Fast Track

So swift has been the pace of nationalist pressure in the Belgian Congo, and so harsh its violence, that by last week shaken Belgian leaders (who a few years ago boasted that their economic paternalism would long postpone political freedom) were resigned to an offer of full independence for the Congolese this year. At a round-table conference with 81 African delegates in Brussels, the Belgians agreed to a timetable calling for elections beginning May 16 to choose a Congolese Parliament, to be followed by a declaration of independence on June 30.

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