Republicans and unionists trying to strike a Northern Ireland peace deal should draw inspiration from Yasser Arafat's struggle, the Rev Jesse Jackson claimed today.
Mr Jackson, the American Civil Rights campaigner, insisted a political settlement in Ulster would be easier than either the late Mr Arafat's challenge or Nelson Mandela's battle against apartheid in South Africa.
He said: "If the PLO can be recognised as a state in making surely Sinn Féin and the Democratic Unionists can make that same leap.
"Frankly, they don't have as far to go as the Palestinians had to go or as South Africa had to go." Mr Jackson said. The American politician, who was holding talks with unionist and nationalist communities during a visit to Belfast, stressed peace was less risky than conflict.
But Mr Jackson, who twice tried in vain to win his party's nomination for the US presidential election, said: "Sometimes these struggles for human dignity are long and drawn out . . . but ultimately that which is morally right prevails.
"Peace is risky but war is more risky. Peace is worth the risk. No matter how difficult it is, it happens if leaders have the courage to seal the deal," he said.
Even if the deadlock appears unbreakable, Mr Jackson told the political parties to study South Africa's transformation. "It was not long ago that Mandela was in jail. It seemed ending apartheid was unrealistic. Now Mandela is seen as the ultimate global statesman."