Flaming protests across Europe

THREE men set themselves on fire in Europe to protest a French crackdown on the People’s Mujahedeen, but the leader of the Iranian opposition group urged supporters to end the spate of self-immolations.

Yesterday in Rome, two Iranians set themselves ablaze outside the French embassy but their lives were not in danger as firefighters immediately doused the flames engulfing them.

Another man was in critical condition after setting himself on fire during a pro-Mujahedeen protest in the Swiss capital Bern, police said.

A woman who set herself on fire in Paris on Wednesday died later of her injuries, judicial sources reported.

The incidents in Rome and Bern 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.

Meanwhile, the US State Department yesterday called the International Atomic Energy Agency's request to Iran to allow stricter inspections of its nuclear facilities a "very positive statement".

Washington has led an intense diplomatic campaign to denounce the dangers of a nuclear programme in Iran, highlighted as one of three countries forming an 'axis of evil', alongside North Korea and Saddam Hussein's Iraq.

Iran, which is building its first civil nuclear facility, is suspected by several countries, including the United States, of seeking to arm itself secretly with atomic weapons.

Tehran rejects those accusations, saying the objective of its nuclear programme is to supply the nation's power generating facilities.

Paris police have banned all demonstrations by the People's Mujahedeen until further notice, but supporters continued to stage impromptu marches, only to be rounded up each time.

The protesters in Paris are demanding the release of Maryam Rajavi, designated by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) an umbrella group dominated by the People's Mujahedeen as the "president-elect" of Iran.

Of the 165 people originally arrested on Tuesday, Rajavi and 21 others were yesterday still in preventive detention in France.

In a message released Thursday by the group, Rajavi urged her fervent supporters not to continue their life-threatening protests, which she said left her "saddened and tormented", calling on them instead to stage peaceful rallies.

French officials have said the People's Mujahedeen intended to make France its base of operations after losing its foothold in Iraq following the US-led victory over the regime of Saddam Hussein.