Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi - March 5, 2003

Participation in the Third Congress of Martyrs of District 17 and Speech at its Venue

Full text of the diary:

I read the report of the conference of the Iraqi opponents in Erbil, and they had a one-month delay due to the sabotage of the United States, and they had many arguments with [Zalmay] Khalilzad Afghani, the American representative in Iraq affairs, and finally did not give in to his views. They have appointed the Leadership Council and 14 specialized committees. Of the seven members of the Leadership Council, four are Shiites, two are Kurds, and one is Sunni. They have opposed the Turkish military's participation in the war and have accepted only one U.S. offer to welcome the forces that come with the permission of the Security Council to remove Saddam. They have opposed the formation of a U.S. military government and have rejected the opposition's offer to be advisers.

In the evening, we went to the Abuzar Cultural Center in that area to participate in the third congress of 4,000 martyrs of the 17th district. Effat was also with me. After the report, the song, and the speech, I gave a speech about the martyrs, Muharram, and Ashura. A large crowd of the families of the martyrs was gathered. 
As the opposition to the U.S. and British resolution has intensified, Secretary of State Colin Powell has said that they may accept the proposed amendment. Russian media say that Iraq has blown up some of the oil wells and planted mines.

An Algerian plane crashed in the Algerian desert with 103 people on board, and only one person survived. It has been revealed that the United States was supposed to give Turkey $15 billion in exchange for accepting its troops on Turkish soil, of which $8 billion would be loans and the rest would be aid.

In retaliation for yesterday's attacks by the Palestinian Mujahideen, Israel has carried out brutal attacks, killing about 20 martyrs and wounding dozens. The Palestinians also destroyed 10 Israeli tanks and APCs. 
 The Pope's special envoy [John Paul II, the leader of the world's Catholics] has gone to the White House and advised [U.S. President] Bush not to invade Iraq militarily. American and British students have staged large-scale anti-war demonstrations. In Egypt, one million anti-war demonstrations have been held. 
The rain began to fall at night.