In the worsening world situation, fraught with pain of war,
violence and the sudden uprooting of long-established institutions, can be seen
the fulfilment of the prophecies of Baha'u'llah and the oft-repeated warnings
of the Master and the beloved Guardian about the inevitable fate of a
lamentably defective social system, an unenlightened leadership and a
rebellious and unbelieving humanity. Governments and peoples of both the
developed and developing nations, and other human institutions, secular and
religious, finding themselves helpless to reverse the trend of the catastrophic
events of the day, stand bewildered and overpowered by the magnitude and
complexity of the problems facing them. At this fateful hour in human history
many, unfortunately, seem content to stand aside and wring their hands in
despair or else join in the babel of shouting and protestation which loudly
objects, but offers no solution to the woes and afflictions plaguing our age.
- The Universal House of Justice (From a message dated 16 November 1969;
‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice, 1963-1986’)
A summary of worsening events that took place in the world
in 1968 and 1969 – by Geoffry Marks
The years 1968 and 1969 were racked with war, violence,
terrorism, and civil unrest around the world. Wars raged in Vietnam and
Nigeria; Soviet and Chinese troops skirmished in a continuing border dispute;
Soviet troops entered Czechoslovakia to quell a movement toward liberalization;
and El Salvador invaded Honduras. Coups d'etat toppled governments in 'Iraq,
Syria, Sierre Leone, Dahomey, the Congo, Mali, the Sudan, Libya, the
Netherlands Antilles, Peru, Panama, and Bolivia; states of emergency were
declared in Spain, Malaysia, and Chile; violent unrest occurred in West
Germany, Spain, Bombay, Pakistan, Argentina, Kenya, and the United States; and
student protests erupted in Paris, Mexico City, Czechoslovakia, Argentina, and
the United States. United States and Israeli airliners were hijacked, and two
Israeli airliners were attacked by terrorists.
Moreover, a number of leaders were assassinated, including Somalian
president Abdirascid Ali Scermarche; US civil rights leader Martin Luther King,
Jr.; US presidential candidate Robert E. Kennedy; US ambassador to Guatemala
John Gordon Mein; and Mozambique Liberation Front leader Eduardo Chivambo
Mondlane.
- Geoffry Marks (Footnotes to “Messages from the Universal House of
Justice, 1963-1986’)