Promise of Joy (52 page)

“Mr. President,” she said, “I am afraid that the amendment offered by the governments of the United Kingdom and France does not go to the heart of the matter. No doubt it is offered, as the distinguished Ambassador of the United Kingdom says, in ‘good faith and good will, with sincere determination to achieve an agreement,’ but after we have accepted that fine declaration of intent we must move on to find out exactly how it is to be achieved. The prospects as he outlines them, I am afraid, are bleak.

“The world is confronted here, I suggest to the Council, not with good will, good faith and a sincere determination to reach agreement, but with stubbornness, hostility and an outright refusal to cooperate with the International Peace Force, a duly constituted arm of the United Nations, and a similar refusal to cooperate with a genuine attempt to secure universal disarmament. Why, then, must we bow to this kind of response? Why must we humble ourselves before it and use soft words? Why can we not have the courage to judge it for what it is, a blatant attempt to bluff the world into backing away from its imperative need for peace, so that these two governments may once more return to the old ways of hatred, mistrust, conquest and war?

“I submit, Mr. President, that the governments of France and the United Kingdom are unwittingly playing the game of a new imperialism. They mean well, their desire that we all love one another is very nice, but let us face it: we don’t all love one another, and unless there is a strong, powerful, no-nonsense international force to step between us, then many of us will go on warring. And with a third of Asia already devastated by the atomic exchange, we simply cannot afford that any longer. It will mean the death of us all.

“We must take strong and affirmative action to support the International Peace Force we have established. We must insist upon a genuine and very thorough disarmament of the major powers, and soon thereafter of all powers. We must face head on and unafraid exactly what confronts us at this moment in the world’s history.

“President Knox has offered a tough resolution because these are tough times. The only way to survive them is to be tough. We most respectfully urge the Council to meet the challenge, defeat the amendment, support the resolution. Otherwise, in the estimation of my government, we are signing a sure ticket to disaster.”

“Mr. President!” Krishna Khaleel cried quickly as she pushed away the microphone and sat back. “Mr. President, India wishes to be heard, if you please!”

“Certainly,” Australia said with a certain sarcasm. “No one would deprive India of that privilege.”

“Mr. President,” Krishna Khaleel said sternly, picking it up at once, “you may jest and be sarcastic, but this is serious business here. Rather serious business, I think!

“My government, Mr. President, appreciates the good faith and serious intent of the governments of the United Kingdom and France. It also appreciates the good faith and serious intent of the government of the United States of America. And it understands and sympathizes with the concern and anxieties of the new governments of Russia and China.”

(“That pretty well covers the field,”
The
New York Times
murmured. “But wait,”
The
London Times
advised. “Out of it all will come a synthesis uniquely Indian.”)

“However,”
K.K. said, and his tone became severe, “my government does
not
agree that the President of the United States of America, my dear old friend Orrin Knox, is approaching this in the right fashion. In fact, we are concerned that the record of the past ten days may indicate that he possibly has
never
approached it in the right fashion.

“Oh, Mr. President!” he cried, as Orrin shot him a skeptical glance and stirred in his chair. “We
appreciate
his sincerity! We
appreciate
his honor! We
appreciate
his idealism! It is simply his
methods
we deplore!”

Despite the gravity of the moment, there was a burst of genuine amusement, momentarily uniting them all. Even Lin and Shulatov condescended to smile.

“What?” K.K. cried indignantly. “What, then, have I said something funny? Is it so jolly here that delegates can laugh and chortle at me amongst themselves? Is it a matter for fun-making of India, then, Mr. President, I demand to know!”

