Memories of Akbar Hashemi - December 4, 2001

After Sheikh Ghorbanali Darvish Najafabadi's public criticism of Seyyed Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi for the arrest of Mohammad Dari, this time the meeting with Hashemi expresses more explicit grievances regarding the manner of arresting individuals related to Shahram Jazayeri Arab and the establishment of the Information Protection Center of the judiciary.

Ahmad Tavakkoli's reception, contrary to Darvish Najafabadi's complaints, for exposing this matter with the green light of the judiciary.

Meeting with Seyyed Mansour Khalili Iraqi and presenting a report on the activities of the University of Tehran.

Meeting with Barham Salih Ahmad, Prime Minister of Jalal Talabani's government.

Iftar with members of the Central Council of the Construction Party and explicit criticisms from Hashemi towards them.

Full text of the daily notes:

Mr. [Ghorbanali] Darvish [Najafabadi] came. He criticized the judiciary's methods and the establishment of security and intelligence measures, as well as the arrest of his son and the sons of Mr. [Morteza] Moqtadai and [Mahmoud] Rastgari, and the nephew of Mr. [Seyyed Mahmoud] Kazemi-Dinani, a member of parliament, regarding the personal case of [Shahram] Jazayeri. He stated that this action undermines the fight against corruption and is intended to prove that the judiciary operates independently, which is accused of pressuring leftists. He mentioned that all allegations against his son are that he made a profit of 27 million tomans in his businesses over several years, which is completely legal and has nothing to do with Mr. Jazayeri's actions, which are said to involve corruption. Conversely, Mr. Ahmad Tavakkoli, in a letter to Mr. [Seyyed Mahmoud Hashemi] Shahroudi, [head of the judiciary], requested him to expose and inform about the case of these individuals.

Mr. [Seyyed Mansour] Khalili [Iraqi], the head of the University of Tehran, came with his deputies. He thanked for the approval and support of the University of Tehran development plan and asked me to continue my moral support. They believe that with the announcement of support, obstacles will be removed. I said that plans like this and the development of the holy shrines in Mashhad and Qom and Baharestan Square have always been supported by me.

In the evening, [Mr. Barham Salih Ahmad], the Prime Minister of Mr. [Jalal] Talabani's government in northern Iraq, arrived. He said that during his trip to America, he negotiated with most American officials. They are determined to remove Saddam and have been thinking about a coup, but now they may act according to the Afghanistan model. The Kurds believe that Iraq's territorial integrity should be preserved, and instead of governing northern Iraq, they should share in a democratic government in Baghdad, and without Iran's cooperation, this is not feasible. The Shia in Iraq constitute 60% of the population, and Iran can play an important role. I asked if he thinks a popular government in Iraq that aligns with America is possible. He did not have a clear answer and did not rule out the possibility that Saddam's alternative might also be a dictator like him.

For iftar, members of the Central Council of the Construction Party were my guests. They expressed concern about the situation and the pressure on the reformist forces, as well as the inefficiency of the parliament and government and the dangerous disputes and conflicts. They believe this struggle will lead to the sidelining of the reformist forces, and the right wing cannot manage the country either. They asked me to help mediate the disputes and activate the country's affairs.

I said that the correct path is to continue the same development and economic cooperation programs among factions in the country and to accept a cross-factional policy that was present in the Construction government. I criticized the Construction Party for forgetting the motivation for forming the party after the second Khordad and said that with the name of construction, you won, but practically forgot construction and did not defend it even in your own newspapers. Therefore, in society, you can be recognized as opportunists seeking positions, and now both the right and left are pressuring you. Discussions were held about possible American plans in the region and the potential danger for Iran, and there was astonishment at the inactivity of Al-Qaeda, despite suffering casualties with all those claims.

The Bonn Conference [to determine the fate of Afghanistan] was completely successful, and the Palestinian crisis has intensified, with shootings occurring daily at the border. Pakistan, although it has compromised and arrested many forces from the Kashmir Mujahideen, including Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Muhammad Movement, even [Atal Bihari Vajpayee], the Prime Minister of India who participated in the Nepal summit, has stated that he is not willing to meet with [Pervez] Musharraf, [the President of Pakistan].