The Planetary Spirit

UNITED NATIONS The Planetary Spirit As the General Assembly of the United Nations settled down for its 26th session last week, the traditionally wide-ranging opening debate allowed almost everyone a chance to speak his mind on almost anything. Amid the logorrhea, the delegates were able to point to one U.N. achievement. From Geneva, representatives of 25 nations forwarded to the General Assembly a draft agreement to destroy germ weapons. The U.N. must approve the convention, and then the nations who sign it will have nine months to reduce their bacteriological arsenals.

Unusual Invective. Apart from the question of China's admission, the dominant issue was the perennially deadlocked Middle East. The Security Council unanimously passed a resolution urging Israel to desist from its attempts to change the status of Jerusalem. Soviet Delegate Yakov Malik accused Israel of fascism and racism for building Israeli housing on what had been Arab land. If the plight of Soviet Jews improved, Israeli Ambassador Yosef Tek-oah countered, "the voice of the Soviet Union would be heard with greater respect." At that Malik warned, "Don't stick your long nose into our garden. History shows that those who do, lose their noses."

It was left to the U.N.'s most mellifluous spokesman to lift the tone of the conversation. Israel's Abba Eban suggested that he and Egyptian Foreign Minister Mahmoud Riad meet on the stalemated Suez Canal issue. Such a confrontation is not likely, but the offer gave Eban a chance to criticize and praise the U.N. in its 26th year. Eban lamented that "in the work of the U.N. there is a strong accent on public controversy and a relative neglect of private conciliation." But he also noted that "this organization, for all its imperfection, is the only organized expression of the planetary spirit."

Linguistic Lobbying. In the U.N. corridors, interest concentrated on some personnel matters. The retirement of Under Secretary-General Ralph Bunche, who won the Nobel Prize for his 1949 peace-making role in the Middle East, was announced. Bunche is seriously ill with heart disease, kidney trouble and diabetes.

His departure precedes that of Secretary-General U Thant, who has decided to retire after ten years. Among the candidates to succeed Thant is Finnish Ambassador to the U.N. Max Jakobson. The French government, however, last week suddenly began to lobby for selection of someone more linguistically able. Distressed by the poor French of Thant, the French are hoping for a French-speaking successor. A favorite appears to be Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, who is the U.N. high commissioner for refugees and speaks the language exquisitely.

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