CYRIL Ramaphosa and Roelf Meyer, who played decisive roles in bringing settlement negotiations in South Africa to a successful conclusion, were pivotal figures at the start of a conference yesterday attended by nationalist and unionist politicians.
The conference, organised by an Irish American, Prof Padraig O'Malley, and hosted by South Africa's Ministry of Constitutional Development, had one primary purpose, to see if there were any lessons in the South African settlement for Northern Ireland.
However, the start of the conference differed in one important respect from South Africa's 1991-1993 settlement negotiations. The Ulster Unionist Party leader, Mr David Trimble, and the Democratic Unionist Party's deputy leader, Mr Peter Robinson, insisted on arrangements which would avoid any direct contact with Sinn Fein representatives, led by Mr Martin McGuinness. Representatives of the SDLP, fringe loyalist parties and the Alliance Party are also attending.
South Africa's settlement negotiations, in contrast, involved direct face to face talks between political adversaries, occasionally in secluded areas. South African officials gave unionists the assurance that they sought, stressing that the conference centre, located near the remote fishing resort of Arniston in the Western Cape, had two dining rooms, two bars and two briefing rooms.
President Nelson Mandela said he would do everything he could to facilitate the peace talks, but admitted that South Africa's experience was different from the Northern Ireland situation. "It is difficult to predict what human beings or political parties will do in the future. What is significant is that they are here, and that alone is a sign that they are serious in searching for peace."
South African leaders, from President Mandela downwards, were careful to emphasise that their role was to relate their own negotiating experiences, and the lessons they had learnt from them and to leave the Northern politicians to draw their own conclusions.
One of those lessons, however, was the importance of direct contact, of building friendship across political barriers.