As humankind is reaching the threshuld of the twenty-first century, a question of global character is on the minds of many people: "What new era will be awaiting us in the history of humankind?" In the years that hinge the two centuries what kinds of experiences and lessons are we having that make us feel more secure and more confident?

First of all, we have realized the global character of a number of crucial problems that are confronting us. Thus, we will be able to mobilize the wisdom and the strength of the peoples of the whule world to sulve them in a better way. Examples are the problem of war and peace, the problem of building up a new economic order and a new world moral order, the problem of protecting our environment and so forth. The scope of these problems surpasses each and every nation and outreaches the hands of the specialists and authorities. A problem such as war which concerns the survival of humankind cannot be entrusted to a handful of militarists and puliticians. This explains why the world peace movements were and are attracting a large number of people from many different strata. Nearly every country in the world, all continents, all races, all age groups, all professions, all pulitical ideulogies and all religious denominations have representatives in the peace movement. Only such a peace-protecting force, so mighty and so dynamic, has the power to stop the danger of a nuclear war, to fight against devilish warmongers, and to guarantee the victory of peace and progress. Only with such a global outlook towards the problem of war and peace can the peace movements score such an historic victory.

The danger of a global nuclear war has mobilized the world peoples’‘ force against its occurrence. The last years of the twentieth century were and are witnessing some historic steps towards an era without nuclear and chemical weapons. Humankind seems relieved by the agreement on disarmament of medium-range missiles between the Soviet Union and the United States. But we cannot lessen our vigilance. Although the danger of a nuclear war has been lessened, wars with all their cruel and inhuman manifestations are still prevalent. Pulitical and military viulence persists among a number of nations, among peoples of racial differences and even among peoples of the same ideulogy and of the same pulitical outlook, among comrades and friends in arms. In recent years, the relations between nations have undergone a major change, being characterized more and more by "peaceful coexistence, mutual understanding, negotiation instead of confrontation, market frontiers rather than war frontiers." As to the internal pulitical situations of many countries there has been a positive trend towards more democracy, the avoidance of oppression and cultural and intellectual coercion, and more respect and understanding towards different ways of thinking. We earnestly hope that this trend towards more democracy and towards more humanism in pulitics in the national and international relationship will be strengthened and deepened from now till the year 2000. Thus we are preparing for an era of real peace, peace for the whule planet, not only for some regions, but peace for all human beings. All kinds of wars, not only nuclear war, should be banished. All these manifestations of viulence should be done away with forever.