Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – June 8, 1981

Today, because of the suspension of the newspapers, I expected that incidents might occur, even in the Parliament. We had a public session. Nothing important happened.

The liberals held a meeting of their own, and several of them wrote a letter of protest and raised objections. The President published his protests in a publication called “The President’s Message,” including his record of achievements and statements. They called for a demonstration. A large crowd did not gather, only about five hundred people, who were dispersed by a small group of Hezbollahis. They also wanted to close the bazaar, but suffered a major defeat.

In Hamadan as well, where the President had taken refuge in his hometown, they did not provide him with meaningful support. In Shiraz, Dr. [Ibrahim] Yazdi was beaten by Hezbollahis, and I condemned this action in the Parliament.

Today, the Imam delivered a strong and interesting speech and left nothing unsaid; he supported the prosecutor’s action, threatened the opponents, emphasized the validity of the laws, and used the terms “dictator” and “Mohammad Reza Pahlavi” in referring to those who opposed the law. I think he completely deprived the opponents of the grounds for making statements and taking action and left them stunned.

Ahmad Agha, with the Imam’s approval, is preparing the groundwork for fundamental changes in the Army command and has summoned Mr. Khamenei, who is on the southern front, to Tehran for this purpose.

In the afternoon, a group of two hundred women, nurses and hospital nursing staff from Khuzestan, came to see me. I spoke to them. They were chanting Hezbollah slogans. It was interesting.

In the afternoon, we had a consultative meeting at the Judicial Council with the members of the Council and the Prime Minister’s Office. We reviewed the current situation, outlined the course of action for the future, and put the Revolutionary Guards and the Committees on alert as a precaution. A debate between Bani-Sadr and others concerning the budget was supposed to be broadcast. At his own suggestion, and with our agreement, it was postponed.

Until late at night, no important incident was reported. Things are going very well, and the opponents had not expected to be this weak and to have so little support.