VOA常速英语2007年-Cambodia's Genocide Court Makes Fifth Khmer Rou

By Heda Bayron
Hong Kong
19 November 2007

The ailing¹ former Khmer Rouge² president, Khieu Samphan, has been arrested for his role in Cambodia's mass killings³ in the 1970's and charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity . This is the latest move by an international genocide court to prosecute⁴ the leaders of one of the world's most brutal⁵ regimes. VOA's Heda Bayron reports from our Asia News Center in Hong Kong.

Police removed the 76-year-old Khieu Samphan from a Phnom Penh hospital where the ailing former president was being treated for a stroke.

International court spokesman Reach Sambath said Khieu Samphan was brought to court Monday morning.

"Mr. Khieu Samphan had been arrested with an arrest warrant by the co-investigating judges," Sambath said.

Khieu Samphan is the fifth member of the Khmer Rouge leadership to be placed in court custody⁶. The court has yet to say what charges he faces. Other leaders such as former foreign minister Ieng Sary, arrested last week, have been charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Nearly two million Cambodians died through execution, starvation, disease and hard labor⁷ during the Khmer Rouge's rule from 1975 to 1979. The Khmer Rouge emptied cities and forced people to work in farms to create an agrarian⁸ utopia.

In a new book, Khieu Samphan denied that the Khmer Rouge's policies had been responsible for the mass killings. He said the Khmer Rouge "struggled to defend national sovereignty" and that coercion⁹ was used to make people work in the farms to prevent food shortages.

Other Khmer Rouge leaders have denied committing any crimes. On Tuesday, the court will start pre-trial proceedings¹⁰ against Duch, who ran a prison and torture center in Phnom Penh.

The U.N.-assisted tribunal opened last year after years of negotiations¹¹ between the U.N. and the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen, himself a former Khmer Rouge commander.

Human rights groups and Khmer Rouge survivors¹² fear that the aging and ill Khmer Rouge leaders could die before a verdict is reached.

1 ailing   

v.生病

参考例句：

• They discussed the problems ailing the steel industry. 他们讨论了困扰钢铁工业的问题。
• She looked after her ailing father. 她照顾有病的父亲。

2 rouge   

n.胭脂，口红唇膏；v.(在…上)擦口红

参考例句：

• Women put rouge on their cheeks to make their faces pretty.女人往面颊上涂胭脂，使脸更漂亮。
• She didn't need any powder or lip rouge to make her pretty.她天生漂亮，不需要任何脂粉唇膏打扮自己。

3 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。

4 prosecute   

vt.告发；进行；vi.告发，起诉，作检察官

参考例句：

• I am trying my best to prosecute my duties.我正在尽力履行我的职责。
• Is there enough evidence to prosecute?有没有起诉的足够证据？

5 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

6 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

7 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

8 agrarian   

adj.土地的，农村的，农业的

参考例句：

• People are leaving an agrarian way of life to go to the city.人们正在放弃农业生活方式而转向城市。
• This was a feature of agrarian development in Britain.这是大不列颠土地所有制发展的一个特征。

9 coercion   

n.强制，高压统治

参考例句：

• Neither trickery nor coercion is used to secure confessions.既不诱供也不逼供。
• He paid the money under coercion.他被迫付钱。

10 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

11 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

12 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者