Jackson Calls for Further Arms Cut : Candidate Also Asks Different Approach to Third World Nations

The Rev. Jesse Jackson told Los Angeles business and civic leaders Tuesday that the nation must seek further arms reduction, joint ventures with the Soviet Union and a new relationship with Third World countries that steers away from military intervention.

Speaking to 1,200 members of the World Affairs Council at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, the Democratic presidential candidate also called for a formal designation of South Africa as a terrorist state. Such a declaration would halt arms sales and aid to countries that sell arms to South Africa.

Jackson left shortly after his 45-minute speech to attend a demonstration at the South African Consulate in West Los Angeles to protest that country’s practice of racial separation and its military incursions into other African countries.

Building Support for Stands

The civil rights leader is still campaigning actively for votes in California’s June 7 primary but Tuesday’s speech and the appearance at the South African Consulate appeared to be aimed more at building support for his positions at the Democratic National Convention in July.

Jackson told the World Affairs Council audience that he was looking for a mandate before the Democratic convention. He again criticized his opponent, Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis, the favorite to win the nomination, for not being specific about economic and foreign policy.

Jackson, who has called for a five-year freeze on military spending to help balance the budget, said President Reagan’s increases in defense spending have damaged the economy and have not made the country any more militarily secure.

The Moscow summit between Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev further dramatizes the folly of the pursuit of military superiority, Jackson said.

Two Leaders Frustrated

“The President goes to Moscow, frustrated in Nicaragua; the general secretary receives him, defeated in Afghanistan,” he said. “After a certain point, there is less and less relationship between military prowess and the ability to achieve political objectives.”

The United States must broaden its perspective of the world and move away from military intervention as the solution to its problems, Jackson said.

“Most people in the world are yellow, black and brown, poor . . . young and don’t speak English,” he said. “President Reagan--or his aides or seers or palm-readers or stargazers who defined policy--viewed the Third World primarily through the lens of the East-West conflict. It defined the threat in military terms and found the solution in military intervention.”

The result, Jackson said, is that America has chosen poor allies, such as Panamanian strongman Manuel A. Noriega and “drug-smuggling Contras in Nicaragua.”

“Today, more people are dead in the Middle East; more Americans are held hostage. More people are dead in Central America; more people are dead in Southern Africa.”

Economic Aid Backed

A better path, Jackson said, would be for Americans to endorse economic development in Third World countries and respect for self-determination and human rights.

In the Middle East, Jackson said, the United States must end the generations of conflict by guaranteeing Israel’s right to exist while also ensuring a Palestinian state.

“We must do for them what they cannot do for themselves,” he said, “offer both of them security.”

Jackson drew applause from the overflow crowd when he called for:

--Establishment of a Palestinian homeland.

--Assumption by Europe and Japan of more of the economic burden of their defense.

--Joint efforts by the Soviets and the United States to explore space and eradicate disease in the Third World.

Later, Jackson, standing on the steps of the South African Consulate, told 250 demonstrators that “through its acts of terror in the Southern Africa region, Pretoria has earned a special place on the list” of terrorist nations.

Definition of Terrorism

Jackson noted that a task force on combating terrorism headed by Vice President George Bush had defined terrorism as the “unlawful use or threat of violence to further political or social objectives, intended to intimidate or coerce governments, individuals or groups.”

As a result, countries such as Cuba, Iran, Libya, Nicaragua, North Korea and South Yemen have been placed on the list and have had sanctions or embargoes imposed against them.

“South Africa has invaded each of its eight neighbors at least twice in the last eight years and has illegally occupied Namibia for the last 20 years,” Jackson said. “We must be consistent. We must be fair and measure terrorism and human rights by one yardstick.”

A handful of counterdemonstrators picketed alongside the Jackson supporters. They carried signs proclaiming: “Jackson is a Socialist Pig” and “Jackson loves racism.”

Jackson spent the morning in McFarland, a small farming town near Bakersfield, to highlight the plight of families there whose children have been dying of cancer suspected of being caused by pesticides in drinking water.

Cancer in Community

At least 11 confirmed cases of cancer have been detected in one neighborhood of the largely Latino community of 6,200 and as many as 30 childhood cases are suspected, health officials have reported.

Similar “cancer clusters” have been reported in nearby communities but health officials say they have yet to conclusively identify the cause.

Jackson talked with residents and spent the night at the home of Ernesto and Tina Bravo, whose 14-year-old son died Thanksgiving night of liver cancer.