62. The period of time that has elapsed since the last session of the United Nations General Assembly has been marked by a further strengthening of the forces of peace in the world. Greater efforts have been made to abolish war as a means of solving international disputes, to settle controversial questions by negotiation and to promote broad international cooperation based on the principles of the peaceful coexistence of States with different social systems.
63. The course of international affairs is being influenced more and more by the consistent, peaceful policy of the USSR and other countries with a socialist System, by the all-round growth of their strength and unity and by the grandiose prospects of their future development. The untiring efforts of the USSR in the cause of peace and its tremendous achievements in science and technology are having a favourable effect, as we can feel here, on the atmosphere of our present session. We are filled with feelings of sincere joy and extend to the Soviet people our whole-hearted congratulations on the occasion of their newest historic triumph, their launching of a second space rocket, which has reached the surface of the moon. This achievement opens before mankind vast new possibilities for exploring the mysteries of the universe. Man’s boldest dreams are becoming realities before our very eyes.
64. The fight for peace and peaceful coexistence is being waged by many countries of Asia and Africa and by other countries which pursue a policy of neutrality. The policy of peace is supported by the widest segments of the population in all countries.
65. The period just elapsed witnessed the formation of favourable circumstances for a substantial easing of international tensions. A number of significant events are indicative of this trend. The most important of them, one which we are witnessing now and which has caused the utmost satisfaction throughout the world, is the visit to the United States of Mr. N. S. Khrushchev, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, and the forthcoming visit to the Soviet Union of Mr. Dwight D. Eisenhower, President of the United States. The meeting of statesmen of these two countries is exceptionally important in view of the great responsibility that the Soviet Union and the United States bear for the maintenance and consolidation of international peace and security. It is clear to everyone that, if relations between these two States develop in keeping with the principles of peaceful coexistence, this will exert a decisively favourable influence on the international situation as a whole.
66. We welcome the meeting between the Heads of Government of the Soviet Union and the United States and we hope that this meeting will contribute significantly to the lessening of international tension, to the development of peaceful co-operation and mutual understanding and to the extension of confidence in the relations between States with different social systems.
67. The visit to the United States of Mr. Khrushchev, whose untiring efforts and invaluable services in the cause of safeguarding world peace have brought him universal respect and recognition throughout the world, has evoked a wide response in all countries. The mere fact that the visit was made indicates that international relations have entered a new phase, that the ice of the "cold war" is melting and that — in the words of Mr. A. Novotny, President of the Czechoslovak Republic — '"the great idea of peaceful coexistence and competition, which the Soviet Union has consistently advocated in the international forum, has found devoted supporters in hundreds of millions of people and in entire nations".
68. With ever-increasing insistence the people of the world demand that all the efforts of the world should be directed at ending the "cold war", at expanding fruitful international co-operation and at developing the economies and raising the levels of living of nations.
69. Unfortunately, however, influential circles in the Western countries are impeding peaceful coexistence and co-operation and seeking to continue "cold war" policies. They are unwilling to accept the fact that the people of the socialist nations have chosen their present form of government freely once and for all. Evidence of this attitude can be found in the provocative resolution recently adopted by the United States Congress on the so-called "liberation" of socialist countries, among them Czechoslovakia, and also in the attempts to revive the so-called "Hungarian question" in the United Nations, as the United States and United Kingdom representatives again sought to do in their statements.
70. The Czechoslovak people, like the peoples of the other Socialist countries, have never before, as a nation or socially, felt as free as they do today. If the sponsors of the above-mentioned provocative campaigns wish to liberate someone, it would be more appropriate if they directed their efforts in another direction and used their influence to do away with the remnants of colonialism, liberate the colonial peoples, abolish racial oppression and discrimination in their own countries as well, and free millions of working people from the heavy and increasing burden which the armaments race has placed upon them.
71. We feel bound to state forthrightly that the principles of peaceful coexistence and competition will not be fully practicable until all the obstacles that have accumulated during the "cold war" years to expanded peaceful co-operation among States and to a consolidated peace have been cleared away.
