David Trimble leaves for Johannesburg

Martin McGuinness checks in

Northern Ireland: Secret South African Talks

While Unionists and those Nationalists engaged in multi-party talks in Northern Ireland travelled to Johannesburg on one plane, the Sinn Fein delegation will arrive on another - an indication of how far apart the two sides are.

The Unionists, headed by UUP leader David Trimble, have insisted that they must have no direct contact with the Sinn Fein delegation, led by Martin McGuinness, at any time during the proceedings. The irony of this self-imposed apartheid has not been lost on the hosts or those attending the talks.

Sinn Fein chairman Mitchell McLaughlin said his delegation was going "in peace mode" and hoped to convince the Unionists of that. He described the Unionist demands for separate accommodation and travel as an "apartheid-type system" but said he hoped there would be opportunities to meet Loyalists at some point and exchange views.

President Mandela offers assistance

"The presence of both sides is a good sign"

South African President Nelson Mandela said he would do anything he could to facilitate the peace talks, but that South Africa's experience was different to that in Northern Ireland. "It is difficult to predict what human beings or political parties will do in the future," he said, "What is significant is that they are, and that alone is a sign that they are serious in searching for peace".

The conference is being staged at a secret location, probably a military base, in the South African bush. Such meetings were a feature of South Africa's search for peace and the organisers believe Northern Ireland's politicians will benefit from similar privacy.

Archbishop of Cape Town Desmond Tutu has been an exponent of peaceful change in South Africa and his views have been vindicated. Speaking on BBC's Radio Four, he said he could not prescribe a formula to fit all situations, but that it was important to "try and have negotiations and talks without preconditions". He said that enemies should make the effort to sit down and negotiate to prevent the problem becoming intractable.

Archbishop Tutu warns negotiators: "Intransigence costs lives"

Michael Casssidy of the Christian Africa Enterprise Organisation, who helped set up similar talks between the African National Congress and the previous South African apartheid government, said one of the main benefits then was being able to talk informally.

He said that one of the problems in Northern Ireland was that everything was done at a formal level. "I would like to see people get away for a while from the formal posturing and grandstanding and holding onto histories," he said.