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Iranian protesters are being systematically put down by the nation's absolute Islamic rulers. It isn't likely their cause can be significantly helped by criticism from other nations. As U.S. President Obama understood quickly, whatever objections he made about the brutality of the suppression gave Iran's totalitarian government valuable worldwide propaganda benefits. Any U.S. criticism of Iran is loudly proclaimed to be interference with the internal affairs of a sovereign nation.

The religious and political leaders of Iran further accused the U.S. of encouraging revolt. This tactic has been used before. For instance, twenty years ago, Communist China brutally suppressed a student-led democracy movement that was centered in the capital city of Beijing's Tiananmen Square. As with the recent demonstrations in Tehran, the Communist Chinese forces killed and jailed hundreds, perhaps thousands, of protesters, most of them young students.

One of the most striking photos that came from the 1989 tragedy in Beijing involved a six-foot replica of the Statue of Liberty made by students, to be later destroyed by Chinese military forces. That symbol of American freedom gave the Beijing government propaganda ammunition to blame the U.S. for encouraging the protests and deadly riots. If Iranian marches continue, and there is escalating violence, it too will be blamed on the U.S.

In 1989, the Chinese Communist government was all powerful, as are today's Iranian rulers, and demonstrations by a relatively small group of students was easily put down. The protesters in Iran had no outside help except for some ineffectively distant verbal sympathy from American and other democracies. It was also reminiscent of the 1956 Hungarian uprising, when students made desperately futile last minute radio appeals to world democracies as Soviet tanks were arriving to kill them. If Iranian dissidents find themselves in a similarly hopeless situation, the best they can hope for will be pious words of regret from the U.S. and others in the world community.

It was quite obvious, brave and bold as it was, the cause of Iranian dissidents was doomed from the start. A similar ongoing protest in China is being put down quickly and brutally. Because of Chinese government's absolute control of the press, there has been very little information reaching the outside world.

When at least 150 Chinese dissidents were killed while protesting in Urumqi, Xinjiang province during the first week of July 2009, American news media ignored it because it was covering more important happenings. There was enormous press coverage of the death of Michael Jackson and resignation of Sarah Palin. To the world media, the protests in Iran were already old news.

Will the Iranian street demonstrations be silenced by its totalitarian government? Of course it will, and once again, America and the rest of the world community will stand by in ineffective admiration for the brave, doomed protesters.

Learn more about this author, Ted Sherman.
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