On March 22nd 1963 Grand Ayatollah Golpaygani held mourning ceremony for Imam Sadeq's martyrdom anniversary. The regimes commandos and agents attacked this ceremony. Some students were killed or injured. Most of Iranian people particularly the clergy became sad for this catastrophe. The clergy, grand ayatollahs, bazaar shopkeepers, guilds, Islamic communities and groups, condemned this attack and supported Qum seminary school by issuing a number of statements.
Among all these statements, the Imam Khomeini's was more revealing, braver, and more incisive. His holiness had asked preachers and speakers to reveal the Pahlavi regime genocide in the last three days of Muharram ten days of mourning ceremonies for Imam Hussein. Imam Khomeini was about to speak revealingly in Feyziyyeh School on Ashura evening. In Tehran "Islamic Councils Coalition" were scheduling a big rally against the regime on Ashura.
Muharram began and preaching sessions began. People began their own mourning ceremonies. There were few days to Ashura. "Islamic Councils Coalition" wanted to gather people in front of Haj Abolfat'h Mosque on Ashura. However, they were worried about Teyyeb Haj Reza'i[1] and Hussein Ramezan Yakhi[2] who would possibly raid the population. Martyr Haj Mehdi Eraqi talked to them on behalf of "Islamic Councils Coalition" and they promised not to raid Ashura ceremonies. I joined the population in the morning of Ashura. Number of people was growing moment by moment. Suddenly a high-sounding mourning group arrived. Nasser Jegaraki[3] was the head of that group. Apparently, he had come to raid the ceremony and people. He entered Haj Abolfat'h Mosque. However, by the hoax that Martyr Haj Mehdi Eraqi[4] made in his speech, scruples prevented Nasser Khan and he returned.
After Haj Mehdi Eraqi's speech, we moved toward Sar-cheshmeh and then Majlis, Mokhber-ud-dowleh crossroads, Istanbul crossroads, British Embassy, and Ferdowsi square. We would stand in some points and short speeches were made. Then we continued toward Tehran University. At first, we wanted to finish the rally in Tehran University Mosque, by the population moved toward 24th of Esfand square and then Si-metri Avenue (Kargar), Pasteur square and Marmar Palace. The police guards had surrounded the palace. We walked around the palace and hit its walls while shouting: "Down with Dictator!"
We reached Bazaar and the Shah's Mosque and there the rally was over. "Islamic Councils Coalition" could execute its program successfully.
In the morning of June 5th 1963, I saw one of my friends, Mr. Jafari[5] was quarreling with a shopkeeper near Abbassi crossroads. I went closer. Mr. Jafari told the shopkeeper angrily: "You should close your shop!" The shopkeeper answered in a Turkic accent: "I cannot. The police may come and badly punish me!" Mr. Jafari told more angrily: "Ok! Tell them that Jafari has ordered."
I got closer and had greetings with Mr. Jafari and asked: "What has happened, Sir?" He said: "Don't you know?!" I asked: "What should I have known?" He answered: "They have arrested Ayatollah Khomeini last night." I was shocked and pale when he said that and asked: "Who said that?" He said: "It is reported." I said: "Ok. What should we do now?" He said: "Let's go to Bazaar, there we may see others."
This way, I was informed of the event. I was so worried. It was seen in my behavior. Along with some other neighboring youth, we went toward E'dam (Mohammadiyyeh) square and Galoobandak crossroads through Khayyam Street. There, I could see that people were going toward bazaar group by group. It was interesting; bazaar shopkeeper had closed their shops without any scheduled program.
It was so populated there and some minutes later spontaneously there was a public rally. The guard would impede them and finally started shooting. People would shout: "Death or Khomeini…!" and continue walking through alleys and streets and the number of people was growing more and more.
