Reporting by PMOI/MEK
Iran, March 3, 2021—In various cities across the country the network of the Iranian opposition inside Iran, the Resistance Units organized a vast campaign in support of the protests in Sistan and Baluchistan province.
In recent days, the Resistance Units installed huge posters of the Iranian Resistance leaders in Tehran, Mashhad, Zanjan, and Shiraz. They installed posters of the Iranian Resistance leader Massoud Rajavi with the slogan “The uprising of the people in Baluchistan is the uprising of all the Iranian people.” They also installed a poster of Maryam Rajavi, the president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) that read “The rebels will overthrow the regime; Baluchistan is not alone.” This is while the regime punishes any form of support for the MEK with heavy sentences.
“Khamenei is a murderer, and his rule is illegitimate,”
In other cities, such as Yazd, Qazvin, Behbahan, Sari, Ahvaz, Arak, Shahriar, Shahre Kord, Khash, Ilam, Rasht, Dezful, Shahre Rey, and Shahre Quds, the Resistance Units took to graffiti and installed handwritten slogans in public places. Their slogans read, “The victims of Saravan are martyrs fallen for freedom,” “In the struggle of the country’s destiny, either death or freedom,” “Rise up to overthrow the regime of the Supreme Leader,” “Khamenei is a murderer, and his rule is illegitimate,” “The Supreme Leader’s end is near,” and “Down with Khamenei, hail to Rajavi, hail to freedom.”
Protests began in Saravan, Sistan and Baluchestan province, after the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) opened fire and killed fuel porters in Saravan county, near the Iran-Pakistan border. Images and videos posted on social media showed dense presence of IRGC forces along with heavy artillery and tanks.
Protests have spread across the Sistan and Baluchestan province since the incident. The regime has cut off internet access to prevent the news of the protests from spreading. According to reports obtained from the locals, security forces have gunned down dozens of protesters and have arrested many others.
For many of the impoverished people of Sistan and Baluchestan, transferring small amounts of fuel across the border and selling it to customers has become the only means of earning their keep and supporting their families. The reason they live this way is more than four decades of regime corruption and discrimination against the Baluch minority. The regime’s security forces attack and kill them regularly under the pretext of fighting smuggling. Meanwhile, the regime’s own security forces control a huge fuel-smuggling network that dwarfs the activities of the fuel porters of Sistan and Baluchestan.
Since the protests began, there has been an outpouring of support for the Baluch people, especially by the Resistance Units. 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.
They had a major impact on the uprisings of last year. Many regime officials, including Ali Khamenei, have acknowledged MEK’s growth and expansion of activities inside Iran in the past two years. The MEK’s internal network has been the driving force of protests and they played a leading role in the uprisings of January 2018, November 2019, and January 2020.
On March 2, the Iranian Intelligence Ministry warned of the growing influence of the MEK in the society that quickly turned any protest into anti-regime demonstrations.
