Ali Akbar
Abdolrashidi
This is the website of an aging Iranian journalist who wishes to share his experience.
TV Interviews
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S. Mohammad Khatami
I interviewed President S. M. Khatami of the Islamic Republic of Iran (1997-2005) twice in his two terms of presidency. The fist interview was conducted few weeks after his victory in the first elections more on his plans and strategy. The second interview focused more on his economic performance.
President Ahmadi Nejad
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (born on August 13, 1926) first attracted attention in Cuban political life through nationalist critiques of Batista and United States corporate and political influence in Cuba. He gained an ardent, but limited, following and also drew the attention of the authorities. He eventually led the failed 1953 attack on the Moncada Barracks, after which he was captured, tried, incarcerated and later released. He then travelled to Mexico to organize and train for the guerrilla invasion of Cuba that took place in December 1956. Since his assumption of power in 1959 he has evoked both praise and condemnation (at home and internationally). Outside of Cuba, Castro has been defined by his relationship with both the United States and with the former Soviet Union. Ever since the failed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in 1961 by the United States, the Castro-led government has had an openly antagonistic relationship with the U.S., and a simultaneous closeness with the Soviet bloc. This was true until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, after which his priorities shifted from supporting foreign interventions to partnering with regional socialist figures such as Hugo Chávez in Venezuela and Evo Morales in Bolivia.
Domestically, Fidel Castro has overseen the implementation of various economic policies which saw the rapid centralization of Cuba's economy, land reform, collectivization of agriculture, and the nationalization of leading Cuban industries. The expansion of publicly funded health care and education has been a cornerstone of Castro's domestic social agenda. Some credit these policies for Cuba's relatively high Human Development Index rating. Others see Castro and his policies as being responsible for Cuba's general economic depredation, and harshly criticize him for the criminalization of political dissent, free speech, and provoking hundreds of thousands of Cubans into fleeing the country.
Russian Astronauts, MIR Space Station, Star City, Moscow
MIR Space Station in the Moscow Star City was visited in 1989 a few months before its launch. The Russian astronauts were present in this visit who gave a detailed account of the MIR mission. MIR was taken back to Earth after its mission when it was exploded and burnt.
Mir (Мир, which can mean both world and peace in Russian) was a highly successful SovietRussian) orbital station. It was humanity's first consistently inhabited long-term research station in space. Through a number of collaborations, it was made internationally accessible to cosmonauts and astronauts of many different countries. Mir was assembled in orbit by successively connecting several modules, each launched separately from February 19, 1986 to 1996. The station existed until March 23, 2001, at which point it was deliberately de-orbited, and broke apart during atmospheric re-entry.
Sir Norman Wisdom
Yes, this is the happy Norman. The British well-known comedian who came to my office in London in 1986. He was too happy to control himself not joking and not laughing. It is a unique experience for a journalist to interview a famous comedian among many serious and bitter political ones, isn't it?
Sir Norman Wisdom, OBE (born 4 February 1915) is an English comedian, singer and actor.Norman Wisdom was born in the London district of Marylebone to Frederick and Maude Wisdom. His father was a chauffeur and his mother a dressmaker. After a difficult and poverty-stricken childhood he joined the 10th Hussars and began to develop his talents as a musician and stage entertainer. Wisdom’s mother left when he was nine, and he and his brother were left in the charge of their father. Wisdom ran away from home when he was 11, but returned to become an errand boy with a grocery store on leaving school at 13. Later he was a coal-miner, a waiter, a pageboy and a cabin-boy, before joining the armyIndia. Leaving in 1946, he made his debut as an entertainer at the advanced age of 31 - but his rise to the top was phenomenally fast. A West End star within two years, he made his TV debut the same year and was soon commanding enormous audiences. By this time, he had adopted the suit that would remain his trademark - tweed cap askew with peak turned up, too-tight jacket, barely-better trousers, crumpled collar and tie awry. The character known as "the gump" was to dominate Wisdom's film career.
