In Sri Lanka, The two proclaimed heroes of Sri Lanka's recently-ended civil war are facing off in the country's presidential election Tuesday. Both openly accuse the other of war crimes. The election is being closely watched by international agencies and donor governments.
斯里兰卡不久前结束的内战中被称为英雄的两位人物星期二将在该国的总统选举中交锋。双方都公开谴责对方犯下了战争罪。斯里兰卡此次选举受到国际机构和捐助国政府的密切关注。
During his final election rally President Mahinda Rajapaksa sat with key political allies and Buddhist monks on a stage replicating an ancient royal palace.
斯里兰卡总统拉贾帕克萨在他最后一次选举集会上和他的关键政治盟友以及佛教僧侣一起坐在一座重建的古代皇家宫殿的高台之上。
Singers praised Mr. Rajapaksa as both a man of the people and a modern day king who vanquished the rebel Tamil Tigers, ending a quarter century of civil war.
歌手们赞颂拉贾帕克萨既是人民的一员，又是一位当今时代的君王，他消灭了泰米尔猛虎反政府武装，结束了斯里兰卡历时四分之一世纪的内战。
The former general to whom others give credit for the military victory, Sarath Fonseka, is the main contender vying to unseat the incumbent. He leads a diverse opposition coalition with seemingly incompatible views on crucial issues. The close contest has gone beyond just nasty political rhetoric alleging war crimes, corruption and incompetence.
其他人则把结束内战的军事胜利归功于退役将军萨拉赛.丰塞卡。他是角逐总统选举、希望把现任总统赶下台的主要竞争者。他领导着一个成员广泛的反对派联盟，这个联盟在关键议题上看来存在和对手截然不同的观点。这场势均力敌的角逐已经不仅仅限于指责对手犯有战争罪，贪污腐败以及不称职的卑鄙政治攻击言辞。
Analyst Pakiasothy Saravanamuttu of the Center for Policy Alternatives says the campaign has seen hundreds of serious acts of violence, including several killings.
另类政策中心的分析人士帕基亚索蒂.沙拉瓦纳姆都表示，这场选战期间已经发生了成百上千起严重的暴力行为，其中包括几起谋杀事件。
"So what it does suggest is that there is a violence embedded in the political culture of the country and that it is a zero-sum political culture. And, therefore, literally, not just metaphorically, parties go to war with each other in an electoral contest," he said.
他说：“这场选战表明，暴力植根于这个国家的政治文化，这是一种零和政治文化。因此，不是比喻，各个党派在一场选举角逐当中是真刀真枪地互相攻击。”
Pakiasothy says a big election day concern is how extensive balloting in Tamil-dominated districts will be disrupted.
帕基亚索蒂说，选举日一个很大的忧虑是，在泰米尔族居多的地区，投票受到干扰的情况会有多普遍。
"The issue here is going to be whether there will be violence and intimidatory activity which will prevent people from getting to polling stations," he said.
他说：“这里的问题将是是否会有阻止人们前往投票站的暴力或者胁迫活动。”
General Fonseka predicts desperate supporters of President Rajapaksa will do exactly that.
丰塞卡将军预计，拉贾帕克萨总统绝望的支持者肯定会那样做。
"They'll come on the road on election day. There will be a lot of violence to intimidate the people, to turn the voters back because there's no other way out for them. They already lost the election," he said.
他说：“他们在选举日那天会来到路上。将会有大量威胁选民、让选民回家的暴力事件发生，因为他们已经到了穷途末路的地步。他们实际上已经输掉了选举。”
Despite the threats, retired Supreme Court Justice C.V. Wigneswaran tells VOA News he has been urging his fellow Tamils to replace the legacy of Tamil rebel bullets with ballots.
尽管有这些威胁，但是退休的前最高法院法官威格尼斯瓦兰告诉美国之音说，他已经敦促泰米尔同胞用选票替换泰米尔反政府武装的子弹遗产。
"Despite all these heavy odds against them, of various groups trying to prevent them [from voting] or even Army collaboration in these matters, they must come forward and go to vote," he said.
他说：“尽管泰米尔选民面对的形势非常不利，很多组织都试图阻止他们去投票，甚至军队都可能参与其中，但是他们必须勇敢地前去投票。”
The former judge says he spurned offers to run for President as a Tamil candidate, saying it is obvious only a Sinhalese can win. He says the former general who waged war on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam is the preferred choice at the ballot box for Sri Lanka's minorities.
Fonseka enjoys support of many of the members of Parliament from the Tamil National Alliance, the political wing of the defeated rebels.
丰塞卡将军得到斯里兰卡议会当中很多来自泰米尔民族联盟议员的支持，这个联盟是被击败的泰米尔反政府武装的政治分支。
In his last speech to supporters before campaigning drew to a close, President Rajapaksa reached out to the hundreds of thousands of Tamils displaced by the blood-filled chaos of the civil war's final months last year.
在竞选活动结束之前，拉贾帕克萨总统最后一次向支持者发表演说，他向由于去年内战最后几个月兵荒马乱的局势而流离失所的数十万泰米尔人发出呼吁。
The President says he will win the hearts of the Tamils in the North and the East and make certain terrorism does not resurface.
拉贾帕克萨总统说，他将赢得斯里兰卡北部和东部泰米尔人的心，让恐怖主义不再重现。
Both Mr. Rajapaksa and his former top general express confidence they will be victorious.
拉贾帕克萨总统和他的前最高军事将领都表示对赢得选举胜利充满信心。
For the challenger, it has been a difficult task to get out his message to the masses.
The international organization Reporters Without Borders says state media, during the campaign, allocated more than 98 percent of its news and current affairs air time to the president. The group says those figures put Sri Lanka in the same league as the regimes in Burma or North Korea. |