The Jailed Becomes the Jailer : South Africa: Nelson Mandela is still behind bars, gaining stature, while Pretoria’s talk of reform remains unconvincing. But freed, he could prove to be a peacemaker.

Nelson Mandela, the world’s most celebrated prisoner, was pointedly left out of Pretoria’s little list this week of those to be released from jail. The omission will raise Mandela’s stature as never before.

His colleagues and co-accused in past campaigns and court trials now walk out of prison elderly men, like Walter Sisulu, 77, and Raymond Mhlaba, 69. This is no doubt part of President Frederik W. de Klerk’s “equitable” reform plan for South Africa.

In September, De Klerk said that the goal was to reach a stage, as soon as possible, where “all South Africans will, in a just and equitable manner, become part of all the decision-making processes in the country.”

Such rhetoric is the easy part. The hard part is to put flesh on the bones of reform, and in a way that will not collapse De Klerk’s already rickety white power base. As it is, half of the Afrikaners--the traditional strength of his National Party--do not support him, as the Sept. 6 general election showed.

Mandela has been in jail longer than his colleagues. He was already serving an earlier term when he and his colleagues went to jail for life in 1964. He has, in all, served 27 years for crimes of sabotage that he planned but did not execute after the suppression of his African National Congress organization in 1960.

By contrast, those who opposed South African war efforts against Hitler and the country’s pro-Nazi activists were released from life imprisonment for murder or treason in 1948, when the Afrikaner Nationalist government came to power. They, of course, were white Afrikaners, not black nationalists, and Afrikaners were now in charge. The justice minister at the time offered the excuse, in letting them out, that the government wanted to forget the divisions of World War II.

If ever there was a time to forget divisions, it is now. This is particularly so in view of De Klerk’s reform talk and the fact that Mandela did not indulge in sabotage and killing.

De Klerk’s new deal will mean little while Mandela remains in jail, while the African National Congress and its rival organization, the Pan African Congress, remain banned, the state of emergency continues and South African exiles crowd other shores.

It seems as if the South African government regards Mandela as too big a fish to let loose just like that. He is obviously to be part of continuing power plays. He may be a valuable bargaining lever in the hands of Pretoria. But with the announcement that his colleagues are to be released, he sticks out like a sore thumb.

An optimistic assessment would be that Pretoria is planning a wide-ranging diplomatic push to get meaningful negotiations under way, and that Mandela will be released when and if these are ready--perhaps with the help of Britain’s Margaret Thatcher after the coming meeting of Commonwealth heads of government.

Those who think that Mandela is unimportant, an elderly has-been who can be discounted, are, I believe, mistaken. Few countries’ histories produce such powerful political assets (such living martyrs) in a conflict. He is a young 70 and keeps himself fit.

The longer Mandela is in jail, the more his world and local acclaim must increase. The government’s problem is that when Mandela is released, the acclaim will not necessarily slow down. The best they can hope is that he will then start making the mistakes of free men. Up until now, he has been spared this by his incarceration.

The government’s incapacity to resolve the Mandela issue, for fear of the public response when he is released, has in effect turned Mandela into the government’s jailer. I have watched over the years as Mandela’s files in newspaper libraries have grown fatter--even rivaling those of Winston Churchill and other notables. This has happened despite his convict status and the fact that he could not be seen (in photographs) or heard.

Streets, rock ‘n’ roll groups, parks, buildings and so on are named after Mandela in world capitals and also in South African townships and universities. Books are written about him; films are made, statues erected.

President Pieter W. Botha, De Klerk’s predecessor, was a stubborn man. He could have let Mandela loose before his stature reached these heights. The best Botha could do, as he left office, was to invite Mandela to tea.

The National Party government has in effect become a Mandela image-builder. It should cut its losses. It is time for Mandela’s release. With his standing among blacks, and even among whites--and his potential influence on young black militants--he can play a crucial peace-maker role in negotiations. The country is fortunate that he has survived so long.