2007年VOA标准英语-Sri Lanka's Supreme Court Halts Tamil Evictions

By Steve Herman
New Delhi
08 June 2007

Sri Lanka's Supreme¹ Court has halted evictions of ethnic³ Tamils from the country's capital - after police suddenly deported⁴ members of the minority group to the island's war-torn north and east. VOA's Steve Herman reports from New Delhi.

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Sri Lankan Human Rights activists shout slogans during a protest against the eviction of ethnic Tamils in Colombo, 08 Jun 2007

The Sri Lankan Supreme Court on Friday immediately stopped the forced evictions of ethnic Tamils in Colombo. Police in recent days have rounded up and expelled several hundred Tamils from the capital, busing most of them back to the front lines in the north and east, where separatist Tamils are waging a military campaign against the Sri Lankan military.

The director of Sri Lanka's National Peace Council, Jehan Perera, says the police action has sent a wave of fear through the capital's 250,000 Tamils.

"They're scared and concerned and hurt," he said. "Just because you're a Tamil who has come from out of Colombo you can be picked up in this manner and just packed off. The government is breaking the laws of this country, and I think this is borne out by the fact that the Supreme Court has stayed the evictions, pending⁶ its final decision."

The Supreme Court says it will hear the case on June 22 and has told police not to carry out further evictions before then.

Military spokesman Prasad Samarasinghe says authorities were forced to act after recent suicide bomb attacks in the capital by separatist Tamil rebels.

"The police have found out that cheap lodges⁷ in Colombo are occupied by the terrorist suspects," he said. "It's not ethnic cleansing⁸ or things like that because more than one third of the population in Colombo are Tamils."

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam have been fighting since 1972 for a homeland separate from the south, where Sinhalese are the main ethnic group. More than 5,000 people have been killed just in the past 19 months.

1 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。

2 eviction   

n.租地等的收回

参考例句：

• The family have won a temporary reprieve from eviction.这个家庭暂时免于被逐出。
• He claimed damages for unlawful eviction.他要求对非法驱逐作出赔偿。

3 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

4 deported   

v.将…驱逐出境( deport的过去式和过去分词 )；举止

参考例句：

• They stripped me of my citizenship and deported me. 他们剥夺我的公民资格，将我驱逐出境。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The convicts were deported to a deserted island. 罪犯们被流放到一个荒岛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 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》

6 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

7 lodges   

v.存放( lodge的第三人称单数 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属

参考例句：

• But I forget, if I ever heard, where he lodges in Liverpool. 可是我记不得有没有听他说过他在利物浦的住址。 来自辞典例句
• My friend lodges in my uncle's house. 我朋友寄居在我叔叔家。 来自辞典例句

8 cleansing   

n. 净化(垃圾) adj. 清洁用的 动词cleanse的现在分词

参考例句：

• medicated cleansing pads for sensitive skin 敏感皮肤药物清洗棉
• Soap is not the only cleansing agent. 肥皂并不是唯一的清洁剂。