Temps Passés: February 11 was a busy day in history
Mandela released from prison; the shah of Iran flees, to be succeeded by Khomeini.
Nelson Mandele released from prison
1990: Mandela was released from prison after serving 27 years, some of it hard time, on charges of sabotage and being a communist. He had been sentence to life but was released after a major international campaign on his behalf.
He had been prominent in the African National Congress and had encouraged the sabotage carried out by one group of the party. He denied being a member of the Communist Party but evidence seems to indicate that he belonged in the 50s. The year before he became president he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Four years after his release he was elected the first president of all South Africans—blacks had never been allowed to vote, and the minority white government had tried to use race to splinter its opposition by allowing coloreds the vote.
Mandela came to office at a difficult time. He; the white chief of government, F.W. de Klerk; and others negotiated a way to hold elections, knowing they would certainly bring Mandela to power because whites made up less than 10% of the population of 40 million (since grown to 60 million).
The new government established the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and took steps to improve freedom of the press.
Mandela had health problems throughout his life, many of them exacerbated by the poor treatment he received in prison. But he lived until 2013, 23 years after his release. He was a born charismatic leader who started South Africa on a new path it has not yet completed.
See also Wikipedia, Nelson Mandela Foundation, Cape Town Diamond Museum
The last Iranian monarch
1979: Shah Pahlavi, the last Iranian monarch, flew into exile in January. On February 11, Khomeini returned from his long exile, which began in Turkey and ended in France. The bulk of his time out of Iran was spent in Iraq.
The Shah’s regime was viewed as repressive and brutal, characteristics that have been attributed to the current Iranian government as well. His father was considered friendly to the Axis powers, and Hitler was said to consider the Iranians a pure aryan race. The country was officially neutral during World War II; Allied powers occupied it to keep the oil fields out of the hands of the Germans.
The western powers supported a successful coup in 1952 that overthrew Mossadegh, who as prime minister was considered entirely too close to the Soviet Union.
See also: Stanford, Britannica, Wikipedia.
Reminders
2013: Pope Benedict XVI announces his retirement, the first pope to leave the office voluntarily since 1415.
On Feb. 13, 1945, the three-day Allied bombing of Dresden began, killing 25,000 people and raising doubts about its moral justification.
Thanks for reading,
John Pearce
Washington, DC
Photo source: Wikipedia.
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