“The delegate is advised,” Australia said, making himself suitably solemn, “that fun-making of India is the last thing anyone has in mind. Does he care to proceed, or shall we—”

“Yes!” K.K. exclaimed. “Yes, indeed, I care to proceed! And,” he added with a sudden determined dignity, “I shall do so in my own way, if the Council please.…

“Mr. President, President Knox and his delegation confine themselves in their resolution to two points only, the International Peace Force and disarmament. But, Mr. President, the initial ‘Ten Demands’ of President Knox, made almost three weeks ago, and the transcripts of his conversations in Moscow and Peking, indicate that the United States of America has much, much more in mind. It has in mind, if you please, the entire rearrangement of the globe, an entire revolution in the way the world does things, an entire change for humanity. And I submit to you, Mr. President, that all this rearrangement, if it were carried out, could only end in the complete and final dominance of the world by the United States of America.

“No, no, now!” he cried, holding up a warning hand as there came again from the American delegation an indignant stirring. “Do not interrupt me, my good friends from America! I do not say this is your deliberate intention, but let us examine the record and see. Let us look at all the peripheral things that hide beneath the twin shadows of International Peace Force and so-called disarmament. Let us see!

“The basic drive and end result here, Mr. President—it is implicit, oh, yes, it is implicit!—is to deny to
all
nations the right to have friendly powers along their borders, to deny to
all
nations the right to defend themselves against hostile elements from outside, to open
all
nations to incursion by so-called International Peace Forces and other international bodies. It is to demand of
all
of us that we disarm, that we renounce
all
interest, even the most beneficent, in anything that happens beyond our borders—that we simply withdraw from the world, as it were, and leave it to those who know best—who have always known best, about everything—our good friends from America. That is the real thrust here, Mr. President, whether they realize it consciously or not.

“It is true that they talk of disarmament, equal disarmament, but when you start with two great powers dreadfully weakened and a third great power still very strong, then if they all go down at the same pace, who still emerges at the bottom in the strongest position, Mr. President? And if we all join them, weak and secondary as we are—and you will recall that the transcripts disclose President Knox advising President Shulatov that in fact it is only those three who matter at all in this context, not your country or mine, Mr. President, or any of the rest of us—then if we all join them in this so-called disarmament, who still emerges at the bottom the strongest over all of us? None other than our good friends from Washington, innocent and idealistic as they are!

“I do not say, of course, Mr. President,” he said, and his voice filled with a heavy irony, “that it would not be best for us all to be so advised and so led by superior intelligence from America. But I wonder, really, if that is what we all want?

“I suggest, Mr. President, that the Council should adopt the amendment offered by my dear old friends the Ambassador of the United Kingdom and the Ambassador of France, and we will then proceed in an orderly fashion, as world society has always proceeded, to discuss—to consider—to reason—to compromise—to reach a fair agreement—to solve our problems in the old, good, traditional way!”

He sat back with a satisfied air while across the chamber there swept a sudden spontaneous wave of applause and approval that brought to his face a smile of gratified triumph and to the face of the President of the United States of America an expression of deep and somber concern.

He made no attempt to conceal it when he raised his hand for recognition, and when Australia gave it to him he made no attempt to keep the concern from his voice.

“Mr. President,” he said, and for the last time the Council and all its many guests quieted down intently to hear him speak, “how far we have moved from the simple terror with which these past two weeks began. How quickly we have forgotten why we are here. How rapidly has the impulse for salvation died.

“For make no mistake, my friends of the Council—make no mistake, anyone, anywhere. Salvation is what concerns us here. Salvation is what we will throw away if we do not insist that powers that have it in their hands to destroy the world be brought under control and be relieved of that capacity. And by that I say to my friend from India, I do mean all of us, and I mean
all of us equally.
I will not dignify his unworthy absurdities by commenting on his charges against the United States of America. My offer of full disarmament for us, and my own actions in the past ten days in attempting to bring peace, speak for themselves. If they cannot be honestly understood, then I pity those who deliberately misinterpret them.”

(“Old boy’s annoyed, isn’t he?”
The
London Times
observed. “Can you blame him?” inquired
The New York Times.
“Oh,
well”
said
The London Times.)