72. One burning and outstanding problem which, if not solved, will make it difficult to consolidate the peace and security of nations, is that of the consequences of the Second World War. The danger resides particularly in the fact that fourteen years after the end of that War a peace treaty has still not been concluded with Germany. This situation is propitious to the growth of militarist and revanchist forces which are seeking far-reaching and aggressive aims and are working feverishly for the adoption of measures to equip the West German army with nuclear and rocket weapons. They are thus endangering peace and security, not only in Europe, but in the entire world.
73. The Western supporters of German militarism and imperialism attempted to delude and appease the alarmed European public with assertions that the so-called Paris Agreements would not permit the revival of German militarism and would prevent the equipment of West Germany with nuclear weapons. Czechoslovakia more than once gave warning that these assertions did not correspond to the facts and that they were merely a screen to conceal the accelerated arming of the Bundeswehr with nuclear and rocket weapons. The situation now prevailing in West Germany and the statements of West German officials fully bear out the validity of our warnings. For example, the Minister of Defence of that country, Mr. Strauss, stated, at the time of the Foreign Ministers' Conference at Geneva that the West German army was prepared to conduct an atomic war and that the Bundeswehr would be completely equipped with atomic weapons by 1961 at latest.
74. Military revenge is the principal aim of the foreign policy of the ruling circles of the Federal Republic of Germany. The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany and Chancellor Adenauer have attempted recently to show that there is no revanchist propaganda in West Germany. However, numerous statements made by official representatives of the Federal Republic of Germany have shown without a doubt that their first concern is to direct and encourage the intrigues of revanchists, intrigues which extend even to the territory of other States. The recent provocative actions and meetings of revanchist elements, knowingly organized with the direct and active support of the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany, attest to the increasing activity of these forces and to the fact that their aims are opposed to the peace and security of nations.
75. Czechoslovakia is one of the countries which the West German revanchists openly attack and against which they continuously make aggressive territorial claims. The West German Minister of Transport, Mr. Seebohm, very recently reiterated these claims at revanchist rallies held at Geislingen and Ulm, where he called for a "mighty struggle" to acquire a part of Czechoslovak territory, the Cheb region. Even the President of the United States, when he visited Bonn, was greeted by posters bearing revanchist slogans.
76. It should be noted that German militarism and revanchism have not yet abandoned their aggressive designs upon the Western countries either. This should be kept well in mind by those Western circles that helped German imperialism to raise its head and which have agreed to permit the military bases and stockpiles of the Bundeswehr to be installed in their territory. There is a Czech proverb that says: "Do what the Devil bids thee and thy reward shall be hell". Especially the small nations members of NATO should not have forgotten the bitter experiences of the recent past.
77. It is not from fear that Czechoslovakia has warned of the danger of German militarism and revanchism. Taught by bitter experience, we drew the necessary conclusions and have firmly ensured our security by forming an indissoluble alliance with the USSR and the other countries of the socialist camp.
78. German militarism and revanchism must be halted if renewed aggression against the peoples of Europe is to be prevented. Mr. Antonín Novotny, President of the Czechoslovak Republic, said in a recent address: "The peoples of Europe are becoming increasingly convinced that their security and peace depend first and foremost on the curbing of German militarism, on preventing a repetition in West Germany of the infamous events of years gone by and on the adoption of the Soviet Union's peaceful proposals for the solution of the German problem. This approach is also in keeping with the interests of the German people as a whole."
79. The fact that a peace treaty with Germany has not yet been signed has had far-reaching unfavourable consequences for international peace and security and has caused complications in the relations between States.
80. The Western Powers refuse to conclude a peace treaty with Germany on the grounds that Germany is not yet reunified. At the same time they do nothing to re-establish harmonious relations between the two German States but support a policy that creates an ever-widening gulf between the German Democratic Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany. This policy is completely bankrupt. There are two States in Germany today. The country can, therefore, be reunified only by a negotiated settlement between the German Democratic Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany without outside interference and by re-establishing good relations and close co-operation between the two German States on the basis of their joint efforts to strengthen peace and raise the level of living of the German people. This cannot be done without the establishment of an all-German committee or some similar all-German body, as proposed by the USSR and the German Democratic Republic.
81. Another pressing need of the time is that of eliminating the dangerous source of tension in West Berlin which exists as a result of the continuing occupation of West Berlin by the Western Powers. The proposals on the Berlin question submitted by the Soviet Union constitute a generally acceptable and realistic basis for a settlement of this problem.
