NO, ÖCALAN IS NOT MANDELA — ÖCALAN IS A TRAITOR, A QUISLING!

“What about my comrades? What about those I leave behind?”

Nelson Mandela:


– Nelson Mandela, when offered release from prison in 1985 under conditions that would betray the struggle. The quote “What about my comrades? What about those I leave behind?” is attributed to Nelson Mandela in the context of discussions surrounding his potential release from prison during the 1980s. The South African apartheid regime offered Mandela his freedom several times — but under certain conditions. One of the most well-known occasions was in 1985, when President P.W. Botha offered him release in exchange for renouncing armed struggle. Mandela refused and issued a statement in which he famously said:

-- “What freedom am I being offered while the organisation of the people remains banned? Only free men can negotiate. A prisoner cannot enter into contracts.”

This clearly shows that he refused to be released on terms that would amount to a betrayal of the struggle or abandonment of his comrades. The sentiment expressed in the quote “What about my comrades? What about those I leave behind?” reflects his unwavering stance — that he would not accept personal freedom at the expense of the collective cause.

To release Öcalan from “prison” is a direct result of the fact that Israel WON the war against Iran, Hamas (and Turkey). It was Turkey that provoked Iran, reorganised both Iran and Hamas, and incited them to attack Israel on October 7, 2023. (Israel even pointed out at the time that a massive shipment of weapons had arrived to Hamas from Turkey.) Ankara believed Israel would finally collapse under pressure. But when the opposite happened and Israel emerged victorious, Turkey was forced to reconsider its regional strategy—partly because Israel is now the new superpower in the Middle East, and partly because a COMPLETE RESTRUCTURING of ethnic rights and political alignments in the Middle East is being coordinated by global powers such as the United States, Canada, and Japan.

That’s why the cunning fox, Turkey, is now maneuvering to block any meaningful progress on Kurdish rights. By presenting the potential release of Öcalan as a “reform gesture,” Turkey aims to gain diplomatic leverage and appease Western allies—without actually changing its colonial policies toward the Kurds. But the reality is more sinister: Öcalan, despite his prison(*) image, has been comfortably housed within a secure Turkish military zone—reportedly with access to a villa in Bursas huge military zone. His so-called “imprisonment” has long served as a political theatre to pacify and manipulate Kurdish resistance. His release would not be a symbol of reconciliation, but a calculated distraction from real demands for autonomy, justice, and decolonisation.

Historically, Turkey has used both brute force and co-opted leadership to suppress Kurdish aspirations. From the execution of Sheikh Said in 1925, to the assassination and silencing of progressive Kurdish voices like Musa Anter, to the controlled promotion of Öcalan as a “leader” under strict Turkish oversight - Ankara has consistently worked to eliminate any authentic, grassroots-led Kurdish political movement. Öcalan’s collaboration with the Turkish state - often interpreted as ideological flexibility-has in fact ensured the fragmentation and depoliticisation of the Kurdish freedom fight. In stark contrast to Nelson Mandela, who refused conditional release and prioritised collective liberation, Öcalan has positioned himself as a tool of containment, not resistance.

Goran Candan

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*): NOTE that today there are over 100,000 Kurdish political prisoners held in the notorious Turkish military prisons. The brutal prison conditions make even the well-known film Midnight Express look like a depiction of luxury hotels — according to many Kurdish political prisoners, the film resembles more of a promotional video for a Sheraton hotel compared to the grim reality inside the Turkish military prison No. 5 in Amida/Amed (Diyarbekir).