Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani's Memoirs - November 29, 2002

  In Venezuela, the pressure of the opposition of the president has increased and he has become passive.  The opposition has intensified the pressure, but the Supreme Court has opposed their request for a referendum and their nationwide strike plan has not been successful.

Full text of the newspaper:

In the meeting of the [expediency of the system] forum, the discussion on the general policies of the administration began.  It has important issues and will continue.  In the evening, about 200 Basij professors from universities came.  They said that they formalized the organization [Mobilization of the country's professors] and they have about 3,000 requests for membership, but the Ministry of Science is stopping them.  [Mr. Ali Rezaei, Kargar Novin, Bazarafshan, Motkan, Ibrahim Koni, Jafari Harandi, Ahmadi and Taheri], eight professors raised questions and mainly expressed their displeasure with the anti-revolution movement and differences.  I answered the questions and said, the system expects more from Basij professors and students than what they do, and you are more and more powerful than the opposition people.  Iftar was my guest.  

In Afghanistan, the American forces were ambushed in the east of the country and 40 people were killed and wounded, and one of their bases was also attacked by a missile.  

In Venezuela, the pressure of the opposition of the president has increased and he has become passive.  The opposition has intensified the pressure, but the Supreme Court has opposed their request for a referendum, and their general strike plan has not been successful.  

International Quds Day demonstrations were held in many countries.  In Australia, a huge demonstration was held against the US military policy in Iraq, and Mr. Lamberto Dini, the speaker of the Italian parliament and former prime minister, made sharp attacks on Israel and [Ariel] Sharon and called him an aggressor and a merciless bloodshed, a violator of UN resolutions and an obstacle to peace.  

The anti-revolutionary radios, [Voice of] America and BBC, are upset with yesterday's segments of my Friday prayer and the revelation of colonialism's tricks in Palestine, and they have said that some of the military industries that they have shown in the past are not in their proper place at the moment.  [George] Bush, [President of the United States of America] warned Saddam not to waste time and deceive the investigators.