Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – June 5, 1981

I stayed at home for almost the entire day and went out only for Friday prayers. Early in the morning, Mr. Reyshahri called and said that Mr. Bani-Sadr had told Mr. Ghafouri, the governor of Mashhad, “I can see with my own eyes, just like this Mount Damavand, Mr. Reyshahri’s turban being wrapped around his neck and him being paraded through the streets.” He was consulting me about how to respond. This is the kind of statement made by someone who is certain that a coup is imminent, in which the liberals and the purged elements of the Army will come to power. Otherwise, who would behave in such a manner toward the Sharia judge of the Army courts?

At noon, I went to Friday prayers with Effat. An enormous and unexpected crowd had gathered for 15 Khordad. The counter-revolutionaries become upset and discouraged by such crowds. In the afternoon, I watched some of the ideological debate. The Tudeh members and the Fadaiyan spoke very irrationally and weakly; they could not even define “contradiction.” When they cannot define “contradiction,” which is the essence of dialectics, how can they prove it?!

I also played some table tennis with the children and the guards and wrote responses to several requests. At night, Mr. Salahmand, the head of the Protection Unit of the Revolutionary Guards, came and had some suggestions for improving security operations. He seems to be a good man. He is on the Imam’s line and was cooperative. He invited me to attend a meeting at Mohammadi Mosque; I did not give a definite commitment.