PEACE talks between the opposing sides in Zaire's civil war began in earnest at an undisclosed venue in South Africa yesterday after the adversaries publicly committed themselves to seeking a settlement at a preliminary meeting.
Apart from the statements affirming their desire to halt the war, representatives of the adversaries President Mobutu Sese Seko's apparently imploding regime and Mr Laurent Kabila's Alliance of Democratic Forces of the Liberation of Congo Zaire - recognised the important role South Africa has played as an honest broker.
The South African Deputy President, Mr Thabo Mbeki, was chosen with the UN special envoy, Mr Mohammed Sahnoun, to mediate in event of the two sides reaching an impasse.
According to diplomatic sources, Mr Mbeki was present at yesterday's formal talks and contributed to the process of seeking an accord. He was assisted by South Africa's Deputy Foreign Minister, Mr Aziz Pahad.
Representatives of the warring parties were accommodated at the same venue, meaning that formal talks were complemented by informal discussions, a formula which worked well during South Africa's delicate and complicated settlement negotiations between 1990 and 1993.
During the formal opening session held at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, Zaire's Foreign Minister, Mr Kamanda wa Kawanda, declared that his government would approach the talks with an open mind. "We are going to look for peace," he said.
The rebel delegation was led by Dr Bizima Karaha, a medical doctor who trained in South Africa. He pointedly referred to South Africa's successful transition from a state of undeclared war to an inclusive settlement.
"They made it, and I think we are capable of making it," he said. "We promise that we won't disappoint our people."
But there was a glint of steel in his remarks, recalling an earlier rebel statement that the primary purpose of the talks was to negotiate the terms of President Mobutu's departure.
In his introductory remarks, Mr Kawamba had declared himself in favour of peace within parameters which safeguarded the "unity, integrity and sovereignty of our country", a commitment which, while excluding agreement to partition or dismember the huge, multi lingual country, did not, on the face of it, exclude Mr Kabila from emerging as the ruler of the whole of Zaire.
In an interview with the Johannesburg Sunday Times yesterday, President Mobutu, who has been in power for more than three decades, defined his objectives for Zaire as peace, protecting its territorial integrity and transforming it into a "modern democracy".
But, in an apparent bid for conciliation, he described the rebel leader, Mr Laurent Kabila, as a "nationalist patriot" and urged him to make peace for the good of the country.
However, analysts said it was difficult to see how the two sides could achieve a compromise that would permit a ceasefire in the six month old civil war. Reuter reports:
In Zaire, the rebel forces appear to have the run of the country, marching into one town after an other meeting no resistance but, instead, only cheers from the people. They now control over a third of Zaire and have vowed to go all the way to Kinshasa if necessary to force Mr Mobutu out.