2006年VOA标准英语-Rwanda Orders Closure of French Embassy in Kiga

By Cathy Majtenyi
Nairobi
24 November 2006

Rwanda broke off diplomatic ties with France on Friday in protest at a French judge's call for President Paul Kagame to stand trial over the killing¹ of a former leader, the event which unleashed² the country's genocide. For VOA, Cathy Majtenyi reports from Nairobi.

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Nine presidential aides stand accused of murder and being an accessory to murder in the April 1994 downing of an airplane carrying the then-Hutu president of Rwanda and the president of Burundi.

That incident was to spark 100 days of bloodshed in which Hutu extremists killed an estimated 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus.

Rwandans demonstrate in the streets of Kigali over arrest warrants issued by French Judge Jean-Louis Bruguiere, 23 Nov. 2006

Rwanda has vehemently³ denied the allegations. More than 20,000 Rwandans took to the streets in the capital Kigali Thursday to protest the warrants.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Charles Murigande says France was "deeply involved" in the genocide, and it is guilt⁴ and a desire for power that is behind the warrants.

"The aim of France is to overthrow⁵ our government and bring back to power those who committed genocide because they were their allies," he said.

France has repeatedly denied having a role in the genocide.

Meanwhile, French Judge Bruguiere maintains that only the Rwandan Patriotic⁶ Front, or RPF, headed by then General Kagame, had missiles capable of shooting down the airplane to wrest⁷ power from the government in office.

At the U.N.'s Tanzanian-based International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda earlier this week, the Association of Defense⁸ Lawyers released a statement backing the French judge's report.

According to the association, during peace talks leading up to the April 6 downing of the plane, the Tutsi RPF committed many atrocities⁹ as it built up its power base.

Association president Peter Erlinder explains.

"During the discussions of peace and the Arusha Accords, Paul Kagame was building up his military for the final offensive, and there's much evidence of huge amounts of material being brought into Rwanda during the time that peace was supposed to be in the offing," he said. "They [RPF] were losing politically. They had military dominance, but they were politically weaker. So by the first of April Paul Kagame ordered the assassination¹⁰ and final assault."

The association has called on the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda to begin war crimes proceedings¹¹ against Kagame himself.

1 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

2 unleashed   

v.把（感情、力量等）释放出来，发泄( unleash的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The government's proposals unleashed a storm of protest in the press. 政府的提案引发了新闻界的抗议浪潮。
• The full force of his rage was unleashed against me. 他把所有的怒气都发泄在我身上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 vehemently   

adv. 热烈地

参考例句：

• He argued with his wife so vehemently that he talked himself hoarse. 他和妻子争论得很激烈，以致讲话的声音都嘶哑了。
• Both women vehemently deny the charges against them. 两名妇女都激烈地否认了对她们的指控。

4 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

5 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

6 patriotic   

adj.爱国的，有爱国心的

参考例句：

• His speech was full of patriotic sentiments.他的演说充满了爱国之情。
• The old man is a patriotic overseas Chinese.这位老人是一位爱国华侨。

7 wrest   

n.扭，拧，猛夺；v.夺取，猛扭，歪曲

参考例句：

• The officer managed to wrest the gun from his grasp.警官最终把枪从他手中夺走了。
• You wrest my words out of their real meaning.你曲解了我话里的真正含义。

8 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

9 atrocities   

n.邪恶，暴行( atrocity的名词复数 )；滔天大罪

参考例句：

• They were guilty of the most barbarous and inhuman atrocities. 他们犯有最野蛮、最灭绝人性的残暴罪行。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The enemy's atrocities made one boil with anger. 敌人的暴行令人发指。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

11 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