ANGOLA'S PLAN

Angola's peace plan, conveyed to South Africa a few weeks ago through Chester Crocker, US Undersecretary of State for African Affairs, spells out with figures and with a time frame a possible overall arrangement:

* About 20,000 Cuban soldiers would be sent home over a period of three years. (Only some 5,000-10,000 Cubans would be left to serve as the Angolan regime's praetorian guard.)

* Meanwhile, Namibia would become independent through the implementing of the UN plan under Security Council Resolution 435. South African troops would be pulled out of Namibia, except for 1,500 soldiers who would be allowed to remain. UN peacekeeping forces would replace South African forces during the transition phase that would lead to elections and ultimately to Namibia's independence.

* Not spelled out but implicit in the package deal - according to reliable sources - is a major tradeoff:

South Africa would stop supporting UNITA (an Angolan rebel force led by Jonas Savimbi which threatens the Angolan regime), and Angola would make sure that SWAPO (the Namibian nationalist group led by Sam Nujoma that has been fighting a guerrilla war in Namibia) would not be permitted to use Angolan territory as a base for its military operations in Namibia.

* The US would establish diplomatic relations with Angola, and presumably provide Angola with economic assistance.