The African National Congress recommended Monday that Nelson Mandela meet rival black leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi, a breakthrough that could help ease the violence in black townships. The ANC proposed a meeting between itself and Buthelezi's conservative Inkatha Freedom Party ``in the near future,'' but did not specify a date. The ANC statement said both Mandela and Buthelezi should attend. Buthelezi said he welcomed the offer and was ready to consider a suitable time and place for the talks. Mandela is in Australia and will be traveling throughout Asia until early November. Since his release from prison in February, Mandela has turned down invitations from his old friend Buthelezi despite the ongoing violence between their supporters in the eastern province of Natal and in black areas outside Johannesburg. ANC leaders have harshly briticized Buthelezi and accused him of orchestrating the violence to obtain a meeting with Mandela and enhance his stature. Buthelezi has denied the charge and accused the ANC of trying to destroy all rivals. The ANC was conciliatory in its statement Monday. The group said ``it welcomed the steps being taken jointly by the ANC and the Inkatha Freedom Party'' to stop the violence. The two sides have been holding periodic peace talks, but neither Mandela nor Buthelezi has attended. About 5,000 blacks have died in the ANC-Inkatha power struggle since 1986 in Natal Province. The fighting spread to the Johannesburg area in August and has claimed 800 lives. The ANC and Inkatha, the two largest black opposition movements, both oppose apartheid but differ over tactics and a future South Africa. The socialist-oriented ANC has employed boycotts, strikes, protests and waged an armed struggle, recently suspended, in its battle against the government. Inkatha does not endorse any of those measures and favors capitalism. The ANC draws support across tribal lines, while virtually all Inkatha members are Zulus. The ANC also has opposed Buthelezi's role as leader of the KwaZulu homeland in Natal Province. The ANC considers the 10 black homelands part of the apartheid system. Buthelezi, meanwhile, sees the limited self-government in the homelands as an interim step on the road to black majority rule.
