Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – May 19, 1981

We had an open session. The agenda was the bill on removing the title "Imperial Decree" (Farman-e Homayouni). Before starting work, Mr. [Mohammad-Javad] Hojjati Kermani informed me that in a meeting with three representatives sympathetic to the liberals, the Imam had expressed dissatisfaction with the bill and called it tension-inducing. (Of course, two or three days ago Mr. Sane'i had also told me that the Imam desired that no tension be created through this means). However, Parliament had no way to abandon the bill unless the government withdrew it. The Imam had said that he did not want an action carried out contrary to the law.

During recess, I shared the matter with Mr. Rajai. He went to the Imam along with Messrs. Khaz'ali, Jannati, and Nabavi to seek guidance (kasb-e taklif). The Imam had said that this matter was contingent upon Mr. Bani-Sadr appointing a head for the Central Bank in agreement with Mr. Rajai who would be aligned with the government; since he had realized that this manner of approach weakened Parliament and had been informed of the severe distress of the parliamentarians (the majority), he deemed continuing the work unobjectionable. However, Parliament did not convene further [that day] and it was postponed to tomorrow. Undoubtedly, the liberals will be upset and will not remain without reaction. They had pinned much hope on this recommendation of the Imam.

In the evening, I participated in the meeting of the party's Political Bureau. Most of the discussions revolved around how to counter the Coordination Office and Bani-Sadr's line; unfortunately, most of our time is spent on such matters, and this is very harmful. Instead of work, our time is spent neutralizing oppositions, as is the time of the opponents, the Imam's time, and that of many other forces and the public; a solution must be thought of.

At night, we had a consultative meeting of the three branches. Messrs. [Seyyed Mahmoud] Do'a'i and [Seyyed Mohammad] Khatami, heads of Ettela'at and Kayhan, came and spoke of the lack of financial resources at the institutions and losses amounting to around two and a half million Tomans, requesting assistance. It is strange that an institution with over two hundred million Tomans in capital should operate at a loss. It is a sign of organizational unhealthiness. It was agreed that they obtain a loan from the government to resolve their problems.

Discussions were also held regarding activating the Ministries of Petroleum and Foreign Affairs; they have made no progress. Things are moving slowly. In all three branches, it is slow.