Jackson urges nonviolent struggle

Jackson urges non-violent struggle

Occupied Jerusalem |Reuters | Gulf News 29-07-2002

U.S. civil rights leader Reverend Jesse Jackson urged the Palestinians yesterday to change tack in their 22-month-old uprising and adopt non-violent forms of resistance to end Israeli occupation.

Jackson, who has described himself as an impartial "bridge-builder" visiting the Middle East on a peace mission, also called on Israel to halt colony construction in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip as a key to renewing peace talks frozen for nearly two years.

Jackson met Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres yesterday and is due to hold talks with Palestinian officials, including President Yasser Arafat.

"We hope that in talking with Arafat and other leaders in the region, that they will see the value of non-violence, not as an act of submission or surrender, but a form of resistance to shift the struggle back away from the military to the (peace) process," Jackson told reporters after meeting Peres.

The 60-year-old leader of the Chicago-based Rainbow/PUSH Coalition heads a delegation representing several religious faiths that will also meet rights groups, victims of violence and religious leaders in a five-day visit which began on Saturday.

Jackson said he believed the Palestinians should take advantage of a "strategic moment" to adopt non-violent struggle and thereby gain more world sympathy for their fight for independence.

"The key to ending occupation and colonies is a real appreciation of the value of non-violence," he said.