18/03/2004 (Agence Europe) - On the eve of the General Affairs Council on 22 March, thousands of Iranians are planning to demonstrate in Brussels to call on the EU for greater firmness in dealing with Teheran. In a press statement, the Friends of a Free Iran announced the demonstration to commemorate Nowrooz, the Day of the Iranian Year, on 21 March. The communiqué denounced the hardening of the Iranian "theocratic regime" towards dissidents.