ANC leaves door open to Pretoria talks

THE African National Congress (ANC) moved closer to breaking the deadlock in constitutional negotiations by proposing talks about talks on the government's call for a summit meeting between Nelson Mandela and President F W de Klerk following Monday's Ciskei massacre.

But the ANC stood by previous demands that before the two leaders meet the government take visible steps to counter spiralling violence, including a ban on weapons in public, the closure of migrant hostels from which much of the violence emanates and the release of political prisoners. The government may have helped provide a face-saving way to meet some of those demands by asking Boutros Boutros-Ghali, the United Nations Secretary-General, to send an envoy who would in effect act as an intermediary in an attempt to restart negotiations.

Cyril Ramaphosa, the ANC's Secretary-General, said 'the ANC is prepared to participate in a summit . . . However, such a summit must be preceded by thorough preparations'. He said last week that differences over constitutional issues were largely resolved and the main obstacle to agreement was now the violence.

It appeared that talks were close to resuming before the slaughter in Ciskei. While the killings contribute to the bad blood between the government and ANC, they may have provided the impetus for a deal by strengthening the hand of more moderate elements of the ANC, such as Mr Ramaphosa, after hardliners pressed for the confrontation in Bisho that cost so many lives.

Last night after a two-day leadership meeting at which it appears the Ramaphosa faction reassertd itself, the ANC said it was reviewing how such marches are conducted. That may mean the cancellation of similar demonstrations planned against the anti-ANC governments of Bophuthatswana and KwaZulu. While the ANC will not admit the strategy in Bisho was a mistake for fear of diminishing the greater responsibility of the Ciskei government and its masters in Pretoria, calling off other marches would ease the way for the government to make the concessions necessary to get talks back on track.

Pik Botha, the Foreign Minister, said the government wants to bring a UN envoy in to help smooth the process by talking to all the main political players on ways 'to bring violence to an end and removing the remaining obstacles to the resumption of negotiations'. But added a political rider, saying that Pretoria also urged the UN Security Council 'to demand that the ANC-Communist Party alliance abandon any further provocative actions which could risk the lives of innocent South Africans'.

The ANC welcomed the proposal for a UN envoy as a victory for its insistence on international participation, including the deployment of UN monitors expected to arrive this weekend.

Winnie Mandela resigned from the ANC's national executive and the Women's League following publication last weekend of a letter to her lover, Dali Mpofu, in which she admitted misappropriating ANC funds. She will remain an ordinary member of the ANC.