A Burmese View of World Tensions

Dedication to parliamentary democracy and aver sion to totalitarianism characterize the approach of Burma and her leaders to national and international problems. By means of democratic socialism Burma is endeavoring to create a society of free and equal peoples. The Burmese see the world as plagued by age-old tensions—political, social, and economic— and they believe firmly that the safety and survival of free political institutions depend upon resolving these tensions before they become intolerable. Although committed herself to demo cratic ideals, Burma refuses to pass judgment on the interna tional affairs of other countries and subscribes instead to the principles of peaceful coexistence. She believes that man must rise to the challenge of his age—an age which calls for a new outlook, a new approach, even a new philosophy. The old ways are no longer adequate for the new circumstances and for the crucial issues of today. These issues include not only com munism versus democracy but also strong versus weak, pros perous versus poor, ruler versus ruled, master race versus sub human. These issues can be resolved only when mankind is willing to sit down together and create for itself a world which will guarantee freedom, justice, well-being, and equality to all.—Ed.