Sheikh Ahmad Zaki Yamani
Sheikh Zaki Yamani was the most famous oil-man of the 1970s. He was famous for his role in the oil policies including the 1974 oil embargo as well as for his open and charming company. I had interviewed Sheikh Yamani in 1980 in Vienna. But I asked him for another 60 min. interview in 2003, he accepted and received me in his enormous house in Ascot.
Sheikh Ahmed Zaki Yamani (Arabic: ÇáÔíÎ ÃÍãÏ Òßí íãÇäí) (born 1930 in Mecca, Saudi Arabia) was Saudi Arabia's Minister of Oil (Petroleum) and Mineral Resources from 19621986, and a minister in OPEC for 25 years.With a degree from, among other places, Harvard Law School, Yamani became a close adviser to the Saudi government in 1958 and then became oil minister in 1962. He is best known for his role during the 1973 oil embargo, when he spurred OPEC to quadruple the price of crude oil. During that time, Yamani gained a colourful international reputation, known in the West for both diplomatic skills and characteristic goatee. In December 1975, Yamani and several other OPEC ministers were taken hostage by notorious terrorist Carlos (the Jackal) in Vienna, Austria. He was later released after Carlos spent two days riding an airplane across the Middle East even though Carlos was ordered by his superiors to execute Yamani. In October 1986, King Fahd dismissed Yamani as Saudi oil minister. The reasons for this include the Saudi government's insistence on setting their own oil policy. In 1990, he founded the Centre for Global Energy Studies, a market analysis group. Recently, he has condemned the US Invasion of Iraq. Some commentators predict his return to the Saudi government on the passing of King Fahd.
Rajiv Gandhi
I had the chance of meeting and interviewing Rajiv Gandhi three times: the first time when he was the Minister of Information in his mother (Indira Gandhi)'s cabinet in 1983 during the 7th Non-Aligned Movement Summit in New Delhi; the second time in Harare, Zimbabwe during the 8th Non-Aligned Movement Summit (above Photo) and the third time in Belgrade, Yugoslavia in 1989 during the 9th NAM Summit. He was too polite and charming with an excellent Public Relations ability to treat journalist.
Rājiv Ratna Gāndhī (Devanāgarī: राजीव रत्न गान्धी, IPA: [raːdʒiːv gaːnd̪ʰiː]) (August 20, 1944May 21, 1991), the eldest son of Indira and Feroze Gandhi, was the 9th Prime MinisterIndia (and the 3rd from the Gandhi family) from his mother's death on 31 October1984 until his resignation on December 2, 1989 following a general election defeat. Becoming the Prime Minister of India at the age of 40, he is the youngest person to date to hold that office.
Rajiv Gandhi worked as a professional pilot for Indian Airlines before coming into politics. He was married to Edvige Antonia Albina Maino(Sonia Gandhi) , an Italian national he met while in college. He remained aloof from politics despite his mother being the Indian Prime Minister, and it was only following the death of his younger brother Sanjay Gandhi in 1980 that Rajiv was convinced to enter politics. Upon the assassination of his mother in 1984 by radicals tied to the Khalisthan movement, Congress party leaders convinced him to become the new Prime Minister. Rajiv Gandhi led the Congress to a major election victory in 1984 soon after, amassing the largest majority in Parliament. He had the public image of being young, modern and Mr. Clean - an honest leader free of machine politics and corruption. He began dismantling the License Raj - government quotas, tariffs and permit regulations on economic activity - modernized the telecommunications industry, the education system, expanded science and technology initiatives and improved relations with the United States. He also was responsible for sending Indian troops for peace efforts in Sri Lanka, which soon ended in open conflict with the LTTE, which Rajiv refused to pullout and was withdrawn by V.P.Singh . The Bofors scandal broke his honest, corruption-free image and resulted in a major defeat for his party in the 1989 elections. He was awarded the Bharat Ratna posthumously in 1991.
Rajiv Gandhi remained the Congressional leader till the elections in 1991. He was assassinated while campaigning, by a female suicide bomber who sought revenge for his intervention against the LTTE. His Italian-born widow Sonia Gandhi became the leader of the Congress party in 1998, and led the party to victory in the 2004 elections. His son Rahul Gandhi is a member of parliament.
