World Events in a Month

The month of July was marked by important world events, the most prominent of which was the expulsion of the four Soviet leaders: Malenkov, Kaganovich, Shepilov, and Molotov. The latter two had been foreign ministers of the Soviet Union. Their expulsion from government posts and from membership in the Communist Party means that the ruling Russian leaders are, it seems, inclined to pursue a more moderate policy with regard to the current world questions, foremost among them the matter of disarmament now under discussion in the British capital.

For it has become clear to international observers that the points of view of the Western powers and the Soviet Union, as concerns the halting of atomic tests and the reduction of armaments in general, were closer to agreement than at any time past in the disarmament talks.

As for the discussions of the five powers meeting in London to deal with the questions of disarmament, it appears to diplomatic observers that the American proposals, backed by her Western allies, still stand the best chance of winning the support of the Soviet Union,

which only days ago was insisting on its own point of view on this subject. Perhaps the final sessions to come will reveal to world public opinion who is responsible for the failure that threatens these talks, or will give a clear picture of the extent of the East's and the West's desire to achieve a long-lasting world peace.

The Egyptian elections, the opening of the new Egyptian parliament, and the speech of President Gamal Abdel Nasser come among the international events that give promise of an easing of the acute crises which have long dominated Europe and the Middle East. The Egyptian President's speech, in the whole of its domestic and foreign lines, came as a first step toward closer cooperation with the Western powers, which perceived in the words of President Abdel Nasser a concern for Egypt's freedom and independence, far removed from all that is said about Egypt's leaning toward East or West. Thus the speech, on the eve of the fifth anniversary of the Revolution and the opening of parliament, stands as eloquent testimony to the wisdom of Egyptian policy at home, and to Egypt's adherence to what it had previously declared regarding its commitments abroad.

This said, were it not for the events of the Imamate of Oman and Muscat in the Arabian Peninsula, one could say that the Middle East, after the attack on Egypt, is enjoying a greater measure of stability and tranquility. If these events prove anything, it is the extent to which British and American policy has fallen back from its common aims in the Middle East. And it is precisely here that the point of difference begins, in form or in substance, between the two great powers.

It remains to point to the historic event which the Tunisian Constituent Assembly inscribed in the history of modern Tunisia: its meeting on the evening of Thursday, July 25, 1957, its proclamation of the abolition of the monarchy and the establishment of the republic, and the election of President Habib Bourguiba as the first President of the new Tunisian Republic.