Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – June 2, 1981

We had a public session on the one-twelfth budget. Mr. Salamatiyan’s move at the beginning of the session made me angry. The session continued in the afternoon as well.

Mr. Malekpour, the representative of the Zoroastrians, complained that a Zoroastrian girl in Yazd, who they said had converted to Islam, had been taken to Mr. Sedoughi’s house, and he claimed that her conversion to Islam was not genuine. But, as a rule, this claim does not appear to be correct. It was decided that I would investigate.

At noon, flight-training teachers and instructors came. They complained about their employment status. In the afternoon, Mr. Jami, the Friday prayer leader of Abadan, came and asked about the course of action against Bani-Sadr. He complained about the commander of the 77th Division of Khorasan, who is also the commander of Arvand.

In the afternoon, I attended a meeting of the Political Bureau. We discussed the course of action against the liberals following the Imam’s statements. I was fasting and went to the Parliament for iftar.

After iftar, I went to television with Messrs. Mousavi-Khoeyniha, Dr. Velayati, and Olviri to take part in the program “Direct Communication with Officials.” We participated in the program from ten to twelve. First, we gave an account of the situation in the Parliament, and then answered questions. During the program, films that they had prepared were also broadcast. They had aired one question without informing us, and it remained unanswered, which was unfortunate. The next day, I protested. They said the mistake had been made by the switching operator, whose pay had been docked for ten days.