Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi - April 21, 2001 - Report by Mohsen Hashemi on the Incomplete Discussion in the Workers' Party Regarding Support or Non-Support for Mohammad Khatami's Candidacy

• Meeting with Ali Akbar Taha'i, Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Welfare.
• Meeting with Seyyed Motehr Kazemi, the representative from the Khalqal and Kowsar electoral district, who was disqualified in the sixth parliament.
• Meeting with Ali Mobini from the Secretariat of the Expediency Council, discussing current plans in the Commission.
• Report by Mohsen Hashemi on the Workers' Party meeting regarding the unfinished discussion on support or non-support for Mohammad Khatami's candidacy, as well as the failure of this party's opposition to the detention of the National-Religious figures.
• Continuation of oral history interviews about the war by Amir Ali Shamkhani, General Hosseini Tash, General Gholamali Rashid, and General Hossein Alaei.

The most important entry today relates to:

• Meeting with Ayatollah Khamenei and discussions about the presidency and whether or not Mohammad Khatami will participate. Hashemi narrates that Khatami has not yet consulted with the Supreme Leader regarding his candidacy. Following Khamenei's expression of regret yesterday, Khatami requested that, while endorsing the actions of the judiciary, the leader should issue a directive for the release of the detainees. However, the Supreme Leader does not intend to make such a decision.
• Hashemi's account of speeches and remarks by several representatives of the sixth parliament against the judiciary regarding the detention of the National-Religious figures.

Full Diary Text:

Mr. [Ali-Akbar] Tahaei, the Deputy [for Administrative and Financial Affairs] of the Ministry of Labor [and Social Affairs] and the former governor of Gilan, came by. He spoke about the problem of unemployment and the lack of a proper program in the government for economic revitalization. He mentioned that there is deep stagnation in Mazandaran and Gilan and praised the economic boom during the reconstruction era and the satisfaction of the people. He described the absence of political and economic security as a fundamental issue and deemed the discussions about corruption as harmful.

Mr. [Seyed Matin] Kazemi, the representative from Khalkhal, came in and said that the Guardian Council deemed the conditions in Khalkhal unsuitable for holding elections, and he himself did not run for office. He expressed disappointment that development in Khalkhal has come to a halt under the current government.

Mr. [Ali] Mobini, responsible for the Infrastructure Commission at the Secretariat of the Expediency Council, came in to solicit opinions for the Commission’s program. The sectors of industry, agriculture, services, and land allocation are still pending.

At noon, Mohsen and Efat had lunch with me. Mohsen mentioned that in the [Executives] Party’s meeting, the discussion on whether to support Mr. [Seyed Mohammad] Khatami remained unfinished, and the motion opposing the arrest of national-religious figures did not pass. In the afternoon, Messrs. [Ali] Shamkhani, [Ali] Hosseini-Tash, [Mohsen] Rashid, and [Hosseini] Alai came for the continuation of interviews regarding the war; it remained unfinished.

In the evening, I was a guest of the Leader. We discussed the [presidential] election and the likelihood of Mr. [Seyed Mohammad] Khatami's candidacy and the recent arrests. Mr. Khatami has not yet spoken with the Leader regarding his candidacy and suggested that the Leader, while endorsing the actions of the judiciary, should order the release of the recent detainees; however, the Leader does not have such a decision. Today, several representatives in parliament spoke harshly against the judiciary regarding the arrests.