Over the weekend a German town inaugurated the Ufo-Landeplatz (UFO Landing Place). The event was an all out party and among those involved were local politicians, sciences buffs, and comedians. The inauguration was intended to be more for fun than actual intergalactic diplomacy.
The town of Göttingen in the German state of Lower Saxony marked off a circle that they say is no longer available for public parking, but instead is now intended to be used solely by extraterrestrial spacecraft. It was given the international identification of ULP 42 (I assume the ULP stands for UFO Landing Place). They also warn that anyone who attempts to park in the ULP does so at their own peril.
The story of the inauguration was featured on HNS.de, a local news website dedicated to news in the states of Lower Saxony and Hesse. The story indicates this is the second ULP in Lower Saxony, but does not say whether or not there are 40 others elsewhere.
HNA.de says with the designation of the ULP, “The city contributes in the sense of world peace, the intergalactic communication process and of tolerance, openness and integration means that more can be working on the implementation of UN Resolution 33/426 of 1978.”
What HNA.de is referring to is actually a United Nations decision, which carries less weight than a full-fledged resolution. It was made in late 1978 and invited member states to send results of their UFO research and investigations to the United Nations’ Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space for consideration.
In the late 70s, Sir Eric Gairy, prime minister of Grenada, lobbied the UN to create a department to organize worldwide UFO investigations. The UN didn’t want to go that far, but they did say it would be OK for UN members to send in their UFO info. None of the members actually took them up on it, and soon after this decision was passed, Gairy was overthrown by a coup. That ended the great UN UFO debate.
Here is the wording of the UN UFO decision:
UN General Assembly decision 33/426, 1978
Establishment of an agency or a department of the United Nations for undertaking, co-ordinating and disseminating the results of research into unidentified flying objects and related phenomena
At its 87th plenary meeting, on 18 December 1978, the General Assembly, on the recommendation of the Special Political Committee, adopted the following text as representing the consensus of the members of the Assembly:
“1. The General Assembly has taken note of the statements made, and draft resolutions submitted, by Grenada at the thirty-second and thirty-third sessions of the General Assembly regarding unidentified flying objects and related phenomena.
“2. The General Assembly invites interested Member States to take appropriate steps to coordinate on a national level scientific research and investigation into extraterrestrial life, including unidentified flying objects, and to inform the Secretary-General of the observations, research and evaluation of such activities.
“3. The General Assembly requests the Secretary-General to transmit the statements of the delegation of Grenada and the relevant documentation to the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, so that it may consider them at its session in 1979.
“4. The Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space will permit Grenada, upon its request, to present its views to the Committee at its session in 1979. The committee’s deliberation will be included in its report which will be considered by the General Assembly at its thirty-fourth session.”
HNA.de’s reference to the UN UFO decision doesn’t mean Germany is going to start taking UFOs seriously. In fact, Germany is one of the governments that have paid the least amount of attention to the UFO subject.
However, officials in Göttingen say they are ready to meet ET. They have even arranged for night time bus transportation from the landing pad should it be necessary. The customs office is also supposedly searching for someone learned in intergalactic languages to help grease the wheels of extraterrestrial trade.
