Memories of Akbar Hashemi - March 9, 2001 - Hashemi's Trip to Khuzestan to Attend the Martyrs' Congress

Akbar Hashemi traveled to Khuzestan to participate in the congress commemorating the martyrs of the province. Following a previous meeting concerning the grievances of Brigadier General Kiomars (Abdullah) Aghabayi, this time, a comprehensive report was provided by Hossein Shamsai regarding the actions taken and the detention of Aghabayi under the orders of Brigadier General Seyed Hassan Firouzabadi.

The visit included a report from Seyed Mohammad Ali Mousavi Jazayeri, the representative of the Supreme Leader and Imam Jomeh of Ahvaz, along with Brigadier General Rahim Noei Aghdam and Brigadier General Seyed Yahya Safavi.

The full text of the diary entry is as follows:

At six-thirty in the morning, we flew to Ahvaz for the inauguration of the congress honoring 16,000 martyrs of Khuzestan, accompanied by [Hosseini] Shamsai, [Gholamreza] Forouzesh, and Iffat. On the way, Shamsai mentioned the arrest of General [Abdullah] Aghabayi, as requested by Dr. [Hassan] Firouzabadi, the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, due to a report on issues concerning the General Staff, similar to what Aghabayi had told me yesterday.

At Ahvaz Airport, we were welcomed by provincial officials and a number of scholars. In a brief interview, I mentioned that the purpose of the trip was to participate in the martyr's ceremony, give a speech at the university, and inaugurate the second sugarcane factory. We headed directly to Dr. Chamran University, the venue for the congress. The event was well-organized with about four thousand attendees, fitting the wartime atmosphere with dim lighting, sandbag fortifications, symbols from the front lines, and coffins of martyrs hanging from the ceiling, alongside displays of war scenes such as the beginning of operations, capturing prisoners, and evacuating the wounded, interspersed with war songs and heroic recitations throughout the program. After the welcoming remarks from [Seyed Mohammad Ali] Mousavi Jazayeri, the Imam Jomeh of Ahvaz, [Brigadier General Rahim Noei Aghdam], the commander of the Valiasr Brigade, and [Brigadier General Rahim] Safavi, the commander of the Revolutionary Guards, I delivered a detailed speech about Khuzestan, the martyrs, and the war. We also visited the martyr memorial exhibition.

In the afternoon, we went to the governor's office for lunch, rest, and review reports. Later, we visited the University of Medical Sciences. After the welcoming address by [Dr. Hayat Mombini], the president of the university and the representative of the Leader, a demonstration by [Mohammad] Rezazadeh [Jouybari] from Qom's clergy featured his two young children on stage. Ali, the seven-year-old, had memorized the entire Quran and a significant portion of Nahj al-Balagha, while Hasan, the five-year-old, had memorized two sections of the Quran. After their impressive performance, I gifted each child a Bahar Azadi coin. Following this, I delivered an extensive speech on the importance of knowledge, science, and technology, emphasizing the universities' mission in this regard, the efforts by adversaries to sow discord among the Iranian people by dividing them into reformists and conservatives, and the necessity for continuous reform in all areas, not just in one sector. The amphitheater was filled with students and professors, while many others were left outside.

In the evening, I visited the seminary in Ahvaz. We toured the research center and library, receiving explanations about their operations. The seminary has been well organized. In a gathering with the clergy, after the welcoming remarks from Jazayeri, the representative of the Supreme Leader in Khuzestan and Imam Jomeh of Ahvaz, I spoke about the responsibilities of the clergy, their historical role, and the need for coordination with current conditions as well as reforms in the educational methods of the seminaries. We spent the night at the governor's office.