VOA常速英语2007-Liberia's Truth and Reconciliation Commission Re

By Kari Barber
Dakar
27 October 2007

Liberia's Truth and Reconciliation¹ Commission has again started gathering² testimony³ about atrocities⁴ committed during the nation's civil wars ending in 2003 and the years leading up to the wars. The commission began its work in October 2006, but had to halt the probe in November because of a lack of funds. Kari Barber reports from Dakar that while some say they are happy the commission is back in operation, others say a reconciliation commission is not enough, they want a war crimes court.

Dozens of Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) investigators⁵ have dispersed⁶ across the countryside to collect testimonies⁷ about abuses, murders and rapes⁸ that happened during more than two decades of civil conflict.

A year after their initial launch, the TRC was able to begin work again after receiving funds from the United Nations Development Program and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

TRC Executive Director Nathaniel Kwabo says now he just hopes Liberians will come forward.

"Now with the TRC process, it has given us the opportunity to really look the bull in the eye and tell ourselves, 'This is what we did. This is where we were in the wrong. Can we exercise the ghosts of the past and move ahead?'" he said.

Kwabo says the purpose of the TRC is to establish the groundwork for reconciliation and to face problems that have plagued the war-battered nation.

"We have always swept our problems under the rug," he added.  "This is evident by the fact that we had 14 or more peace agreements since the war started. That means we never grappled, we never confronted the conflict."

Paul Solomon of Monrovia, a victim of the violence, came to give his testimony to the commission.

"My wife was killed right in front of me by those rebels, criminals," he said.

Solomon says the men who killed his wife still walk the streets free.

"I feel so bad and hurt, it pains me a lot to see them passing around," he added.

He says although giving his testimony helps, he wants the men who killed his wife to be punished.

"I hope justice can take its course and I will be happy, satisfied that those criminals who killed my wife - my beloved wife - will be brought to justice," he said.

Chairman for the Forum⁹ for the Establishment of a War Crimes Tribunal Mulbah Morlue says a truth commission does not go far enough to bring justice to the victims. The commission is not a court and is not designed to judge those who have committed crimes.

He says those guilty of war crimes and human rights abuses should face trial.

"The TRC cannot put in place a deterrence¹⁰ measure that will avert¹¹ the occurrence of war," he explained.  "We are not only talking about crimes that were committed in the last several years of decadence¹², but we are concerned about putting an end to the impunity¹³ so that we can live in perpetual peace and a stabilized¹⁴ democratic environment."

The TRC, styled after a similar commission in South Africa, was part of a 2003 peace agreement. After gathering testimonies, the next step for the commission will be to hold public hearings to allow people to talk about what they have done and what they have suffered.

Former Liberia President Charles Taylor is on trial for war crimes in The Hague. Taylor is accused of masterminding and funding Liberia and neighboring Sierra Leone's intertwined civil wars through the use of conflict diamonds.

1 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

2 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

3 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

4 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》

5 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》

6 dispersed   

adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的

参考例句：

• The clouds dispersed themselves. 云散了。
• After school the children dispersed to their homes. 放学后，孩子们四散回家了。

7 testimonies   

（法庭上证人的）证词( testimony的名词复数 )； 证明，证据

参考例句：

• Davie poured forth his eloquence upon the controversies and testimonies of the day. 戴维向他滔滔不绝地谈那些当时有争论的问题和上帝的箴言。
• Remove from me reproach and contempt; for I have kept thy testimonies. 22求你除掉我所受的羞辱和藐视，因我遵守你的法度。

8 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

9 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

10 deterrence   

威慑，制止； 制止物，制止因素； 挽留的事物； 核威慑

参考例句：

• An extreme school of "disarmers" pronounced stable deterrence was a dangerous deception. “裁军论者”中的极端派声称，稳定的威摄是一种危险的骗局。
• Escalation is thus an aspect of deterrence and of crisis management. 因此逐步升级是威慑和危机处理的一个方面。

11 avert   

v.防止，避免；转移(目光、注意力等)

参考例句：

• He managed to avert suspicion.他设法避嫌。
• I would do what I could to avert it.我会尽力去避免发生这种情况。

12 decadence   

n.衰落，颓废

参考例句：

• The decadence of morals is bad for a nation.道德的堕落对国家是不利的。
• His article has the power to turn decadence into legend.他的文章具有化破朽为神奇的力量。

13 impunity   

n.(惩罚、损失、伤害等的)免除

参考例句：

• You will not escape with impunity.你不可能逃脱惩罚。
• The impunity what compulsory insurance sets does not include escapement.交强险规定的免责范围不包括逃逸。

14 stabilized   

v.（使）稳定， （使）稳固( stabilize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The patient's condition stabilized. 患者的病情稳定下来。
• His blood pressure has stabilized. 他的血压已经稳定下来了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》