Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – June 21, 1995

From five-thirty to seven-thirty in the morning, the time passed with studying the reports and materials related to today's program and, as usual, writing yesterday's memoirs that had fallen behind. We went to the site allocated for the Environmental Forest Park, for which a program similar to Tehran's Pardisan Park has been arranged. Dr. Hadi Manafi and his deputy gave explanations.

From there we went to the site of the newly built city of Sahand. It had been added to today's program and caused delay and disorder in the timing of all the day's programs. Mr. Akhoundi, [the Minister of Housing and Urban Development], and his deputies gave explanations. In the first phase, more than six thousand plots of land have been handed over, and a part has also been allocated to Sahand University, where some construction has been done, and a part of the infrastructure works of water and sewage and electricity and green space has also been carried out. It is located beside the green valley of Osku. To speed up the work, they have little liquidity.

We flew toward the decorative red stone mine of Azar in the west of Azarshahr and on the shore of Lake Urmia. On the way, Mr. Zangeneh gave explanations about the water supply project from Zarrineh Rud to Tabriz, with a capacity of five meters per second and pumping up to a height of six hundred meters, at a very high cost. It seemed that if we had had the water control projects before that are being carried out in Azerbaijan today, we would not have undertaken such a costly project; although the waters of Zarrineh Rud, due to their large volume and the impossibility of exploiting them in place, must be transferred elsewhere. We saw the huge pipes with a diameter of two meters; both metal and concrete, and from the air we saw the huge factory for making concrete pipes.

Beside the mine they gave explanations. A mine with a capacity of one hundred million tons of stone, with a value of three hundred dollars per ton, without cutting and grinding and polishing, which with these works multiplies its price. They said that in this state it has a reserve of about twenty billion dollars, and there are many such mines in Iran. We saw the operation of extracting stone with diamond cutting from the mine; it is very interesting. Then right there they gave explanations about the important mineral nepheline syenite, which has billions of tons of mineral reserve in Azerbaijan. In the former Soviet Union, with their own special technology, they used this material instead of bauxite to make alumina—the raw material for making aluminum—and recently the Westerners too are inclined toward it. It is planned to obtain the technology from Russia; because we have little bauxite mine. At that same site, we broke ground for the factory. I promised help. Mr. Mahlouji became very happy. Due to other matters and other conditions, they have seen this place as suitable. It is planned to bring [the material] from the mines of Sarab County.

The people of Azarshahr had come to the site and had gathered in long rows behind the barbed wire around the factory site and were constantly chanting slogans. I went near them and passed in front of them from behind the wires. I responded to their feelings. They complain why I do not go to their city. They want Azarshahr to become a county. I gave them a short speech and said that the program on this trip has been limited to the counties and it is not possible to go to dozens of cities.

We flew to the site of the factory for cutting and processing decorative stones. They said it is the largest stone-cutting factory in the Middle East with a capacity of two hundred and seventy thousand cubic meters of granite and marble per year. They have brought the machines from Italy at a cost of five million dollars. It is very huge. It has created an interesting exhibition of various Iranian stones. More than thirty ambassadors and chargés d'affaires from foreign countries had also come for the inauguration ceremony. It was a good ceremony. After Mr. Mahlouji's report and my remarks, by showcasing Iran's mineral power and wealth, I unveiled the plaque on a nine-meter column of hard stone.

The people of Mamqan and Gugan, around the factory fences, like the people of Azarshahr, had gathered. I repeated the same program there. We flew toward the city of Bonab. On the way we visited the greenery and water abundance and fertility of the southeast in the river area; it is truly interesting and important. The gathering of the people of Bonab was beyond everyone's expectations. The people of Malekan too, who have severe differences with Bonab, had come because of me. Their scene of reconciliation and joint gathering became a historical event and I too thanked them.

Two or three days ago, the Ministry of Interior had announced Malekan becoming a county, which removes the root of the difference; because the people of Malekan did not want to be subordinate to the city of Bonab. Mr. Rasoul Seddiqi, the representative of Bonab, out of happiness at the magnificence of their gathering, was saying that the gathering here rivals the gathering of the people of Tabriz?! Bonab and Malekan is a prosperous region. The unemployment rate there is only three percent and they have hundreds of industrial units in addition to flourishing agriculture. After the speech of the governor and Mr. Mostafa Baqeri Bonabi, the Friday prayer leader, I gave an encouraging speech.

We flew toward Maragheh. It is near Bonab. We landed at the Maragheh garrison. The garrison personnel and their families gave an orderly and enthusiastic welcome. Without stopping we went toward Maragheh. The street welcome and the gathering of the people of Maragheh was very huge and a part was broadcast live on radio. Eight kilometers of dense rows and enthusiastic people around the street were such that I could not see the surrounding walls.