At Galoobandak crossroads, an army colonel ordered his soldiers to make two rows, one kneeled in front and the other one standing in the back aiming different directions. One group was organized in Khayyam Street near E'dam Square, one group in Boozarjomehri (15th of Khordad) Street near Abusaeed Street, one group moving toward bazaar and the last group standing near Ettela'at Newspaper three-ways. The army colonel was standing right in the middle of these four groups of soldiers to order them to fire and raid. It was said there that they had orders to fire bullets without cartridge-shells.[6]
About 10 o’clock in the morning, a helicopter passed over our head around bazaar and surrounding streets. It was clear that the regime was using its maximum strength to suppress the people’s rise. When we got closer to Galoobandak crossroads from Khayyam Street, I saw the army colonel moved his hand upward to command his commandos. I could not think that his threat was serious and I thought it would be only a show off. But suddenly he moved his hand downward and shouted: “Fire!” I could hear the scream of bullets moving in front of my eyes. For me that had never been in the army and had not heard the sound of gunfire, watching this scene was trembling. We found ourselves moving toward bazaar and lost our contact with Galoobandak crossroads. The gunfire increased. I reached to a stony entrance of a bank and hid behind it. The bullets were still passing by. Some of them would the stony wall around me. I was seized with scare. I pressed myself to the glass walls of the bank to save myself from bullets. Suddenly I saw a boy who was shot in the middle of the street. He moved step by step backward and fell down. He was thrashing from side to side. I wanted to help him, but the fires would not let me. Some minutes passed. I could not tolerate that scene anymore. I lost my control and shouted: “Oh, cowards! Why you shout slogans and then run away? Come here, this boy is dying!”
Then it became calmer. I went to that boy fast and lifted him from the ground. Some others came either. I held his left hand, one his right hand and two other people held his feet; we lifted him and while moving from the middle of the street to the sidewalk, the army colonel commanded to fire again. The one who was holding his leg in front of me, bend down and fell. Then the one who was beside me and had taken the right hand of the injured boy was shot from behind and fell down. When it happened, the other man and I escaped. I went to the walls of the bank and hid behind it. I found myself in blood; my hands, my clothes. I was astonishingly watching these scenes. I could not move and fully seized with scare. Then I heard the sound of people shouting slogans. I saw some people carrying mace and sticks moving toward us and shouting: “Death or Khomeini… Go toward bazaar… Go toward bazaar…”
For some seconds it was calm. I went fast to that boy and lifted him. Some others also came to help me. I took his left arm and one his right hand and the other two took his legs and we moved him together. While we were passing across the street, the colonel ordered the soldiers to fire again. The one who was in front of me and was holding the boy's leg was shot and fell down. The one who was in my right side was also shot in back and fell. The other two and I ran away. I took shelter behind the walls of the bank. I found my hands and clothes bloody. I was shocked and looking around dazzled and confused. I could not move or do anything and full of scare. Then I heard people shouting slogans. I saw group of people carrying sticks and shouting: "Death, or Khomeini… Go to Bazaar...Go to Bazaar…"
I was a bit inspired. I saw my brother and some other youth of "Islamic Councils Coalition" coming to my side. Mehdi spotted me. He came to me and patted on my back and said: "What's up, Ahmad?" I controlled myself and replied: "Brother, look! They've killed them?"
He said: "Come on! It's not too much. Go and look out there. There, they have killed people like fall leaves and there is no one to gather them. Come on! Let's go…do not stand here…" Then he took my hand and we went toward Bazaar. When we were passing through bazaar passages, I could see the corpses on passage sides. In a hallway in bazaar, I saw a shocking scene. A man was shot in the leg and had fell beside a four-wheeled and was writing with his right-hand finger on the four-wheeled "Death, or Khomeini". I had a strange feeling. I could not stand and ran away. Gradually it became usual for me to see bloody scenes and killed and killer people. Inside bazaar we were moving from a hallway to the other one; suddenly the military closed the bazaar gates and sprayed people by bullets. The soldier would not enter the bazaar and hallways in it; they would only fire through the gates. If somebody wanted to pass from one side to the other, they would spray him with bullets; he would succeed in passing by several falling and rising or would be shot and killed. Being beside my brother buoyed me. Seeing repeated scenes of death wiped out scare of dying to me. We went to Nowruz Khan Bazaar and came out from the back of Shah's Mosque. Just right there, we saw many people and we began shouting slogans: "Khomeini, Khomeini! May God save you! And kill your bloodthirsty enemy!"
The military fired and killed and injured many. Tear gas was burning my eyes and I was weeping. Mehdi gave me a wet handkerchief to put on my eyes.
