Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – March 30, 1983

I hadn't slept well during the night, and in the morning I went to Parliament feeling tired. I took care of the administrative work. Mr. [Reza] Mirza Taheri, head of the Environmental Protection Organization, came and spoke about the need for that organization to become more prominent, gain more authority, its importance, and the issue of the pollution of the Persian Gulf. His information on the matter was limited. I told the Navy to gather more information and take experts to the region. I met with the Parliament staff and gave a speech to them.  

Mr. Etemadian, head of the Endowments [and Charitable Affairs] Organization, came. He complained about the Endowments budget being removed in Parliament. He wanted me to speak during Friday prayers about returning endowed lands that had been taken during the Shah's land reforms, so that people would give them back.

Mr. Mahmoud Kashani, who had returned from The Hague, came and was pleased about the possibility of Mr. Mohammadi being replaced, and regarding a solution for Article 139 of the Constitution, under which settlements of disputes with foreigners must be approved by Parliament, while we have hundreds of such settlements in The Hague and Parliament has neither the time nor is it appropriate to raise them there, he wanted a solution. He is interested in being elected or appointed to the Supreme Judicial Council.

The families of Martyr Hassani, Martyr Ejarehdar, and Martyr Aini came; I gave them holiday gifts and offered them comfort. Abusharif, Iran's ambassador to Pakistan, came, gave a report, and was concerned about the lack of coordination between the consul and himself. He wanted assistance.

At noon I slept for two hours and recovered from my fatigue. The editors of the magazine Zan-e Rooz came, and an interview was conducted. Ms. Zahri came from Parliament and had a proposal to establish a document center in the [Islamic Consultative Assembly] Library, and wanted help implementing it. Then we held a meeting with the officials of the Atomic Energy Organization, people opposed to the Bushehr nuclear power plant, the representative from Bushehr, and the Revolutionary Guard. The opponents and supporters had a detailed discussion over three hours, and we recorded it. The opponents emphasized the possibility of dependence, security concerns, and so on; I think it was a very useful meeting, and especially the people from Bushehr realized that the opponents had no sound arguments.

At night I came home. Faezeh and Hamid were at the house, and my brother Mohammad had come back from the front. He said that during nighttime training and exercises at the front, we suffer casualties. The Prime Minister called and said that an important and urgent matter had arisen. We agreed that they would come here tomorrow morning.