The Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) is urging the rebels of the M23 in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the government to engage into dialogue to find a peaceful solution to the political crisis.

The call was made on Saturday by Mozambican President Armando Guebuza, who is the current chairperson of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

At the opening of a one-day SADC extraordinary summit held to discuss the peace and security issues facing the regional organization, Guebuza said that it is through dialogue that countries promote mutual trust between parties in conflict, which provides space for them to work together and make progress.

He told heads of state and government or their representatives from all SADC's 15 member states, except Madagascar, which was suspended from the organization after the 2009 coup d'etat, that nations must exercise restraint in solving political problems.

The summit was called to consider the crises, of varying levels of seriousness, in three countries, such as the DRC, Zimbabwe and Madagascar.

But the opening speeches concentrated overwhelmingly on the rebellion by the M23 movement in the eastern DRC. The Mozmbican head of state said the political and security situation in the eastern Congo, and the immense suffering of the Congolese people made it imperative for all the relevant regional and international players to work together to ensure a sustainable peace.

"Dialogue and cooperation between the interested parties are crucial elements for us to be able to advance," said Guebuza.

"The DRC also has a crucial role to play in meeting its own internal challenges." Guebuza was optimistic that the activities undertaken by SADC and by the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) in seeking solutions to the Congolese crisis would bear fruit.

In addition to the SADC heads of state and government, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, the current ICGLR chairperson, is also attending the summit.

Museveni accused the regime of the late dictator of Congo (then Zaire), Mobutu Sese Seko of being the mentor of the Congolese crisis, because of his discrimination against certain ethnic groups, and because he followed a policy focused exclusively on Europe.

He said this was the reason for Mobutu's downfall. "Fortunately the government of President Joseph Kabila does not have the same position."

After the summit, Guebuza will take part, on Sunday, in the celebrations of the 51st anniversary of Tanzanian independence.

Tanzania became the rear base of Frelimo when it was fighting against the Portuguese colony in the 1960s until independence in 1975.