Javier Pres de Quillar
De Quillar was the famous international face of the 1980s. He became more famous when bravely and brilliantly declared Saddam Hussain's Iraq as the initiator of the 8-year-old military aggression against Iran, first ever. His declaration just months before his term of office ends, opened the way for the UN Resolution 598 and the end of the war. I interviewd him several times during the meetings of the UN Security Council and particularly during the Iran-Iraq talks on the implementation of the UN Resolution 598 in Geneva.
Butrus Ghali Dr. Butrus Butrus Ghali, the Egyptian politician and the former UN Secretary General, received me and my crew in his office in the UN Headquarters in NY in 1994. He was very flexible. We discussed major topics of the day. He believed then that the major UN problem was the UN itself. In the 1970s Ghali was famous for his brokering of the Middle East peace process particularly during the period of Anwar Sadat and Camp David Treaty.
Mario Soares Dr Mario Soares was the very able and famous Portuguese politician during the military regime in Lisbon before 1985. He was able to win the first democratic presidential elections in Portugal after the end of the military rule in this country. I was able to meet him in his small but clean and beautiful apartment to discuss his presidential civilian strategy hours after his victory.
Tony Benn
Tony Benn is one of the oldest living British politicians who once during the Labour government of Harold Wilson administered the position of Energy Secretary. He is certainly one of the most famous politicians in Britain for his recent and current anti-tory and even anti-labour controversial comments and positions. After retirement form Parliament he continued his engagement in politics and secured the position of peace campaign leader in Britain and sometimes in other parts of the world. He is against any war and fights for peace. I met him several times in his flat in Holland Park, London.
Edward Shevardnadze Anatoly Ivanovich Lukianov
In the summer of 1989, months before the final collapse of the USSR, E. Shveardnadze was still the Soviet Foreign Minister. After the collapse of the Red Empire, he moved to Georgia and became the President of this former Soviet Repoublic. I met and interviewed him several times including the last one above in Moscow in 1989. In this year, A. Lukianov was President Gorbachev's Deputy and Vice President. He was the one who collaborated with the organizers of the Coup against Gorbachev and betrayed his boss in the last stage of the Soviet power struggle. He was in the scene of this last interview too and I had the chance of talking to him. Eduard Amvrosiyevich Shevardnadze (Georgian: ედუარდ შევარდნაძე, Russian: Эдуа́рд Амвро́сьевич Шевардна́дзе IPA: [ɛduɒ:d amvrɔsijɛvɪtʃ ʃɜ:vadnadzə]) (born 25 January 1928) is a Georgian politician. He served under Mikhail Gorbachev as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union from 1985 to 1990 and was the President of Georgia from 1995 until 23 November 2003, when he resigned in the midst of mounting criticism following disputed parliamentary elections. Shevardnadze's political skills earned him the nickname "Tetri Melia" ("White Fox"), while his former American negotiating partners, George H. W. Bush and Secretary of State James Baker, reportedly preferred to use "Shevvy".
Gaddafi was the youngest child born into a peasant family. He grew up in the desert region of Sirte. He was given a traditional religious primary education and attended the SebhaFezzan from 1956 to 1961. Gaddafi and a small group of friends that he met in this school went on to form the core leadership of a militant revolutionary group that would eventually seize control of the country. Gaddafi's inspiration was Gamal Abdel Nasser, president of neighboring Egypt, who rose to the presidency by appealing to Arab unity. In 1961, Gaddafi was expelled from Sebha for his political activism.
