ANKARA – In a letter to Abdullah Öcalan, philosopher Alain Badiou said, “Under these circumstances, our strongest wish is that your channels of communication be opened. We are with you to the end.”
Alan Badiou, known for his anti-war stance and considered one of the most important living philosophers, sent a letter to Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan on 15 May 2025.
In the letter, which Badiou wrote together with Isabelle Vodoz, Badiou draws attention to Öcalan's unwavering commitment to justice, freedom and the search for truth, while at the same time expressing his strongest wish that Öcalan's communication channels be opened.
Alain Badiou's letter to Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan reads:
"Dear comrade Abdullah Öcalan,
Isabelle Vodoz and I thank you very much for your letter. This short document, unfortunately written in the difficult circumstances in which you find yourself today, gives us a very strong insight into your thoughts and the writing and actions connected to them. Your letter contains something that is rare in today's world and is concentrated in your formula: 'I have never given up and will never give up the pursuit of justice, freedom and truth.' [However,] too often we encounter examples of so-called 'justice' without truth or 'truth' without freedom, which do not welcome the demand for an active connection, thought and action between the concepts of justice, truth and freedom.
We are also sensitive to the importance you attach to the deplorable situation of women in many countries and the need to link this issue to a new socialism rather than isolating it.
Likewise, we feel the same sensitivity to your statement that 'I am trying to respond to the peoples' desire for an alternative life against the attacks of Capitalist Modernity and imperialist manoeuvres'.
Under these circumstances, our strongest wish is that your communication channels are opened.
We are with you to the end.
Alain Badiou
Paris, 15.05.2025"
MA / Selman Güzelyüz