Ocalan's evolutionary view of humanity informs his secular atheistic philosophy, connecting human origins to Neolithic beliefs, culture and environments. Applied across Kurdish culture and habitats, it has unified most of his people, creating a social milieu of tolerance, opportunity, hope and belief in the creation of a new society based on a socialist philosophy. According to Ocalan, power elites have subsequently exploited civilization's constructs for their own profits in ideological and military wars, denying geo-biological evolution and alienating humanity from nature, life and society. He claims his philosophy of societal development is the defining platform of universal truth.
For Ocalan, socialism represents humanity's inherently communal existence and develops as an ongoing process of democratic participation, rather than a movement of the past or present. In contrast to liberalist individualism, it is the answer to the excesses of consumption, industrialization and ecological destruction. Sexism, supported by despotic and exploitative male power, is termed a function of monopolistic capitalism, slavery and oppression, and the predominance of the nation- state's colonialism. The freedom of a society depends on the freedom achieved by its women, and the reconciliation of men to peace.
Although he considers religion increasingly irrelevant, Ocalan acknowledges it as an ongoing influence under the control and promotion of the nation state, whilst admitting that the Middle East's exclusion from the separation of religion and state process preceding the European Renaissance and Enlightenment has significantly disadvantaged the region.
Now favoring peaceful dialogue and consultation for the settlement of international, ideological and political disputes, Ocalan has changed his power mediation philosophy from the PKK's early days of armed conflict in the hope that Kurdistan can provide a positivist alternative to international ruling powers and regional reactionary forces.
Ideology
Although originally Marxist-Leninist, Ocalan's political ideology found problems with the Marxist view of capitalism and shares little with Lenin's urban/industrial revolution. However, shades of Maoism are reflected in his campaign for the mobilization of his indigenous impoverished Kurdish peasantry and other dispossessed groups, and their release from political and cultural oppression. The cult of "Apo,' reverenced by the young Kurdish guerrilla force, reflects the charismatic leadership style of some twentieth century Communist leaders, some of whom Ocalan has termed progenitors of "failed socialism'.
The PKK's initial separatist, secessionist goals have been replaced by Ocalan's adoption of the democratic confederalist model. Instead of an independent nation state, he advocates the establishment of self-determining, democratic Kurdish political entities at grass roots level, serving their needs within the nation states where they now exist and promoting the more equitable allocation and dispersal of human, economic, and natural resources. This "natural society' approach may now seem revolutionary, but Ocalan maintains it operated in early civilizations before the development of hierarchical nation states, and now draws upon elements of Kurdish communal life to establish "democratic modernity'. Ocalan's March 2005 Declaration of Democratic Confederalism in Kurdistan linked the liberation of Kurds to the liberation of humanity.
His pursuit of Kurdish ethnic and racial freedom has shifted from the use of armed conflict to the declaration of peace followed by discussion, negotiation and reconciliation. Consequently, the military forces of the PKK now function primarily as "people's protection units.'
Relying on the organic nature of women's role, he has placed ancient Aryan traditions of equality and freedom in a secular framework, enabling women to serve in all areas of public and private life without patriarchal constraints. This is the pre-requisite for democracy.
Intellectual Achievements
A graduate in political science from Ankara University, Ocalan has written forty books, including five from his prison cell. Although official photos show him in a room with a full bookshelf, with virtually no resources, Ocalan has created works from his observations, analyses, reflections and conclusions based on prior knowledge recalled. While his compatriots continued the battle on the outside, on the inside, Ocalan labored on one of these works during a period of up to fifteen months of seclusion from his relatives, lawyers and friends. They include: Prison Writings III: The Road Map to Negotiations (February 2012) , Prison Writings Volume II: The PKK and the Kurdish Question in the 21st Century (March 2011), "Roadmap to negotiations" (2011) , The Democratization of Middle-Eastern Culture (2010) , Prison Writings: The Roots of Civilization (January 2007) delineating his guidelines for peace and the protection of the Kurdish people, and his summary of their origins.
With backing from the EU, Ocalan's lawyers secured permission for him to write about the Kurdish question in prison, and for the release of his papers for publication. His years of isolation have provided his people with leadership and belief in the veracity and achievability of their self-determination and human rights. Suffering with them, he has inspired them to continue the struggle.
Personality
Although sometimes cast as a leader who has tolerated no competition and dealt severely with party members suspected of disloyalty, portrayed on film before his capture Ocalan symbolically holds a dove. In the same clip, after reviewing a parade of young PKK fighters he expresses concern at the uncertainty of a young European female recruit's reaction to the tough resilience of her local peers. When asked what she thought of Ocalan the recruit declared that he was different to other leaders and "human.'
Ocalan's sparse childhood under the influence of the strong personalities of his mother and grandmother soon saw his childish innocence expressed photographically in brooding anger followed by determination to effect change according to his political understanding and knowledge. Isolated in a cell at his trial, Ocalan appears the vulnerable captive of a dominant force, but his words belie any appearance of weakness or defeat. From prison he has remained the leader of a revolutionary movement that has recently defeated the forces of al-Qaeda terrorists in Syria, which the US has failed to do.
A campaign for peace and justice
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