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IRAN-HISTORY-REVOLUTION-KHOMEINI
40 years ago, Iran’s exiled Khomeini returns a hero (SCENE)
TEHRAN, Feb 1, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Forty years ago Ayatollah Ruhollah
Khomeini, the Shiite cleric who led Iran’s unfolding Islamic revolution, was
welcomed back to Tehran by a jubilant throng after more than 14 years in
exile.
This story by AFP journalist Patrick Meney, originally in French, captures
the mood of that remarkable day in February 1979 when the opposition leader
returned to replace the monarchy with an Islamic republic.
– A triumphant return to Iran –
TEHRAN, February 1, 1979 (AFP) – Millions of Iranians with beaming faces
massed along a 32-kilometre (20-mile) route Thursday to give a triumphant
welcome to the exiled Ayatollah Khomeini, whose car was engulfed for hours by
an ecstatic human tide.
As soon as he left the Tehran airport (…), a visibly moved but calm
Khomeini was swept up by millions of his supporters.
In black robes and a turban, the religious leader travelled in an American
station wagon that was followed by a fleet of minibuses packed with
journalists from around the world.
About 50,000 volunteers were on hand to control the crowd. Wearing green
armbands, they were called the “Islamic police”. The government had given
them full responsibility for the ayatollah’s security.
– Engulfed in the crowd –
But this religious security service was quickly overwhelmed.
In a matter of seconds, Khomeini’s car disappeared in the crowd, which
blocked the way for dozens of ambulances filled with unconscious
demonstrators who fainted in the swell of the black mass that stretched as
far as the eye could see down Tehran’s long, straight avenues.
How many people were out on the street on this Thursday? Five million,
perhaps… or six, it was impossible to say. In any case, it was
unprecedented.
At the gateway to the capital the imposing memorial to the shah, the
symbol of modern Iran, had been renamed Khomeini Square.
Where is the ayatollah’s car now? We don’t know. It has disappeared
somewhere in the noisy tide of people, a swarming wave, from which emerge
hundreds of thousands of portraits of the leader of the “Islamic revolution”.
– Veils and carnations –
The women have all turned out in chadors — black veils — with a red
carnation in their hands. Since sunrise they have been singing “Khomeini is
our leader”. Banners read: “Khomeini, welcome to your country.” The men
chant: “Allah is great.”
Clerics spray rose water on the demonstrators, who hold up their faces to
the holy scent. In the sunny capital, overlooked by the nearby snow-covered
mountains, a single roar resounds: “Khomeini, Khomeini.”
The military has totally deserted the capital.
At some points along the route, followers — finally getting back their
venerated “leader” after more than 14 years in exile — pick up the
ayatollah’s car and carry it for several metres (feet). – Islamic republic –
“Your return signifies the proclamation of the Islamic republic,” the most
enthusiastic among them shout.
One mullah, or Shiite cleric, sporting a white turban, exclaims: “Who
would have thought just six months ago that Khomeini would return to Iran, he
the pariah, today cheered by millions of Muslims?”
Everyone is aware of the significance of this return from exile, while the
recent departure of the shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, also looks like someone
who has gone into exile.
When the ayatollah’s Boeing 747 touched down in Tehran, there was silence.
It was also in silence that he descended the steps of the plane,
rediscovering his country but not recognising the capital, now bristling with
modern towers.
Several minutes later the ayatollah made an appeal for unity, saying, “The
fight is not over, the shah’s departure is only the first part of the road to
be travelled.”
BSS/AFP/RY/1730 hrs