Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi - April 12, 2001 Narration of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani on the Supportive Demonstrations by the People's Mujahedin Organization for the Detained National-Religious Figures

Narration of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani on the Supportive Demonstrations by the People's Mujahedin Organization for the Detained National-Religious Figures

Full Diary Text:

At home and in the Koshk office, I was studying for the Friday sermons, reading bulletins and reports, and editing the interview text for the Matin magazine. Gradually, the presidential election fever is heating up. Events and media have taken on an electoral tone. The Mojahedin [People's Mujahedin Organization] announced demonstrations in support of the detained national-religious figures in twelve European cities.

In Turkey, following elections and the protests by tens of thousands of shopkeepers against the government yesterday, demonstrations in Ankara have been banned for a month. The government of [Bulent] Ecevit, [the Prime Minister of Turkey], is under pressure. The International Criminal Court is pressuring for the handover of [Slobodan] Milosevic, who is currently in custody and hospitalized. In South Africa, during a football match, more than 50 people were killed and 150 injured due to a crowd crush; such incidents often occur at popular football events.