82. A significant role in the solution of the problems of Germany is being played by the German Democratic Republic, which, having put an end to militarism and aggression, is maintaining friendly relations and peaceful co-operation with all countries and now has behind it ten years of successful development. Its active and constructive participation in the Geneva Foreign Ministers' Conference, which in effect gave de facto recognition to the German Democratic Republic, is proof of the steadily rising authority and prestige of the German Democratic Republic.
83. The Government and people of Czechoslovakia fully appreciate the constructive efforts being made by the Government of the German Democratic Republic to safeguard and consolidate peace and solve the German question, and they will continue to accord their full support to it in its endeavours. Our friendly relations with the German Democratic Republic are convincing proof that the Czechoslovak people harbour no hatred for the German people and take a genuine interest in the peaceful and democratic development of Germany.
84. The most urgent and serious problem of today is the problem of disarmament, on the solution of which the maintenance of peace in the world fundamentally depends.
85. Only last year we saw a number of Western countries speed up the pace of their nuclear armament, spending fantastic sums of money in a feverish race to arm. The system of military groups set up by the Western Powers and the hundreds of military bases established on the territory of other States represent a great danger to peace and security.
86. The security of nations demands the cessation of the armaments race, which has increased world tension and the threat of a new war. In the light of the remarkable prospects opening up before mankind as a result of recent discoveries in science and technology, the absurdity of nuclear armaments and the need to do everything possible to save the world for all time from the danger of a devastating war have become more evident than ever.
87. No progress has been made in the disarmament negotiations during the past fourteen years. Consequently, the dangerous world situation demands of us that we concentrate our efforts on seeking a new approach to the disarmament question.
88. The Czechoslovak Government fully shares the view of the Government of the Soviet Union, stated from this rostrum several days ago [799th meeting] by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, Mr. Nikita S. Khrushchev, that the most appropriate way to put an end to the armaments race and eliminate the danger of a new war is to effect the general and complete disarmament of all countries.
89. We welcome and vigorously support the new and far-reaching disarmament proposals of the Soviet Union, made in the declaration of the Soviet Government on general and complete disarmament [A/4219], that over a four-year period all States should carry out complete disarmament, including the complete disbandment of their armies the abolition of their general staffs, war ministries and other military institutions, the elimination of their military bases in foreign territory and the destruction of all military weapons and material, primarily of all stockpiles of nuclear and rocket weapons. Only limited contingents of security forces equipped solely with small arms would be retained by States for the purpose of maintaining order. The implementation of these measures would be ensured by the establishment of an international control body in which all States would participate. A control system would be set up and would operate in conformity with the stages in which the disarmament proposals were carried out.
90. The adoption and implementation of the Soviet Government's proposals would produce a radical change in the course of international affairs. The fact that not a single country would possess the means for unleashing an aggressive war against other countries would create an atmosphere of mutual confidence and conditions for broad and peaceful cooperation among States. The vast financial resources which countries have so far allocated to armaments might be diverted entirely to developing their economies, to raising the level of living of their populations and to realizing the boldest projects in science and technology.
91. The Czechoslovak people have warmly welcomed the USSR proposals. It fully appreciates their enormous significance since twice in a single generation it has been the victim of German militarism and suffered tremendous losses. A number of other European nations have suffered a similar fate. In view of the fact this danger is again increasing, it is entirely understandable that the problems of general and complete disarmament throughout the world are of cardinal importance to us and to other European nations.
92. The adoption of the Soviet proposals would put armaments once and for all beyond the reach of German militarists and revanchists and would bring lasting peace to this sensitive area of the world which has suffered so cruelly from wars in the past.
93. The new proposals of the USSR on general and complete disarmament are the result of the pressing demands of the present international situation and indicate a realistic and fully practicable way of improving it. It is only natural, therefore, that these proposals are meeting with a wide response and finding support in all countries. We express the hope that they will find the same understanding and support at the present session of the General Assembly.
94. The Czechoslovak delegation also supports the proposals on partial disarmament measures which the Soviet Government has suggested should be put into effect until such time as agreement is reached on general and complete disarmament. These proposals have regard to the establishment of a control and inspection zone, the establishment of an "atom-free zone" in Central Europe, the withdrawal of all foreign troops from the territories of European countries and the abolition of military bases in the territories of foreign States, the conclusion of a non-aggression pact between the member States of NATO and the signatory States of the Warsaw Treaty, and the conclusion of an agreement on the prevention of surprise attack by one State upon another.