Something interesting happened. I saw an unknown group who were shouting misleading slogans to send people to other sides. They told some to go to the Jews quarter and some to Siroos crossroads and some to ironsmiths' bazaar. I found out the plot. There was an ice-selling booth. I jumped on it and while my eyes were weeping and I had to put wet handkerchief on, I shouted toward people and said: "Oh, people! Do not listen to the ones you do not know. They are separating you from each other. They want to make here empty for the soldiers to come. You may face with the police there. Stay here, stand and resist and…"
While I was talking, someone patted on my foot and said: "Sir! Sir! ...Watch out!" and then pointed top of my head. I looked and found out that my head was about to touch the electricity wire. I jumped down and when I was going to the sidewalk, I saw someone was shot and fell in water way. I suppose they had aimed me to shoot. We took him and moved to a corner. I found he was shot in the chest, and he had no chance to survive. We could not take him along. There were many dead bodies like him. When it got worse, I told my brother: "Brother! Let's go back to Nowruz Khan Bazaar." We entered the bazaar along with some others. At the entrance of bazaar from Boozarjomehri street (today's 15th of Khordad street), there were some steps downwards and at the next corner on the left, there was a tall wall. We coordinated with each other that some should go on top of shops and hide and some should stand down and shout slogans to attract soldier toward here and then the ones on top would jump on them and disarm them. So along with some others I went on the shop roofs and the ones who were down there started to shout slogans: "Khomeini, Khomeini! May God save you! Your bloodthirsty enemy is abject and weak!"
But the soldiers did not come toward us despite we shouted a lot. It seemed they had known our trick. When we found this trick useless, we jumped down and went toward Shirazi Bazaar and there we entered the street.
Commandos would attack repeatedly and force us to retreat. We reached Siroos crossroads. There was an under-construction building with a lot of materials in front of it. It was a good chance. We used the bricks and stones to confront. In street fights we were sometimes able to go forward and sometimes backward. Meantime, a young boy who was wearing dusty black suit and shouting was suddenly shot in the mouth. The bullet came out his neck in the back. His mouth became full of blood and he fell down on the ground. We ran to him and pulled him to the sidewalk. There was no car. We looked around. We spotted a car that had parked in the street. We opened the car's door some way and switched it on. Then we put the half-living body of that boy in it and one of us took him to Sina hospital.
The clashes continued till 3 o'clock in the afternoon. We had not been defeated yet. The full-armed army commandos and the police advanced toward us after reinforcement. They advanced from Galoobandak crossroads to Siroos crossroads. Up to this time we had stood resisted well. But gradually we became hungry, thirsty and tired. We had not said our noon and evening prayers. Our clothes were bloody because of carrying injured and martyred people.
Meantime I spotted the tanks entering from Rey Street. Commandos got out of two military trucks in Rey Street, near eastern Boozarjomehri crossroads. They marched and fired toward Siroos crossroads. The conditions became worse for protesters. We entered Siroos Street (today's Martyr Mostafa Khomeini Street) so fast when the conditions changed this way. The commandos followed us to Siroos Street after their attack to ironsmiths' bazaar. The conditions were so scaring and critical. We went to Mowlavi Street pantingly. The crowds were escaping to alleys and sidewalks. I was panting some times and it was my brother every now and then browbeating that would make me run lamely. The commandos and soldiers were still firing and following us. There were fire and blood everywhere. In some cases, crowds would hit each other and fall all together and then stand up again run. While I was running, I spotted three red spots on the back of the person who was running in front of me. I told my brother: "It seems he is shot but still runs!" He went some more steps and fell down suddenly. Unintentionally I bent to lift him. But my brother grabbed my neck back and lifted and said: "Ahmad! Run. There's no time to help him. They are merciless and reaching us. We have no time to move him to a corner."
We ran to Mowlavi crossroads and found out the military had occupied Haj Abulfat'h Mosque and the Shah's Square (today's Qiyam Square).
It was 4 o'clock in the afternoon that we were around Mowlavi Street. In that throng and crisis, we felt that our movement was defeated. People were scattered out of the streets and went to their homes. Gradually the military and the police occupied all the streets and dominated over strategic locations in the city. We also distanced ourselves from that location. Tired and breathless we could lamely reach our own quarter. We were so tired that it took us 45 minutes to reach our home. There was nothing of fire and gunpowder smoke.
