Special Committee of 24 Sends Visiting Mission to Cape Verde

A four-member mission of the Special Committee of 24 on decolonization left New York on 22 February to visit Cape Verde at the invitation of the Government of Portugal and the Territory's liberation movement, the African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde (PAIGC). The mission is composed of Haissam Kelani (Syria), its Chairman; Stanislav Suja (Czechoslovakia), Noumou Diakite (Mali) and Vincent Lasse (Trinidad and Tobago). The islands, now under a transitional government, are slated for independence on 5 July following the election of a constituent assembly in June. The Cape Verde Islands lie off the west coast of Africa, the nearest point being approximately 600 kilometres from Dakar (Senegal). There are 10 islands and five islets with a resident population of over 270,000.
The Visiting Mission left Mindelo on a Portuguese naval vessel for Santo Antao Island in the morning of 28 February. It toured Porto Novo and Ribeira Grande concelhos and Ribeira da Torre valley, and returned to Mindelo in the evening. Here, members of the Visiting Mission are seen with road construction workers at a construction site near Porto Novo. Grammer School Children are participating in the construction of the road to obtain an extra income to help their families.