95. The most important task at the present time, and one which must not be put off any longer under any pretext whatever, is that of concluding an agreement for the complete cessation for all time of nuclear tests of any kind, a subject on which negotiations have been under way at Geneva for nearly a year between the representatives of the USSR, the United States and the United Kingdom. The signing of such an agreement would clear the way for further progress in the sphere of disarmament, would put a stop to the perfecting of more and more destructive types of nuclear weapons and would help to avert the serious danger threatening present and future generations through the growing contamination of the atmosphere with radio-active fall-out.
96. The Conference has already achieved certain results but, owing to the position adopted by the United States and the United Kingdom delegations, a number of important questions remain undecided. We believe that the United States and the United Kingdom ought now to give the world some demonstration of their good will and understanding and ought to make a sincere attempt, together with the USSR, to seek an acceptable solution to the problems still outstanding.
97. The people of Czechoslovakia are strongly opposed to anything which might mean the renewal of nuclear tests and demand that the negotiations should be brought to an end without further delay by the signing of an agreement for the cessation of all types of tests. They therefore welcome the solemn undertaking of the USSR, as expressed in the statement of the Soviet Government of 28 August 1959, that it will not resume nuclear weapons tests if the Western Powers do not do so either. It would be desirable for other Powers too, to adopt this same attitude.
98. The peoples of the world and the people of Africa in particular are at present very concerned about the danger which will re suit from the conduct in the Sahara of the nuclear weapons tests now in preparation. The Government of Morocco has placed a letter [A/4183] before the General Assembly at its fourteenth session, drawing attention to this danger.
99. The Czechoslovak people, also, are opposed to the carrying out of the French tests for, as has been convincingly shown from the research done by Czechoslovak scientists, radio-active fall-out from these explosions could affect a number of countries in southern, southeastern and central Europe, too, including Czechoslovakia, to a considerable degree. The atmospheric currents bring dust from the Sahara even to our country, for it has been observed on the snows covering our mountains.
100. The Government of the Republic of Czechoslovakia considers it essential that effective measures should be taken to avert the danger of the further extension of the possession of nuclear weapons, and it is ready to support, in the General Assembly too, any measures towards this end.
101. The Czechoslovak Government welcomed with satisfaction the agreement of the Governments of the four great Powers to set up a new Disarmament Committee, and expressed its consent to Czechoslovakia’s participation in it. We believe that if all members of the Committee were to show a sufficient desire to reach agreement, the result of the work of the new disarmament body could be successful and could lead to progress in the solution of this most important of current questions. The Czechoslovak representatives in the Committee will make every effort to contribute their share to the realization of practical measures of disarmament, which all the peoples are urgently demanding.
102. One of the most significant of contemporary phenomena is the increasingly rapid and irresistible process of disintegration of the colonial system and the vast scale of the struggle for freedom of the peoples in the colonial and dependent countries. As a direct result of this powerful movement towards freedom, a number of independent States have arisen in Africa and Asia, which are engaged in consolidating the independence they have won and in pursuing a policy of non-participation in military blocs and of peaceful coexistence.
103. There is an Eastern saying that, however different they may be, all flowers reach towards the sun. In the same way the peoples of the colonial and economically less-developed countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America, despite the fact there are many differences between them, are all yearning for freedom and independence and repudiating imperialist intervention.
104. The Czechoslovak delegation considers it desirable that the General Assembly of the United Nations should give full support to the peoples of those countries which are still struggling against colonial oppression, so that they may, in the shortest possible time, avail themselves of their right to self-determination.
105. The Czechoslovak people have always supported and will in the future continue to support the endeavours of the peoples of the colonial and economically less-developed countries to secure their freedom and independence. Colonialism is now finally doomed, as are all attempts to resurrect it in other forms.
106. In recent months Laos has been the principal object of increased imperialist intervention. In order to cloak their open intervention the Western Powers contrived an illegal decision of the Security Council setting up an investigating Sub-Committee of four countries, which has been sent to Laos. This decision represents a flagrant violation both of the Geneva agreements of 1954 and the Vientiane agreement, and also of the United Nations Charter.