“Mr. President,” he said, ignoring K.K.’s flushed face and offended stare, “I wish to address myself for the last time to the choice between the quick and the dead. We can indeed go on in ‘the old, good, traditional way.’ We can indeed ‘consider’ and ‘discuss’ and ‘reason’ and ‘compromise.’ We can indeed talk, talk, talk while time disappears and God’s patience with us runs finally out. Sure! Let’s do that. Let’s take all the time in the world, with skirmishing already beginning again along the Russo-Chinese border, with pestilence spreading from the dead cities, with twenty million walking wounded wandering the roads of central Asia. Let’s wait until they walk right into this Council chamber, Mr. President! Let’s wait until we join them, in the final walk to nowhere.

“Yes!” he said, and now the room was absolutely hushed in the face of his obvious terrible anger. “Let’s wait—let’s wait. Let’s don’t do anything tough. Let’s don’t do anything strong. Let’s don’t step on anybody’s toes. Let’s take counsel of our fears and give free reign once more to our cupidity. Let’s revive all our self-interest, our suspicions of one another, our hostilities, our selfishness, our fear of genuine sacrifice for peace, our eternal cowardice in the face of moral principle. Let’s go through the same old story that brought us up to the flash point of two weeks ago, and very shortly we will get flash point again. And then, my timorous friends, God help us. God help us, every one.

“Mr. President,” he concluded with a harsh abruptness, “we can only decide this by a vote. I request one.”

But of course it did not come then, because on an issue so grave every member of the Council had to make a record, for however long the record might be read. One by one the others said their say, Australia, Chile and Cuba, Egypt and Ghana, Lesotho, Norway, Rumania and Zambia. Almost two hours passed before Australia could put the question.

“The vote comes,” he said finally, “on the resolution of the United Kingdom and France to amend the resolution of the United States of America. The voting will begin with Lesotho. The Secretary-General will call the roll.”

“Lesotho,” said the Secretary-General; and after a long moment, during which tension rose sharply in the room and in the world, the giant black chieftain of the Sotho who represented Lesotho said slowly:

“No.”

There was a babble of noise, a scattering of applause, some boos.

“Norway.”

“No,” said Norway firmly.

The boos increased.

“Rumania.”

“Yes.”

Applause rose defiantly, boos were almost submerged.

“The United Kingdom.”

“Yes,” said Lord Maudulayne crisply, and this time the applause far outweighed the boos.

“The United States.”

“No,” said Orrin Knox, and this time the boos far outweighed the applause.

“The United Chinese Republic.”

“Yes,” Lin said softly, and applause was vigorous, friendly, encouraging, boos few and far between.

“The United States of Russia.”

“Yes!” said Shulatov defiantly, and he too received the same warmly generous response.

“Zambia.”

“But,
yes!”
said Zambia, and there was approving laughter, though still, here and there, a few boos.

“Australia.”

“No,” Australia said quietly, and there were plenty of boos.

“Chile.”

“Sí!”
Chile said with a cheerful grin, and laughter approved him.

“Cuba.”

“Sí, sí!”
said Cuba, and the laughter grew.

“Egypt.”

“No,” Egypt said stoutly, and the boos resumed. France.

“Yes,” said Raoul Barre, and applause rewarded him.

“Ghana.”

“Yes,” said Ghana, and the applause, hardly pausing now, rolled on for him.

“India.”

“Yes!” Krishna Khaleel said triumphantly, and applause welled up in final triumph as he beamed and smiled.

“On this vote,” Australia announced, dispirited and openly unhappy, “five members have voted No, ten have voted Yes. One permanent member has voted No, but since the veto no longer exists, the amendment of the United Kingdom and France is approved by a vote of 10 to 5.”

For a moment the room was silent, as though for a last split second men took thought of what they had done. Then applause and cheers welled up and carried on their tide all who believed and most of those who doubted. Only a few here and there sat silent and depressed.

“The vote now comes on the resolution of the United States as amended,” Australia said finally. “The voting will start with Norway. The Secretary-General will call the roll.”