Namibia Botching the Peace

Guerrilla incursions and U.N. ineptitude threaten independence

It took eight years of painstaking diplomacy to craft the interlocking pieces of an international agreement to bring independence to Namibia, the last remnant of colonialism in Africa. It took just a week to unravel all that meticulous preparation in a bloody botch.

Under terms of the pact, South Africa, which has ruled the Turkey-size territory for 74 years, agreed to permit independent elections and withdraw its 40,000 troops. That was to be done in coordination with the phased departure of 50,000 Cuban troops backing the Marxist regime in Angola, which gives sanctuary to the militant exiles of the South West...

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