107. We fully support the Soviet Government’s proposal of 14 September 1959 for the immediate convening of a meeting of the States which participated in the Geneva talks on Laos in 1954. The meeting would discuss the situation in Laos and take appropriate steps.
108. The development of broad economic co-operation is one of the main prerequisites to normal relations between countries. We consider that ideological differences are not and should not be obstacles to economic co-operation between countries with different social systems. From this point of view peaceful competition between socialism and capitalism can be very important for the strengthening of peaceful relations and friendly co-operation throughout the world.
109. Czechoslovakia occupies an important place in the economic competition between the two systems. Our successes stem from the continuous increase in our industrial output, the volume of which has this year been 3.5 times greater than it was in 1937 and will by 1965 be six times greater than it was before the war. Our national economy has already, in some important indices, left France and Italy behind in per caput production, and in the coming years it will move ahead of the United Kingdom and the Federal Republic of Germany and occupy one of the foremost places in the world. Our foreign trade, too, which has more than doubled in volume in the last ten years, is continuing successfully to expand, Czechoslovakia is now one of the largest exporters of machinery and mechanical equipment in the world. Our socialist agriculture is also achieving fresh successes in the course of its development. The level of living of our population is rising from year to year.
110. Czechoslovakia maintains broad, mutually beneficial economic relations with many countries in the world, and it is constantly multiplying them. Recently, for example, it organized an international machine building exhibition at Brno, where important international economic contacts are being made and negotiations are going on between leading economic, technical and scientific experts from all over the world.
111. In connexion with current economic developments, certain urgent problems have arisen in the sphere of international economic co-operation, to the examination of which the United Nations, too, should give the highest priority. First and foremost there is the question of removing discriminatory practices and other obstacles which are still hampering the development of world trade; there is also the question of giving effective assistance to the less developed countries, and then there are such questions as the development of economic co-operation between all countries, the improvement of conditions in the world commodity trade, and so on.
112. In this connexion I should like to stress that the Czechoslovak people view with feelings of sincere sympathy the endeavours of the less developed countries to attain economic independence and to free themselves from foreign exploitation. While the peoples of these countries are wrestling with grave economic difficulties, the foreign exploiters are amassing huge profits from their exploitation of those countries’ natural resources. It would be only fair, therefore, to return at least part of these profits to them. Czechoslovakia, which has, within the limit of its circumstances, been giving disinterested assistance to the economically less developed countries, will continue in the future to support their endeavours to attain equality with other nations and to become economically independent, and the United Nations also should co-operate to that end.
113. The policy of peace and the peaceful coexistence of peoples, which has been consistently followed by the Czechoslovak Government, is a direct consequence of the social structure of the Czechoslovak Republic. We are pursuing this policy because it guarantees favourable conditions for the successful fulfilment of the great tasks involved in the completion of the building of socialism in our country.
114. Last year we increased still further our contacts with a great number of States. Believing that the development of personal contacts is an effective means both for the removal of obstacles in the relations between States and for the establishment of friendly cooperation among them, we have welcomed to our country distinguished representatives of foreign States. Various meetings also took place in Czechoslovakia, among them for instance an international seminar on social security, arranged in co-operation with the International Labour Organisation, the famous annual spring music festival in Prague, and so on.
115. The Czechoslovakia Government, in its desire to increase international co-operation within the United Nations too, is inviting the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation to hold a session at Prague.
116. Czechoslovakia will in the future do all ill its power to ensure that the dilemma — peaceful coexistence or atomic war — is settled for good as soon as possible in favour of peaceful coexistence.
117. At the present time when there is a growing tendency in international affairs to settle problems by means of negotiation, it is essential in the United Nations also that we should remove the traces, of the "cold war" and win full acceptance for the principles of peaceful co-operation. The goals for which the United Nations was set up have not yet been attained. If the United Nations is to justify the great hopes of the peoples, it must consistently fulfil its mission of maintaining peace and international security.
118. In order that it may do this, it is essential that all Members should see our Organization as an instrument for co-operation between States, that the Western Powers should not attempt to use it for their own narrow ends, that they should not seek to impose their will on other States and that the agenda should not include questions likely to exacerbate the relations between States. Here in the United Nations we should adopt only those decisions and recommendations which are acceptable to all.
