2007年VOA标准英语-Sri Lanka Navy Troops Shoot Foreign Aid Worker

By Anjana Pasricha
New Delhi
14 June 2007

A foreign aid worker has been shot by navy troops in northeastern Sri Lanka, where the government is battling Tamil rebels. As Anjana Pasricha reports from New Delhi, concerns about security of aid workers are growing in Sri Lanka following a series of such attacks.

 

Military officials say guards opened fire when a Filipino staffer of the aid group Mercy Corps¹ strayed too close to a naval² camp near the port town of Trincomalee. The man was shot in the head and suffered a minor³ wound.

 

The officials say people had been warned not to come too close to the camp.

 

Mercy Corps says the staffer had gone to Trincomalee to monitor a tsunami⁴ relief project.

 

The deputy director of Mercy Corps in Sri Lanka, Iveta Ouvry, says the worker was shot late Wednesday near the hotel where he was staying.

 

"He was on the beach close to the Club Oceanic hotel," said Ouvry. "He sustained an injury at the back of his head."

 

The shooting of the Mercy Corps member is the latest in a series of incidents involving aid workers.

 

In some cases, these workers have been deliberately⁵ targeted. Two weeks ago, two local volunteers of the Sri Lanka Red Cross were abducted⁶ from a train station in Colombo. They were later found murdered.

The worst incident occurred last August, when 17 local staff of the French aid group Action Against Hunger were found massacred in the eastern town of Muttur.

 

Aid workers are not the only victims. Human rights groups have reported hundreds of abductions and disappearances⁷ of civilians⁸ since the Tamil rebels and security forces resumed fighting last year. Rights workers say both sides are guilty of such violations⁹.

International observers have severely¹⁰ criticized the government for not doing enough to halt the abuses.

 

Last week, an international panel called a presidential commission investigating human rights violations "ineffective." It accused the commission that it was appointed to monitor of moving too slowly and operating without transparency.

Paikiasothy Saravanmuttu, who heads an independent research group in Colombo called the Center of Policy Alternatives, says the government is under growing attack for failing to protect human rights.

"Nothing seems to be done. Promises of commissions and inquiries¹¹ are being made, but with no demonstrable progress on the ground," said Saravanamuttu. "As a consequence, you get more violations."

Sri Lanka's civil war erupted a quarter-century ago, after Tamil Tiger rebels demanded an independent homeland for the ethnic¹² Tamil minority. It stopped for four years after the two sides signed a truce¹³ in 2002, but fighting has again engulfed¹⁴ the north and the east of the island, where the rebels have their bases.

1 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

2 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

3 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

4 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

5 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

6 abducted   

劫持，诱拐( abduct的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展

参考例句：

• Detectives have not ruled out the possibility that she was abducted. 侦探尚未排除她被绑架的可能性。
• The kid was abducted at the gate of kindergarten. 那小孩在幼儿园大门口被绑架走了。

7 disappearances   

n.消失( disappearance的名词复数 )；丢失；失踪；失踪案

参考例句：

• Most disappearances are the result of the terrorist activity. 大多数的失踪案都是恐怖分子造成的。 来自辞典例句
• The espionage, the betrayals, the arrests, the tortures, the executions, the disappearances will never cease. 间谍活动、叛党卖国、逮捕拷打、处决灭迹，这种事情永远不会完。 来自英汉文学

8 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

9 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

10 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。

11 inquiries   

n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending further inquiries. 他获得保释，等候进一步调查。
• I have failed to reach them by postal inquiries. 我未能通过邮政查询与他们取得联系。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

12 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。

13 truce   

n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束

参考例句：

• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
• She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。

14 engulfed   

v.吞没，包住( engulf的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was engulfed by a crowd of reporters. 他被一群记者团团围住。
• The little boat was engulfed by the waves. 小船被波浪吞没了。 来自《简明英汉词典》