May 5 1985
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(New page: The text of a joint declaration made public today at the end of a seven-nation economic conference in Bonn, West Germany, contained a statement concerning space activities, the NY Times re...)
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The text of a joint declaration made public today at the end of a seven-nation economic conference in Bonn, West Germany, contained a statement concerning space activities, the NY Times reported. The text read: "We welcome the positive responses of the member states of the European Space Agency (ESA), Canada, and Japan to the invitation of the president of the United States to cooperate in the United States manned space station program on the basis of a genuine partnership and a fair and appropriate exchange of information, experience, and technologies. Discussions on intergovernmental cooperation in development and utilization of permanently manned space stations will begin promptly. We also welcome the conclusions of the ESA Council on the need for Europe to maintain and expand its autonomous capability in space activity, and on the long-term European space plan and its objectives." (NYT, May 5/85, A16)
In a commencement address today at the George Washington University School of Public and International Affairs, Charles Wick, director of the U.S. Information Agency, said that the "very survival" of the U.S. may depend on the extent to which its citizens use and master the tools of mass communications, the NY Times reported.
"Through the explosion of global satellite communications, a technological 'genie' has been unleashed which will change forever the way that governments communicate ideas and information abroad," he said. However, he noted that ". . . not all countries believe in freedom of ideas. Not all accept the Western tradition that free expression is a basic human right. These opposing forces are attempting to persuade other countries, particularly those in the third world, that the state, not the people, must decide which ideas circulate in their magazines and newspapers and on the TV and radio stations . . .
"Since the 1970s, the Soviet Union has introduced resolutions at Unesco, in the guise of a 'New World Information Order; to impose this control of the mass media on all nations of the world . . .
"Unless you and I do a better job of explaining to the world how the free flow of information can benefit mankind, other nations will not be persuaded to open their borders to the ideas and opinions of others. This could have damaging, even fatal consequences for a dangerous world, in which cooperation-and survival-depend so heavily on mutual understanding," Wick concluded. (NYT, May 7/85, B8)
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