119. If the United Nations is to be a real instrument of international co-operation it is vital first and foremost that the legitimate rights of the People’s Republic of China in the United Nations should be restored and that the Chiang Kai-shek puppets, who represent nobody, should be driven out of our Organization. The course of international events has clearly shown that the policy of non-recognition of the People’s Republic of China has finally failed. Despite the aggressive policy of its enemies the People’s Republic of China has for ten years been developing at a breathtaking pace and making spectacular advances. The tempo of its economic development has been many times faster than that of the development of any capitalist country.
120. As a result of the progress it has made and thanks to its peaceful foreign policy, the People’s Republic of China has become an important factor for peace and its international authority has greatly increased. No single problem in the world can be finally settled without the participation of the People’s Republic of China. Any attempt to slander the policy of that country's Government is doomed to failure.
121. Greater co-operation and trust between the States Members of the United Nations would also help to remove the discrimination against East European States in elections to the organs and offices of the United Nations. This would mean, in particular, the restoration to the East European States of the seat in the Security Council which rightfully belongs to them. It is also very important to resolve the unsatisfactory situation which has arisen in connexion with elections to one of the most important offices in the United Nations, that of President of the General Assembly, which has been occupied a number of times already by representatives of all the geographical areas in turn with the exception of Eastern Europe.
122. This situation is out of keeping with the position and significance of the socialist countries in the world, and their efforts in the struggle for peace and international security and it will not help bring about increased co-operation between States Members of the United Nations. It was for this reason that the Czechoslovak Government proposed that the agenda of the fourteenth session of the General Assembly should include the item: "Question of the consistent application of the principle of equitable geographical representation in the election of the President of the General Assembly".
123. I trust that the delegations of States Members of the United Nations will consider this move in a spirit of complete understanding and that their representatives will co-operate in doing away with this still surviving relic of the "cold war".
124. In international affairs today there is no more urgent task than that of putting a stop to the "cold war", reducing international tension and creating an atmosphere of mutual trust in the relations between States through the removal of obstacles blocking the way towards achievement of a lasting peace with security. Czechoslovakia has been striving for many years for the adoption and application of the principle that any controversial question should be settled by peaceful means alone, by means of negotiation. We welcome the fact that this approach to current international problems is gaining more and more support in the world.
125. One example of this in particular was the Foreign Ministers’ Conference at Geneva, in which representatives of both the German States also participated. Although even at this Conference, despite the endeavours of the Soviet Union and the German Democratic Republic and owing to the position adopted by the Western Powers, no agreement, unfortunately, was reached on the conclusion of a peace treaty with Germany and the restoration to normal of the situation in West Berlin, and although there still occur serious differences of views on these questions, nevertheless there has been some reconciliation of the positions of the two sides on certain issues, which have provided a basis for further negotiations and the attainment of positive results.
126. At the same time the Conference revealed that there was a number of very important questions which could not be settled by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and must be considered at a meeting of the Heads of States. At such a meeting it would be necessary to discuss and agree on measures concerning the most urgent questions affecting the present-day international situation. That is why the peoples of the entire world place such hopes in a meeting at the highest level and earnestly desire that it should take place soon and that it should be successful.
127. A great and responsible task has been laid upon the United Nations by its Charter: to use every effort to foster the development of friendly relations and peaceful co-operation between States and to help actively in preserving international peace and security. It is absolutely essential that the United Nations should not hold aloof from world problems, that it should not be satisfied with the mere recording of international events or allow such decisions to be taken as might contribute to an increase in tension, but should rather, in accordance with the principle of peaceful coexistence, take advantage of all its opportunities and actively assist in the settlement of the urgent world problems. It is important at the outset of the work of the fourteenth session of the General Assembly to stress once again this responsibility of the United Nations.
128. The Czechoslovak delegation to the fourteenth session of the General Assembly will bend every effort to ensure that it fulfils the great mission of the United Nations to the highest possible degree. On behalf of the Czechoslovak Government and all our people I wish the fourteenth session of the General Assembly of the United Nations every success and express the hope that it will to a large degree succeed in averting the danger of war and also that the principles of peaceful coexistence and co-operation between States will prevail.