TALKS aimed at ending the escalating civil war in Zaire got under way in South Africa yesterday behind a shroud of secrecy and amid conflicting signals from the Zairean government.
President Nelson Mandela's spokesman, Mr Park Mankahlana, confirmed the talks had started but declined to give any details.
After Wednesday's summit of four African foreign ministers and the OAU secretary general in Kinshasa, President Mandela had told reporters: "The contending parties in that conflict have made a request that they would like to meet in South Africa."
Mr Mandela, who last year came out in favour of an African-led peace initiative, named the Zaire rebel leader, Mr Laurent Kabila, as one of the leaders who would attend the talks in Cape Town. An envoy from the Zairean government - thought to be President Mobutu's nephew, Mr Ngbanda Ko Ayumba - would participate in the discussions, he added.
But yesterday South African officials were tight lipped, refusing to provide more than a generalised statement.
The sudden silence after the confirmation that South Africa would host peace talks was attributed by diplomats to the apparently premature disclosure of details in South Africa by Mr Mandela and the Director-General of Foreign Affairs, Mr Rusty Evans. The latter indicated there would be a preliminary exploration of ceasefire proposals mooted by Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni and the UN.
A Ugandan diplomat told the South African Press Association: "The information was not supposed to be made public."
Zaire's official reaction as these details were published was to distance itself from a five-point peace plan calling for an immediate ceasefire, withdrawal of all foreign troops (including mercenaries), reaffirmation of the territorial integrity of existing states, protection of refugees, and Fan international conference to formally end the conflict.
The Zairean Foreign Minister rejected the plan as a "timid advance".
Zaire had previously and repeatedly accused Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi of supporting Tutsi rebels who have captured a huge swath of territory along Zaire's eastern border. The rebellion began in October last year, leading within weeks to a series of victories over the ill-disciplined Zairean army.
Until recently Zaire refused to, negotiate with the rebels, preferring to bomb rebel-held towns. But its ailing President Mobutu, who is suffering from prostate cancer, was said to be under pressure to talk to the rebels. Hence the reported presence in South Africa yesterday of his nephew, Mr Nzambo Ko Ayumba.