2007年VOA标准英语-Human Rights Groups Warn Violence in Zimbabwe C

By Scott Bobb
Johannesburg
29 March 2007

Human rights organizations are warning that the violence in Zimbabwe could spiral out of control and are calling for Southern African leaders to take action if the Zimbabwe government fails to halt the brutality². Correspondent Scott Bobb reports from our Southern Africa Bureau in Johannesburg.

A researcher for Human Rights Watch, Tiseke Kasambala, said in Johannesburg that the situation in Zimbabwe has worsened considerably³ since her visit six months ago.

Tiseke Kasambala

"The level of repression⁴ was definitely higher," she said. "There was definitely more political tension in the air. People are tired of what is going on. Something has got to give. This kind of violence cannot just continue."

Tensions have been heightened in Zimbabwe since a police crackdown began nearly three weeks ago. Several-dozen opposition⁵ leaders were detained and beaten for trying to hold an anti-government rally. Opposition leaders say that many others have since undergone similar ordeals⁶.

The government says the opposition is behind a series of gasoline (petrol) bombings and accuses it of trying to destabilize the country. Opposition leaders deny the charges.

Kasambala condemned⁷ the recent bombings and called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice. But she said abuses by security forces are the primary cause of the violence.

She said authorities are no longer just targeting opposition and civic⁸ leaders, but are now arresting and beating members of the general public.

Another human rights group, Amnesty International, expressed outrage⁹ Wednesday over what it called the brutal¹ harassment¹⁰, torture and intimidation¹¹ of opposition activists¹².

Both human rights groups urged southern African leaders attending a summit in Tanzania to take a strong position against the aggression¹³.

Kasambala of Human Rights Watch called the summit a positive development, noting that it is the first such meeting since the Zimbabwe crisis began seven years ago.

She said African governments should recognize that the millions of Zimbabwean refugees streaming into neighboring countries pose a threat to regional stability.

"This is a key threat to the region," she noted¹⁴. "Therefore the southern African leaders should be the ones taking the lead in discussing the situation in Zimbabwe and we are glad that this is taking place and we hope that strong measures will be taken."

She said the African leaders should send a committee to Zimbabwe to investigate the violence and should impose sanctions if it is not ended.

1 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。

2 brutality   

n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• a general who was infamous for his brutality 因残忍而恶名昭彰的将军

3 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

4 repression   

n.镇压，抑制，抑压

参考例句：

• The repression of your true feelings is harmful to your health.压抑你的真实感情有害健康。
• This touched off a new storm against violent repression.这引起了反对暴力镇压的新风暴。

5 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

6 ordeals   

n.严峻的考验，苦难的经历( ordeal的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• London had stood triumphant through all her ordeals. 伦敦在经历考验之后仍巍然屹立。 来自辞典例句
• He's come through some bad personal ordeals. 他个人经历了一些沉痛的考验。 来自辞典例句

7 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

8 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。

9 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

10 harassment   

n.骚扰，扰乱，烦恼，烦乱

参考例句：

• She often got telephone harassment at night these days.这些天她经常在夜晚受到电话骚扰。
• The company prohibits any form of harassment.公司禁止任何形式的骚扰行为。

11 intimidation   

n.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• The Opposition alleged voter intimidation by the army.反对党声称投票者受到军方的恐吓。
• The gang silenced witnesses by intimidation.恶帮用恐吓的手段使得证人不敢说话。

12 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 aggression   

n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害

参考例句：

• So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结，就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。

14 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。