VOA慢速英语--联合国报告称缅甸将领必须面对正义

UN Report: Myanmar Generals Must Face Justice

United Nations investigators¹ are accusing the military in Myanmar of carrying out numerous crimes last year during its campaign against Rohingya Muslims.

Myanmar’s armed forces carried out mass killings² and rapes³ of Rohingya with “genocidal intent,” the U.N. investigators said. They added that the commander-in-chief and five generals should be tried under international law for the most serious crimes.

In a report, they urged the U.N. Security Council to set up a court to try suspects or send their cases to the International Criminal Court in The Hague. They said that the Security Council should restrict arms to Myanmar and order targeted sanctions to punish individuals most responsible for crimes.

The investigators blamed Myanmar’s de facto leader, Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, for failing to use her “moral authority” to protect civilians⁴. They said her government was partly to blame for the crisis. It accused the government of letting hate speech continue, destroying documents and failing to protect minorities from crimes against humanity and war crimes.

The report also criticized Facebook for letting the world’s largest social media business be used to spread violence and hatred⁵. The company reacted on Monday by announcing that it was blocking 20 Myanmar officials and groups found by the U.N. to have “committed or enabled serious human rights abuses.”

A military spokesman, Major General Tun Tun Nyi, said he could not immediately comment on the U.N. report. He spoke⁶ to the Reuters news agency. The Myanmar government was sent a copy of the report before it was made public.

One year ago, the Arakan Rohingya Salvation⁷ Army attacked 30 Myanmar police stations and a military base. To answer the attacks, government troops launched operations against suspected rebels and their supporters in Rakhine state. About 700,000 Rohingya fled the area to escape the violence. Most are now living in refugee camps in neighboring Bangladesh.

The U.N. report said the military action, which included setting fire to villages, was “disproportionate to actual security threats.”

The U.N. panel said the crimes were “similar in nature” to genocidal crimes in other countries.

Myanmar’s government has rejected most claims of violence made against the security forces by refugees. The government has built centers to help refugees return to the country, but U.N. aid agencies say it is not yet safe for them to do so.

Moral authority

The United Nations defines genocide as acts meant to destroy a national, ethnic⁸, racial or religious group in whole or in part. Such a designation is rare, but has been used in countries such as Bosnia, Rwanda and Sudan.

The U.N. panel also said there was enough information to support “the investigation⁹ and prosecution¹⁰ of senior officials in the (army)” to determine if they were responsible for a genocide.

The head of the panel is Marzuki Darusman of Indonesia. He said that the commander-in-chief of Myanmar’s military, Min Aung Hlaing, should resign until there is an investigation into his part in the violence.

The list of generals also includes Brigadier-General Aung Aung, commander of the 33rd Light Infantry¹¹ Division, which directed operations in the village of Inn Din¹², where 10 Rohingya captive boys and men were killed.

Those killings were discovered by two Reuters reporters, Wa Lone¹³ and Kyaw Soe Oo. They were arrested last December by the government for violating Myanmar’s Official Secrets Act.

A ruling in their trial was expected on Monday, but has been postponed¹⁴ until September 3.

In April, seven soldiers were sentenced to 10 years in prison for taking part in the Inn Din killings.

“Oppression from birth to death”

The U.N. investigators spoke with 875 suspected victims and witnesses in Bangladesh and other countries. They examined documents, videos and satellite images.

Years of state-sponsored discrimination against Rohingya had resulted in “oppression from birth to death,” the report said.

The Rohingya see themselves as native to Rakhine state. They are considered migrants by Myanmar’s Buddhist¹⁵ majority and are denied citizenship¹⁶.

In March, the panel’s members had accused Facebook of permitting it to be used to support violence. The report said the social media company should have acted quicker.

On Monday, Facebook said in a statement: “The ethnic violence in Myanmar has been truly horrific. Earlier this month, we shared an update on the steps we’re taking to prevent the spread of hate and misinformation on Facebook.”

I’m Jonathan Evans.

Words in This Story

intent – n. the thing that you plan to do or achieve

sanctions – n. an action that is taken or an order that is given to force a country to obey international laws by limiting or stopping trade with that country, by not allowing economic aid for that country

de facto – adj. actual; in reality

authority – n. the power to influence opinions or behavior

disproportionate – adj. having or showing a difference that is not fair, reasonable, or expected

panel – n. a group of people who answer questions, give advice or opinions about something, or take part in a discussion for an audience

designation – n. the act of officially choosing someone or something to do or be something

migrant – n. someone who moves from place to place, usually to find work

update – n. current information; an up-to-date version or report

1 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

3 rapes   

n.芸苔( rape的名词复数 )；强奸罪；强奸案；肆意损坏v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的第三人称单数 )；强奸

参考例句：

• The man who had committed several rapes was arrested. 那个犯了多起强奸案的男人被抓起来了。 来自辞典例句
• The incidence of reported rapes rose 0.8 percent. 美国联邦调查局还发布了两份特别报告。 来自互联网

4 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

5 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 salvation   

n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困

参考例句：

• Salvation lay in political reform.解救办法在于政治改革。
• Christians hope and pray for salvation.基督教徒希望并祈祷灵魂得救。

8 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

9 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

10 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

11 infantry   

n.[总称]步兵(部队)

参考例句：

• The infantry were equipped with flame throwers.步兵都装备有喷火器。
• We have less infantry than the enemy.我们的步兵比敌人少。

12 din   

n.喧闹声，嘈杂声

参考例句：

• The bustle and din gradually faded to silence as night advanced.随着夜越来越深，喧闹声逐渐沉寂。
• They tried to make themselves heard over the din of the crowd.他们力图让自己的声音盖过人群的喧闹声。

13 lone   

adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的

参考例句：

• A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤独的海鸥在空中飞过。
• She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空旷的海滩上能看到一个孤独的身影。

14 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

15 Buddhist   

adj./n.佛教的，佛教徒

参考例句：

• The old lady fell down in adoration before Buddhist images.那老太太在佛像面前顶礼膜拜。
• In the eye of the Buddhist,every worldly affair is vain.在佛教徒的眼里，人世上一切事情都是空的。

16 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。