The World : Plan to Free Namibia OKd

The U.N. Security Council gave unanimous approval to an independence plan designed to free Namibia from 74 years of South African rule, and it dispatched the first U.N. peacekeepers to the region. “The decision . . . marks the last major step toward decolonization,” said Ambassador Jal Pratap Rana of Nepal, Security Council president for February. “We look forward to welcoming Namibia as a fellow member of this family of nations before long.” April 1 was set as the date to begin the one-year plan for Namibia’s transition to a nation ruled by its black majority. The plan also calls for sending 4,650 U.N. peacekeepers, 500 police supervisors and at least 1,000 election monitors to Namibia.