Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – March 1, 1983

Early in the morning I went to Mehrabad Airport to welcome the Algerian guests. They arrived exactly at the scheduled time of 8:15 on a Lufthansa flight. The welcoming ceremony was held, and the Speaker of the Algerian Parliament read a statement he had prepared from a written text in the airport hall. I also gave a brief speech.

A group from the Parliament's presiding board and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had also come. I accompanied them to the Azadi Hotel. They went to rest, and I came to Parliament. Dr. Mohammad Ali Hadi Najafabadi, chairman of the Foreign Policy Commission, was put in charge of accompanying and hosting them. While Mr. Yazdi was presiding over the session, I attended it. The village physician bill was under discussion, and both the Ministries of Science and Health opposed it; the Health Commission had also rejected it, but it was approved.

I attended the Budget Commission. Some members were murmuring about rejecting the budget bill because of what they called an invisible budget deficit, which they claimed was around one hundred billion tomans. I spoke and drew their attention to the political harm such a move would cause. Considering the war, it was effective; God willing, it will not be rejected. The issue of falling oil prices, which arrogance and reactionary forces are working hard to bring about, is not without influence on this hesitation.

At noon Mr. Abdolkarim Shar'i, the representative from Darab, came and complained about the Supreme Judicial Council. He also criticized me for my economic positions against the wealthy and my criticism of those who support the wealthy, but he was satisfied after some explanations. He wanted help with the budget of the Supreme Council for Propagation, and I also offered some advice. In the afternoon, officials from the Ministry of Posts, Telegraphs, and Telephones came. They gave an encouraging report on the progress of their work. I also spoke. The head of the Atomic Energy Organization came and was unhappy about the opposition of some people from Bushehr. We agreed to hold a meeting.

A group of professors from the medical school came and complained about the lack of attention given to medical professors and offered suggestions. Then a group of the editors of the Zan-e Rooz magazine came and spoke candidly about their concerns. They asked me to speak about the family in Friday prayers. It is interesting that even the mass media resort to Friday prayers for publicity. We agreed that I would give them an interview.

The Algerian delegation were Parliament's guests that evening. They arrived at seven o'clock and were astonished that the carpet and jewelry museums had remained preserved through the Revolution. After the formalities, the Speaker of the Algerian Parliament spoke for more than an hour. He explained Algeria's policies, defended their weak points in dealing with the Palestine issue, reactionary forces, and Iraq, and presented proposals for preventing division at the Non-Aligned Conference. We then went to the dinner table. The Prime Minister and a number of ministers had also come. During dinner, he and I had a brief conversation about cooperation between the two revolutions for shared goals. They toured the Parliament hall and then returned to the hotel to rest, and after preparing a gift for them—from among the gifts that Parliament had prepared for guests during the previous regime—we went home.