Reporting by PMOI/MEK
Iran, March 1, 2021—Sunday saw another day of protests in Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan province. The protests began on Monday, after the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) opened fire and killed fuel porters in Saravan county, near the Iran-Pakistan border. Dozens of the impoverished fuel porters were killed and injured in the incident. Images and videos posted on social media showed dense presence of IRGC forces along with heavy artillery and tanks.
Since this brutal attack, protests have erupted in several cities and towns across Sistan and Baluchestan and have continued throughout the week.
On Sunday night, the people of Meh Gas blocked the entrance to their town in protest to the killing of the fuel traders. The protests continued in this and other towns and cities of Sistan and Baluchestan despite heavy security measures by the regime.
In Suran, the citizens blocked the Suran-Naser Abad road.
The situation in this town is very tense and there’s a heavy presence of security forces. The people of this town have been holding protests throughout the week. Security forces have cracked down on protesters but have not been able to deter them from coming back to the streets.
The regime has dispatched security forces to Sistan and Baluchestan from neighboring provinces, but the protests continue in many towns.
Another town that has seen continued protests in the past days is Mir Javeh. On Sunday, the citizens of this town blocked roads by setting tires on fire and they tore and burned posters of Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of the mullahs’ regime, and Ruhollah Khomeini, the regime’s founder.
Support by Resistance Units
The Iranian Resistance Units, the network of the Iranian opposition inside Iran, organized vast activities in solidarity with the protests in Saravan. On February 28, in Isfahan, the Resistance Units installed huge posters of the Iranian Resistance leaders in the city. They installed posters of the Iranian Resistance leader Massoud Rajavi with the slogan “In the struggle of the country’s destiny, either death or freedom.” They also installed a poster of Maryam Rajavi, the president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) that read “Despair is the will of the mullahs and we must rebel against it.”
In other cities, such as Shiraz, Kerman, Tabriz, Kermanshah, Goshneh (Sistan and Baluchistan), Shahriar, Kordestan, and Shahroud, the Resistance Units took to graffiti and installed handwritten slogans in public places. Their slogans read, “Saravan is not alone,” and “Hail to the brave people of Saravan who stood against tyranny and religious dictatorship,” which shows the solidarity of the whole population for the protesters in Baluchestan.
They also installed anti-regime slogans targeting the regime’s Supreme leader Ali Khamenei. “Down with Khamenei, down with the IRGC,” “The mullahs will pay for the ongoing bloodshed,” and “Hail to Maryam Rajavi,” the slogans read in part.
In a video message sent out of Baneh, a city in Kurdistan province, a young man called for national solidarity with the people of Saravan. He said:
“In the name of God and the brave people of Iran. I’m a member of the Resistance Units. Hail to the MEK inside Iran and the rebels and fighters of Baluchestan who stood against tyranny and religious dictatorship and taught its mercenaries a lesson. I ask all our compatriots, from Bakhtiraris, Turkmen, Gilaks, and Turks to rise up in solidarity with Baluchistan and overthrow this usurping and murderous regime. Iran and the Middle East will not see peace as long as this fundamentalist regime is in power. We must stand side by side to overthrow the mullahs’ regime. Down with the regime of the Supreme Leader, and hail to those who fight against Khamenei.”
The Resistance Units are an organized network of brave men and women, supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) who are dedicated to the cause of freedom and democracy in Iran. They risk their lives every day to spread the message of the Resistance and campaign to overthrow the mullahs’ regime.
