsenal—conventional, nuclear, bacteriological, and chemical—would be used. The Vietnam War could be ended by having a cease-fire. “People do not negotiate when they are killing each other,” he said. “A request should be made to the small nations that are neutral to police the ceasefire and make sure that violations were reported. “Simultaneously the Great Powers and all powers strictly concerned with the war should hammer out an agreement that would be acceptable to the people of South Vietnam whether they have two governments or one government. “Let the people decide, whether they have two or one Vietnams. Let them decide their political or economic system.” he said. Brigadier-General Hester said that the big powers should sign an agreement that they would agree to support the freedom, independence and neutrality of the area. Today, there were 12 United States two-star to fourstar admirals or generals, who opposed the Vietnam War. Their opposition was on strategic or moral grounds, or both. Brigadier-General Hester left yesterday for Dunedin. He will later give addresses in Wellington and Auckland.