Some had told my parents that Mehdi and Ahmad had been killed during that day's clashes. When the neighbors spotted us, they all gathered in our alley and watched us surprisingly; our bloody and torn clothes, our injured dusty hands and heads, our dry lips had doubled their surprise. Some were frightened if the military would chase us and attack there, so they called their kids and went home. It was after 5 o'clock in the evening that reached home with that disturbed and distorted condition. My parents were crying when they saw us, they stopped crying. They watched us surprisingly for some moments and then ran to us cheerfully.
Although I could not be a martyr of that big day, but what I observed that day so close is indescribable and my tongue cannot describe it more. By the God's will we survived that day to experience more up and downs and pass more ordeals in future.
Whatever I tell about this day's affects and godly reasons behind it is not enough. On this day, God opened my eyes to some great truths that made me continue my fight against the regime the victory of Islamic Revolution under the leadership of Imam Khomeini.
On this day I found out SAVAK had easily penetrated its elements to our groups and parties benefiting our lack of experience and also other revolutionaries. SAVAK was these elements on the right moments to divide us and collapse the line of protests. I observed with my own eyes how these black suit elements scattered people to abate their strength in front of the military and it was one of main factor to the apparent defeat of that movement on that day.[7]
[1] Teyyeb Haj Rezai son of Hassan Ali was one of gang leaders in southern Tehran and he was famous for his braveness and being generous. Every Muharram he would lead a very big mourning group in the city. He and Haj Esmail Rezai, after the bloody rise of 5th of June 1963 were both arrested by SAVAK and martyred after tolerating heavy tortures.
[2] Hussein Ramezan Yakhi, was another famous gang leader in Tehran who also had mourning groups in Muharram just like Haj Teyyeb Rezaei.
[3] Nasser Jegaraki was another gang leader in southern Tehran and Bagh-e Ferdows (Ferdows Garden). Sometimes these mourning groups (gangs) might have quarrels with each other and sometime some may get hurt or even killed.
[4] Martyr Haj Mehdi Eraqi was born in 1930 in Pachenar Quarter in Tehran. From early days in teen ages, he was interested to take part in religious circles. He started working in Bazaar when being a teenager. When he was 16, he joined “Fadayan-e Islam (Devotees of Islam)” led by Martyr Navvab Safavi and was active in most of their activities. He took sanctuary in Qasr Prison along with 353 other people in support of Navvab Safavi.
In 1962 along with some other friends, he founded “Islamic Councils Coalition”. He had a big role in June 5th 1963 movement and the gathering of that year’s Ashura at Haj Abulfat’h Mosque. He participated in the assassination of Hassan Ali Mansour along with other members of “Islamic Councils Coalition” members. He was arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment with one degree of commutation. He was an effective element in organizing the unity of Muslim forces in prison in front of Marxist groups. He was freed in 1976 and continued his fights. When Imam went to Paris, he went there either and came back with him to Iran.
After the Islamic revolution he became a member of Central Council of Islamic Republic Party and accepted different posts and responsibilities such as, supervision of Qasr Prison, membership in central council of The Oppressed Foundation and also its executive unit presidency, and financial management of Kayhan Newspaper.
He was martyred along with his son, Hessam, in the morning of August 26th 1979 by Forqan terrorist group. For his martyrdom Imam Khomeini says: “He was not a man for dying in bed. He deserved martyrdom.”
[5] Mr. Ahmad was acquainted with different people because of his presence in different circles and mosques. One of them was Mr. Jafari who was acquainted with Ahmad in Seheb-uz-zaman Masque (Abbassi).
[6] In army regulations soldiers should deliver empty cartridges after shooting bullets. However, in this rally, the regime that had predicted people may become angry of Imam Khomeini’s arrest, had allowed the forces to shoot without delivering empty cartridges.
[7] Mr. Ahmad insists that this defeat for June 5th rise was an apparent one. The trend of events after this great day proved this event had a great victory inside that appeared 15 years later. The regime could proudly create a police state by killing people on this day for some short time. However, this way people understood its evil identity and followed news ways and methods to fight and overthrow it.
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