Many times my car became covered with flowers, which the guards constantly collected, and various flowers entered through the open window on my side. Once they threw so many flowers that the wind scattered their dry petals and it got into my eye too. I cried for a while. In the Tabriz welcome too, once a lit cigarette fell on my lap and made a hole in my aba and qaba too. The guards had seen it and picked it up. I had not noticed. Later, when I saw the burns, I was surprised and asked the guards. Mr. Khavid said it was from the cigarette fire.

Many things happen where the people's hands come close to me to show affection, and they also strike a blow; because of the sweetness of the scenes I endure it. Repeatedly they take my hand while the car is moving. On this trip, two or three times my hand and arm were injured but those around me did not notice. The guards, who see this situation as incompatible with protection and it is not right either, are very hard on themselves. After all, passing in front of tens of thousands of people, with close contact and without protection, their hands also reach, is not without danger; but because of the positive social effects, I accept this danger.

In the huge gathering of the people of Maragheh, I said that the Mongols and Khajeh Nasir al-Din Tusi, who chose this place as the capital, had good taste. The people became very happy with this remark and expressed much feeling. Mr. Sharqi, the Friday prayer leader, and Mr. Ahmad Ziaei, the governor, gave good remarks and gave positive reports, comparing the services of the revolution, especially the First Plan, with the past, and raised their demands. I too gave an encouraging speech. I was under the influence of the magnificence of the welcome and the attractiveness of the natural conditions of Maragheh.

Due to the delay in the crowd of people, we could not visit the Construction Jihad carpet exhibition that was there, and by car we went to the site of the Alavian Dam, five kilometers north of Maragheh. Lunch and prayer and rest, and then hearing the report of the minister and the managers of the Ministry of Energy about the water situation of the province and the status of the dam were carried out. Of the 15 billion cubic meters of rainfall in the province, 9 billion cubic meters evaporate and less than one billion cubic meters is used in the current situation, and the rest of the water pours into the Caspian Sea and Lake Urmia. With the extraction of more than two billion cubic meters from the underground sources, which is the water control program, they will control more than two billion cubic meters more. This dam has been built at a cost of about fifty million dollars and six billion tomans. We went beside the dam. The filling with water has begun and the earthworks continue to complete the dam and it will be completed in three months. The builder is Iranian.

We returned to the city. We visited the rural carpet exhibition of the Jihad. It is very huge. They gave a report on the works and quality of the province's rural carpet. By car we went eight kilometers south of Maragheh; on a narrow and interesting dirt road, among the dense and green trees of walnut and oleaster and grape, beside the industrial estate, the groundbreaking for the paper factory took place. The poplar wood of the region has been used for paper production. I spoke to the large crowd of surrounding villagers who had gathered and we heard the report of Messrs. Nematzadeh and Engineer Shabiri. The factory is from the private sector.

We flew toward Bonab and on the shore of Lake Urmia, we visited and inaugurated the nuclear research center that has recently been established, with the explanations of Engineer Reza Amrollahi and Dr. Rasoul Seddiqi; they did not have anything important. Until the semi-industrial pilot was ready, it was the irradiation of onions and potatoes and a plan for the cultivation and growth of the only living creature in Lake Urmia, which is a kind of small shrimp called Artemia. They hope to be able to cultivate a larger type through genetic modification. They have also collected articles about this. We visited the lake shore. It seemed to me that with Mr. Seddiqi's influence, this center has gone there.

We went to the site of the construction of the 650-megawatt steam power plant that is to be obtained from China. The electricity manager gave explanations. They have bought the land from the farmers at one million tomans per hectare, which seemed expensive to me, and in terms of location too, due to the possibility of being damaged by the possible future enemy, which is Iraq, it is not suitable. I gave a reminder. It was arranged to investigate more.

The next program was supposed to be the ceremony for the start of the executive work of the Sahand Dam beside Hashtrud, but due to the many delays, I sent Mr. Hossein Marashi, [the head of the President's office], for the program and I myself went straight to Hashtrud. The huge gathering of the people of Hashtrud was astonishing and the anthem of the children of the martyrs and Basij was also very interesting. Due to the shortage of time and the approach of sunset, I too kept my speech short and made numerous promises of help.

Hashtrud, despite having eight water-rich rivers and abundant land, is one of the deprived regions and recently, with my help, it has found good momentum. We decided that by using the resources and with the sprinkler irrigation method, we would turn the rainfed lands, which are mainly hilly, into irrigated ones; in the way we did in Kermanshah. I announced it to the people, they became very happy; it is an important work.