Rubbish, Mandela insisted on the right to oppose apartheid by any means necessary right up to its collapse, and refused release from prison if it was conditional on him rejecting violence.

(And after he became president he trotted off to Indonesia to offer the government good deals on South African arms - the occupation of East Timor notwithstanding - very peaceable guy!)

Perhaps you could look to Tolstoy for a pacifist icon (he was an anarchist, might not suit you).
- Sam Buchanan