Gaddafi went on to study Law at the University of Libya, where he graduated with high grades. He then entered the Military Academy in Benghazi in 1963, where he and a few of his fellow militants organized a secretive group dedicated to overthrowing the pro-Western Libyan monarchy. After graduating in 1965, he was sent to Britain for further training at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, returning in 1966 as a commissioned officer in the Signal Corps. On September 1, 1969, a small group of military officers led by Gaddafi staged a coup d'état against King Idris I, while he was in Turkey for medical treatment. His nephew the Crown Prince Sayyid Hasan ar-Rida al-Mahdi as-Sanussi became King. It became clear that the revolutionary officers who had announced the deposing of Idris did not want to appoint him over the instruments of state as King, because he complained that his power was far less than that which he had been exercising as Crown Prince on Idris's behalf. Before the end of September 1, King Sayyid Hasan ar-Rida al-Mahdi as-Sanussi had been formally deposed by the revolutionary army officers and put under house arrest; they abolished the monarchy and proclaimed the new Libyan Arab Republic. Gaddafi is referred to in government statements and the official press as the "Brother Leader and Guide of the Revolution."
Unlike other military dictators, Gaddafi did not promote himself to the rank of general Commander-in-Chief of its military, in Gaddafi's own words Libya's utopian society is "ruled by the people", so he needs no more grandiose title or supreme military rank. Also, Gaddafi's remaining a colonel, while assuming control over a country, is not a new concept among dictatorships. Gamal Abdel Nasser remained a colonel after seizing power in Egypt while Jerry Rawlings, dictator of Ghana, held no military rank higher than flight lieutenant.
President Yuveri Mossevini
To interview President of Uganda you do not have any problem of putting your questions in English. His Ugandan-English is very fluent. Mossevini did not hesitate to capitalize on his revolutionary background during which he fought then Kampala government from the bushes and forests. He is quite different from the former Ugandan President Amin. However, similarly he is very nationalist and fond of his country. He invited me to visit Kampala for which I could not spare some time so far.
President Jose Eduardo Dos
In 1989, he was a Marxist-Leninist, as I do not know whether he is still one. But he was more than that. Marxists love Karl Marx. Some of them love Lenin as well. Some others Like F. Angels too. But Jose Eduardo loved Cuban Fidel Castro and Vietnamese Hoshi Minh as well. Large posters of all these people were hanging from the walls, trees and a few tall buildings in Luanda, Angola. However, he was respected by his people.
Professor Akbar Ahmad
Professor Akbar Ahmad is currently the Professor of Ibn Khaldoon Seat in the University of Washington. Prior to that, he was the Professor of Iqbal Lahori Seat in the University of Cambridge. He produced, among others, the most important documentary series for the BBC about Islam in the late 1980s. He has composed many books on Islam including the book "Islam under Siege". I visited him in 2004 when he was launching this last book.Franz Vranitzky
Sir Edward MacMillan Taylor (Teddy Taylor)
Former Conservative MP for Rochford & Southend East, Sir Teddy is always nice and frank. If you call him he would immediately give you and appointment. His clever and efficient secretary always recognizes your voice if you call again. Sir Teddy is a very realistic and pragmatic politician in Westminster, London. He expresses what he believes and never gives up what he really accepts as reality. I met him several times and interviewed him three times. Each time his interview brought the widespread attention of the audience.
Sheikh Isa Bin Salman Al Khalifa
Professor Frederick (Fred) Halliday
Fred Halliday is a well-known and authoritative scholar on Middle Eastern affairs and a professor of international relations at the London School of Economics. He is always open and energetic to talk to you. He takes any question you put to him serious and deserving to be contemplated and answered. He is the first and only scholar who believes that the Third World War had began in 1945 and finished in 1999. Ironically he believes that this War started in northern Iran when Russian Stalinist forces occupied Iran and finished at the end of another war when the Iraqis had occupied a part of Iranian land in southern Iran. I meet him every time I visit London.
Daniel Ortega
Balkans Islamic Leaders
These are the two major and famous Islamic leaders of former Yugoslavia. By 1990s and before the Balkan civil war and disintegration of Yugoslavia they were representing the entire Islamic community of Yugoslavia. When I met them in Zagreb, Croatia, in 1989 they warned the crawling civil war in the Balkans. They were convinced that due to the suppression of Muslims in Yugoslavia by the Serbs the civil war and disintegration was inevitable I am happy that I believed them and reported this warning long before any other journalist believe it.
Farooq Al Sharaa
Neil McGregor
