2007年VOA标准英语-Protests Mark Guantanamo Anniversary

By Sean Maroney
Washington
12 January 2007

Human rights groups held demonstrations¹ in the United States and elsewhere Thursday to protest the detention² of terrorism suspects at the U.S. facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. This week marks five years since the detention center opened. VOA's Sean Maroney reports from Washington.

Guantanamo protesters demonstrate in front of White House

Hundreds of protesters packed the sidewalk at the foot of the U.S. Supreme³ Court, demanding that the United States close its Guantanamo Bay prison shouting "What do we want? Justice! When do we want it now? Now!" and in Spanish "Que queremos? Justicia! Cuando? Ahora!"

The prison opened five years ago in the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States and after the start of the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan.

U.S. officials say the prison's purpose is to hold and question enemy combatants as part of the war on terror.

However, of the nearly 800 detainees the center has held, only 10 have faced charges.

Amnesty International's Larry Cox told the crowd the United States cannot continue to detain people indefinitely. "There's no evidence that we have been made safer. But there is growing evidence, every single day,- that the U.S. government's moral authority and its ability to advance human rights have been severely⁴ diminished," he said.

Gitanjali Gutierrez, a lawyer with the Center for Constitutional Rights, has visited the prison and talked to its inmates⁵. "I stand here as one of few civilian⁶ individuals who has been able to go to Guantanamo and sit across a table with a man who is shackled⁷ to the floor, who's been held for five years and has had very little contact with his family. Some of us have had to tell men about the death of their parents over these five years, about the birth of children that they have not seen and in some cases, about the death of a child," he said.

In a separate protest, authorities arrested nearly 100 protesters inside a Washington federal courthouse. The protesters wore orange jumpsuits such as those worn by Guantanamo detainees and demanded the release of the prisoners.

Other small protests against the U.S. detention center took place in Australia, Cuba and Britain.

1 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

2 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

3 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

4 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

5 inmates   

n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• One of the inmates has escaped. 被收容的人中有一个逃跑了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The inmates were moved to an undisclosed location. 监狱里的囚犯被转移到一个秘密处所。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

7 shackled   

给（某人）带上手铐或脚镣( shackle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The hostage had been shackled to a radiator. 当时人质被铐在暖气片上。
• He was shackled and in darkness of torment. 他被困在黑暗中备受煎熬。