Iran marks 30th anniversary of revolution
IRAN: Iran began 10 days of festivities on Saturday marking the 30th
anniversary of its Islamic revolution that toppled the US-backed shah
and brought hard-line clerics to power.
But pro-democracy reformists, who have been kicked out of power by
hard-liners in recent years, complained that those running the country
have failed to bring freedom and justice to Iran.
The anniversary festivities - known as the "Ten Days of Dawn" -
highlight the homecoming of the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, whose
return to Iran sparked mass protests that led to the ouster of the shah
in 1979.
Church and school bells rang out mixing with the wail of train and
boat sirens at 9:33 a.m. - the time Khomeini touched down 30 years ago
at Tehran's Mehrabad Airport aboard a chartered Air France plane after
14 years in exile. Ten days later, the shah's monarchial rule
effectively collapsed following nationwide protests.
Government buildings in Tehran were draped in green, white and red
bunting of the Iranian flag and main streets were lined with flashing
multicolored lights.
Two helicopters dropped a shower of flowers along a 21-mile
(33-kilometer) route from the airport to Behesht-e-Zahra cemetery in
south Tehran where Khomeini made his first speech. Motorists turned on
their head lights and honked in celebration.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad paid homage to Khomeini's tomb Saturday
"to renew allegiance to the late Imam's aspirations" where he called the
1979 revolution a "new chapter in the life of world communities."
The festivities come about four months before presidential elections
in June, with Ahmadinejad seeking re-election for another four years.
Tehran, Sundaqy, AP |
