Peace deal must be struck, says Jackson
The veteran US civil rights campaigner pleaded with the rival political parties to reach a settlement that would restore devolution as he attended a special awards ceremony in Belfast.
The fierce critic of racism also issued a stark warning that the North’s economic growth could be wrecked by spiralling attacks on ethnic groups.
But with peace credentials stretching back to the 1960s, he used advice from his mentor Martin Luther King Jr to inspire Sinn Féin and Ian Paisley’s Democratic Unionists to broker a settlement.
The Rev Jackson said: “Leaders must have the courage to seek a leap of faith.
“Peace is risky, but war is riskier and a longer option.
“So give peace a chance and let the beauty of Northern Ireland shine for the world to see.
“These moments come only once in a while, so I urge the parties to seize the moment and set forth a new day for Northern Ireland.”
The 63-year-old from South Carolina, who has campaigned against apartheid in South Africa, and for an accommodation between Israelis and Palestinians in the Middle East, made his appeal at the Aisling awards recognising community workers in Belfast.
With the IRA believed to be close to an unprecedented disarmament move, the British and Irish governments have stepped up attempts to restore the North’s power-sharing administration.
Unionists who walked out of the Stormont Assembly two years ago over an alleged intelligence gathering operation run by the Provisionals are refusing to sit in a cabinet with Sinn Féin until paramilitary weapons are scrapped.
But London and Dublin must also wrestle with a bid by Mr Paisley’s DUP to make big changes to the Good Friday Agreement, including an attempt to have ministers held to account by their colleagues and the 108-member parliament.
As the tortuous process continues, the Rev Jackson had earlier called on the political leaders to draw inspiration from Yasser Arafat’s struggle.
He insisted a settlement in Ulster would be easier than either Arafat’s challenge or Nelson Mandela’s battle against apartheid. “If the PLO can be recognised as a state in making, then surely Sinn Féin and the Democratic Unionists can make that same leap,” he said.
“Frankly, they don’t have as far to go as the Palestinians had to go or South Africa had to go.”
As a founder of the Rainbow Coalition in Washington DC, which campaigns for social justice and against racism, his presence at the awards was a timely boost.
Nurses from the Filipino community, which has come under attack in north Belfast from far-right thugs, were added to the Aisling roll of honour.
