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30 January 2011
Last updated at 13:25 ET
The leader of Tunisia's main Islamist movement has returned home after 22 years in exile following the ousting of President Ben Ali earlier this month.
Thousands of people went to the airport to welcome Rachid Ghannouchi, 69, as he arrived in Tunis from London.
He told AFP he would not run in the next presidential poll but his party would contest a parliamentary election.
Observers say his return is the most potent symbol yet of the change that has swept the country since then.
Mr Ghannouchi fled Tunisia after a crackdown President Ben Ali against his banned Ennahda movement.
He returned after the interim government's announced that media curbs would be lifted, banned political parties allowed to register and political prisoners given amnesty.
Alongside his supporters, the Reuters news agency said, was a small group of secularists with banners reading: "No Islamism, no theocracy, no Sharia and no stupidity!"
"I myself will not run for the presidency... We (Ennahda) have no intention of fielding a candidate in the upcoming presidential election," he said.
Life sentence Up to 10,000 young men and veiled women packed the arrival hall and car park at the airport, and some climbed trees and electricity pylons to catch a glimpse of Mr Ghannouchi, according to Reuters.
Before leaving London, Rachid Ghannouchi said his Ennahda movement intended to work for the popular uprising that toppled Mr Ben Ali.
However observers believe Ennahda did not play a leading role in the revolt.
Officially, Mr Ghannouchi is still subject to a life sentence imposed in his absence for allegedly plotting against the state.
But AFP news agency says that other convicted exiles have been able to return to Tunisia in recent days without hindrance.
In 1989 Ennahda came second to the ruling party in elections, officially winning about 17% of the ballot. However allegations of fraud marred the vote and according to some estimates Ennahda's tally was as much as double the official figure.
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Thousands of people went to the airport to welcome Rachid Ghannouchi, 69, as he arrived in Tunis from London.
He told AFP he would not run in the next presidential poll but his party would contest a parliamentary election.
Observers say his return is the most potent symbol yet of the change that has swept the country since then.
Mr Ghannouchi fled Tunisia after a crackdown President Ben Ali against his banned Ennahda movement.
He returned after the interim government's announced that media curbs would be lifted, banned political parties allowed to register and political prisoners given amnesty.
Alongside his supporters, the Reuters news agency said, was a small group of secularists with banners reading: "No Islamism, no theocracy, no Sharia and no stupidity!"
"I myself will not run for the presidency... We (Ennahda) have no intention of fielding a candidate in the upcoming presidential election," he said.
Life sentence Up to 10,000 young men and veiled women packed the arrival hall and car park at the airport, and some climbed trees and electricity pylons to catch a glimpse of Mr Ghannouchi, according to Reuters.
Before leaving London, Rachid Ghannouchi said his Ennahda movement intended to work for the popular uprising that toppled Mr Ben Ali.
However observers believe Ennahda did not play a leading role in the revolt.
Officially, Mr Ghannouchi is still subject to a life sentence imposed in his absence for allegedly plotting against the state.
But AFP news agency says that other convicted exiles have been able to return to Tunisia in recent days without hindrance.
In 1989 Ennahda came second to the ruling party in elections, officially winning about 17% of the ballot. However allegations of fraud marred the vote and according to some estimates Ennahda's tally was as much as double the official figure.
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