Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – 5 October 2002

I was at home. Most of the time was spent studying the Council of the Revolution’s meetings, in order to recall important early-revolution matters and to prepare for a speech at the Congress of Imam Mahdi (may God hasten his reappearance). Efat went to Qom early in the morning for the funeral of Zahra Khanum, the wife of Ayatollah [Seyed Mehdi Akhavan] Marashi, the daughter of the late Ayatollah Seyed Abdolhadi Shirazi. At noon, Sara and Faezeh had prepared lunch, and some of the children gathered.

In Qom, Statement No. 10 of the students and scholars of the Qom Seminary was published, opposing the government’s bill on expanding the powers of the president. They raised objections, including violation of the constitution, creating a dictatorship, depriving the other two branches and the Guardian Council of their rights in interpreting the constitution, and creating crisis and conflict. It seems that the pressure is increasing, and the Second of Khordad faction is not presenting a solid defense.

In the annual global human rights report in the UK, it is claimed that human rights violations in Iran have increased; however, they do not attribute this to Mr. Khatami’s government.

Clashes continue in occupied Palestine, mostly involving the Israeli army’s aggressions. The European Union opposed the US unilateral action against Iraq. In several US cities, public demonstrations against government policies escalated into violence with police intervention. In Palestine, Bangladesh, and occupied Palestine, wide demonstrations were held on the anniversary of the Intifada. In the Philippines and South Korea, large protests were held against US interference.

A Senegalese ship with 800 people on board sank off the coast of Gambia; so far only 48 people have been rescued.