Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – October 5, 1994

In the reports, the occurrence of convulsions in the Republic of Azerbaijan and the claim of Mr. Heydar Aliyev, [the President], regarding the coup plot and the request of the people for their support are noted. For us, sports competitions in Hiroshima, Japan are of interest.

At half past eight in the morning, we went to the parliament with Mr. [Mohammed Reza] Nematzadeh for the vote of confidence [due to the merger of the Ministry of Industries with the Ministry of Heavy Industries and the introduction of the minister]. With a short speech, I asked the representatives to vote well. After the speech, many representatives had references.

Mr. [Mahmoud] Mohammadi Iraqi, [head of the Islamic Propaganda Organization] came. He reported on the work of the advertising organization and talked about the reduction of offices and corrective measures and claimed progress in this direction. He asked for help for the development of cultural affairs and the employment status of personnel and the completion of the Noor Qom complex.

In the evening, they reported that Mr. Nematzadeh won the vote of confidence with a weak majority. The right line did not vote and the third line and the independents of the parliament supported it. In the meeting of the government board, we decided to increase the salary of government employees by 20%.

In the afternoon and at night, I listened to some sports news [Asian competitions] from Hiroshima; The condition of our teams is not good and as expected. Mr. [Mahmoud] Vaezi, [Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs], explained the situation of the Republic of Azerbaijan over the phone and asked about mediation. I told them to wait until the situation becomes clearer.