Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – July 21, 1992

I went to Sinai Hospital at eight in the morning. I visited different departments and patients. The building is old and the equipment is insufficient and the space is cramped. They were supposed to hand over the building of the national grant to them, but it did not happen. We decided to take it from the Ministry of Education and give it to them. I spoke for the employees and listened to the report of [Dr. Reza Malekzadeh], the Minister [of Health, Treatment and Medical Education] and the managers. I did an interview. The history of the hospital is many and there are many referrals.

[Mr. Arifin Sirgar], the Indonesian Minister of Commerce came. The president invited Mr. Suharto to participate in the summit of the member states of the Non-Aligned Movement. The necessity of deposing Serbia from the chairmanship of the summit and changing the content of the organization was discussed.

Dr. [Hassan] Habibi came for the government delegation for ongoing work and negotiation about the construction of an organizational house. In the evening, Mr. [Nelson] Mandela, the leader of the African National Congress, came. He talked about the issues of South Africa and the people's struggles and the oppression of the whites and their plans to continue the pressure until the formation of the interim government for the elections. Then, in a private meeting, he asked for financial aid and the need to repay the financial aid they received from other governments. I agreed to help. After consulting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and leadership, we decided to donate one million dollars; He demanded fifteen million dollars. It turned out that they are asking for help from all governments.

Mr. [Ahmed] Janati came. He demanded that Ali Agha, his son, should not be removed from the Khorasan governorate so that he would not be disgraced. He asked for help for the Guardian Council.

I did the work until nine o'clock at night. I went to Saadabad for Mr. [Nelson] Mandela's dinner. I asked many questions about their situation. I asked about the reason for his wife's divorce, but he did not have a correct answer. He is not satisfied with the trip to Saudi Arabia.