Memories of Akbar Hashemi - February 16, 2002 - Hashemi's Non-Participation with Members of the Assembly in Visiting Ayatollah Khomeini's Mausoleum and Subsequently Accompanying Them in Meeting Ayatollah Khamenei

Hashemi's Account of Not Accompanying Members of the Assembly in Visiting Ayatollah Khomeini's Mausoleum and Then Joining Them in Meeting Ayatollah Khamenei, as Well as His Account of the Reports from Sheikh Ali Moshkini and Sheikh Ebrahim Amini Due to Weakness and Illness

Hashemi's Account of Seyyed Mohammad Khatami's Remarks in Rafsanjan in Support of Him

Hashemi's Account of Demonstrations in Qom Against the Editor of Etemad Newspaper Following the Remarks of Seyyed Taha Hashemi and Mostafa Faqihi for Forming a New Stream of Innovative Thought

Full Text of the Daily Journal:

Members of the [Assembly of] Experts visited the Imam's shrine. I went to my office to attend to some work. Later, I joined the leadership office for the meeting between the Experts and the leadership. Mr. [Ali] Moshkini, [the head of the Assembly of Experts], who had gone to the Imam's shrine, appeared tired and weak. He struggled to speak a few sentences, and Mr. [Ebrahim] Amini, [the head of the Secretariat of the Assembly], also reported on the assembly with weakness resulting from prostate surgery. The leadership delivered an extensive speech; based on Mr. Amini's alarming reports, which indicated general dissatisfaction among the Experts with the current situation, the leadership acknowledged the concerns and weaknesses while emphasizing the strengths of the system.

I returned to my office and worked until four o'clock. I reviewed the reports. The media welcomed Mr. Khatami's remarks in Rafsanjan about me, stating that "this person is the identity of the revolution from the beginning until now." Some of the Experts found it appropriate, albeit delayed.

Israel has reacted to yesterday's martyrdom-seeking actions of a Palestinian driver with the siege of Gaza and the West Bank. [Bill] Clinton, the former President of the United States, is facing trial for pardoning a fugitive on his last day in office. It has been said that this individual was pardoned for helping the Democratic Party's elections, and Clinton claims that he was pardoned due to lobbying by the Israeli government. Hundreds of German parliament members and hundreds of Italian parliament members have protested the travel plans of [Gerhard Schröder], the Chancellor of Germany, and [Giuliano Amato], the Prime Minister of Italy, to Iran.

In Qom, demonstrations were organized against the editor of Etemad newspaper due to writings that they consider contrary to values. For some time now, Mr. Taha Hashemi, [the managing director], and Mr. [Mostafa] Faqihi, the editor of [Etemad newspaper], have been discussing the formation of a new stream of religious innovation and the division within the conservative faction.