JORDAN: AMMAN: KING HUSSEIN ARRIVES HOME

(19 Jan 1999) English/Nat

Tens of thousands of Jordanians braved the rain to welcome home King Hussein after six months of cancer treatment in the United States.

The King's Boeing 737 touched down in Amman on Tuesday with Hussein, a veteran pilot, at the controls.

Officials say Hussein has fully recovered following chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.

F-16s and Mirage jet fighters from the Jordanian air force escorted King Hussein's plane as it flew into Amman.

His family watched from the ground, clearly delighted the King was home and apparently fully recovered after six months of cancer treatment in the United States.

It has been Hussein's longest absence from the kingdom he has ruled for 46 years.

An experienced pilot, the King flew the Boeing 7-3-7 into Amman's Marka Military Base himself.

After leaving the aircraft, Hussein, wearing a dark blue suit and a red and white checkered kaffiyeh, dropped to his knees to kiss the ground and then bowed his head in prayer.

The sounds of celebratory gunfire could be heard throughout the capital.

Hussein then stood to attention for the Jordanian national anthem before attending a reception at the airport.

Members of the royal family and about one-thousand government officials, Parliament members, diplomats and other dignitaries were there to greet the 63-year-old monarch.

The guests included Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh and the emir of Qatar, Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani.

After the reception, King Hussein talked of a policy review which he had hinted at in a televised speech at the weekend.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"My plan? To rest a little bit maybe now. But no, there is a lot to be done which is nothing that means you work for a certain period and then you forget about it. It is a continuous struggle with me. It has been 40 plus years now - 47 years or so. So every now and then we have to review. We have to see what needs to be done to consolidate the country, to make people feel more comfortable, more confident in the future."
SUPER CAPTION: King Hussein of Jordan

Hussein and his wife, Queen Noor, were then driven in a royal motorcade through the streets of the capital to greet Jordanians, who jammed the 25-mile (40 kilometre) route.

Security was tight in the narrow, bustling streets of downtown Amman.

Army and police helicopters, decorated with Jordanian flags and
welcome banners, buzzed the skies.

Tens of thousands of people lined Amman's streets, cheering, chanting, waving banners, dancing and beating drums.

Officials had earlier said they expected one (m) million people to greet Hussein, but the turnout was lower, possibly due to the rainy weather.

But despite that, Jordanians are clearly pleased to have their king home.

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