When we see footage of nonviolent protesters being brutally beaten by police and militia members, it is painful to deliver the message that, if history is a guide, continued street protest will make the difference between Iran being like Myanmar or, possibly, like Czechoslovakia. Time and again, when mass street protest has been sustained for more than a week or two, a regime – even one that has begun beating and arresting protesters –eventually finds it practically and psychologically difficult to sustain its hold.
当我们看到和平示威的人们被警察和民兵残酷殴打时，就应该在悲痛之中传达这么一种信息，那就是如果历史可以借鉴的话，坚持不断的示威将令伊朗的局势发展有别于缅甸甚至是捷克斯洛伐克。历史一次又一次地证明，当大规模街头示威能持续一个星期或者两个——即使是那些开始殴打和逮捕示威者的政权也会在事实和心理上感到坐立不安