TEHRAN/ROME, 20 June 2003 — A hard-line Iranian militia vowed yesterday to defend the establishment against student protests that continued for the ninth day on Wednesday night as three men set themselves on fire in Europe to protest a French crackdown on the People’s Mujahedeen.
The Basij militia said in a statement that the student protests had been provoked by the “Great Satan” Washington which was using its “mercenaries” to challenge Iran’s Islamic leaders.
The official IRNA news agency quoted the statement as saying: “We pledge to defend the sacred Islamic establishment and its achievements as we would our own lives, and will never cease this sacred battle even for a moment.”
The Basij, loyal to supreme leader Ali Khamenei and trained and equipped by the Revolutionary Guards, were out in force in several areas of Tehran on Wednesday night as the protests appeared to be running out of steam.
In the working class eastern suburb of Tehran Pars, riot police stood at key intersections and militia men scrutinized the occupants of hundreds of cars carrying would-be protesters.
The heavy security presence, which follows rampaging attacks on demonstrators by vigilantes wielding batons, knives and chains on Friday night, appeared to be working.
In Rome, two Iranians set themselves ablaze outside the French Embassy, suffering severe burns to their legs and chests, but their lives were not in danger as firefighters immediately doused the flames engulfing them.
Another man was in critical condition after setting himself alight during a pro-Mujahedeen protest in the Swiss capital Bern.
The incidents brought to eight the number of people who have set themselves on fire since Tuesday’s raids, in which more than 1,200 officers swooped in on 13 sites northwest of Paris linked to the People’s Mujahedeen — classified as a terrorist group by the United States, the European Union and Iran.
