SOUTH AFRICA's bid to secure a peaceful end to Zaire's civil war entered a new phase last night with talks between President Nelson Mandela and the Zairean rebel leader, Mr Laurent Kabila.
The talks began soon alter Mr Kabila arrived in Cape Town yesterday afternoon on a South African air force plane. It had fetched him from Lubumbashi, Zaire's second biggest city which fell to rebel forces last week.
Also at the talks was the UN special envoy to the Great Lakes region, Mr Mahamoud Sahnoun.
Before he left Lubumbashi, Mr Kabila reaffirmed his determination to capture Kinshasa, Zaire's capital, where President Mobutu Sese Seko seems set to make a last ditch stand. The rebel leader, whose forces have taken a string of cities and towns in an apparently inexorable advance from its eastern stronghold at Goma, predicted that he would be in Kinshasa within three weeks.
"I am very serious," he told reporters before boarding the South African aircraft. Whereas President Mobutu has signalled his willingness to meet Mr Kabila for face to face talks "if he asks politely", Mr Kabila expressed indifference before leaving for South Africa.
"It is not important for me. Who is he?" the rebel leader said.
South African officials declined to discuss the agenda for the talks beyond confirming that they took place and that Deputy President Thabo Mbeki was present. Mr Mbeki played a key role in bringing representatives of the two sides together for talks in Pretoria earlier this month.
But, according to an informed observer, South Africa's focus was very much on the future, on a post Mobutu Zaire, subject to one important qualification: the need to facilitate the exit of President Mobutu as peacefully as possible.
South Africa's concern was that he should be treated with appropriate dignity to ensure that he left with a minimum of disruption.
Mr Kabila, however, stressed repeatedly in the run up to last night's meeting that there would be no ceasefire, no let up in the seemingly unstoppable advance of his forces towards Kinshasa, until and unless President Mobutu stepped down.
The people of Zaire were not interested in a ceasefire: only the Mobutu regime wanted one, hem was reported to have said.
While being careful to orchestrate its intervention within the parameters provided by the OAU and the UN, South Africa's objective as the civil war approached at climax appeared to be twofold to persuade Mr Kabila to allow President Mobutu enough room to depart gracefully, and to impress upon President Mobutu that clinging to power was not a viable alternative.
But these converging objectives were subject to a rider whatever happened, the transfer of power should be sanctioned by democratic elections in Zaire.
Mr Kabila is due to return to Zaire today to meet the citizens of Lubumbashi at a victory parade before focusing his attention on the next goal Kinshasa.
AFP reports:
The former prime minister of Zaire, Mr Kengo wa Dondo, yesterday denied a claim by a government minister in Kinshasa that he had fled the country.
He said in Geneva that he was there for medical reasons, and "absolutely rejected" accusations by the Zairean information minister that he had fled with several million dollars of state funds.
After his treatment he intended to return to Zaire, he said.
In Washington the International Relations Committee of the House of Representatives called for the resignation of President Mobutu, saying his government had "systemically violated" human rights.
The resolution also calls on the Clinton administration to equivocally call" on Mr Mobutu to "immediately leave Zaire and withdraw from all political activity."