2007年VOA标准英语-Amnesty Accuses Sudan Government of Violating U

By Tendai Maphosa
London
24 August 2007

Amnesty International has released photographs it says show that Sudan's government is still deploying¹ weapons to Darfur in what the rights organization describes as "breathtaking defiance²" of a United Nations arms embargo³. Tendai Maphosa filed this report from London for VOA.

 

A Russian-supplied Mi-24 attack helicopter redeployed to El Geneina airport from Nyala, Darfur

The Amnesty International report shows photographs of what the group says are Sudan's Russian-supplied aircraft unloading weapons at an airport in Darfur in July. The rights organization says this is proof that Sudan's government is defying the United Nations arms embargo.

 

Resolution 1591 passed by the United Nations Security Council in March 2005 imposed a comprehensive arms embargo on all parties to the Darfur conflict, including Sudan's government. The government of Sudan has also been accused of carrying out aerial attacks on civilian⁵ targets in Darfur.

An estimated 200,000 people in Darfur have been killed since 2003 when ethnic⁶ African rebels took up arms against the government. Khartoum responded by backing Arab militias⁷ called Janjaweed in a scorched⁸ earth campaign. Another two million people have fled their homes.

Sudan's government recently agreed to a joint⁹ United Nations-African Union peacekeeping force that will replace 7,000 African Union monitors who have not been able to stem the violence.

 

Amnesty International's Brian Woods tells VOA that civilians¹⁰ continue to die in Darfur, and looting and rape¹¹ are occurring on a massive scale.

A Russian-supplied Mi-17 military helicopter belonging to the Sudanese Air Force at El Geneina

But Khalid El Mubarak, a spokesman for Sudan's embassy in London, dismisses the Amnesty report, saying the group has no proof that the aircraft in the photographs are Sudanese.

He says the rights organization is exaggerating the situation in Darfur in an effort to deflect¹² attention from events elsewhere.

"Amnesty International is becoming an appendix to a campaign which is faltering¹³ by the Save Darfur coalition¹⁴ and in order also to cover up the difficulties in Iraq, Afghanistan and other places," said Mubarak.

Mubarak did say however that violence is continuing. He said Sudan's government is, in his words, "duty bound" to try and keep the peace. He denied allegations that Khartoum is arming the Janjaweed or attacking civilian targets, as alleged¹⁵ by Amnesty and other rights groups.

"There is still crisis in Darfur, there is fighting in Darfur, and this fighting continues despite the fact that the Sudanese government has signed the peace agreement and has also agreed to the United Nations mixed force to be deployed⁴ in Darfur as quickly as possible," said Mubarak.

"So the Sudanese government as a sovereign government has done its best in order to coordinate¹⁶ with the international community, but there are bandits there. Even Amnesty International has said that Darfur is awash with arms, and there are people who insists on fighting on. So what do you expect the Sudanese government to do?," he added.

Amnesty International's Woods is calling on the United Nations Security Council to put mechanisms¹⁷ into place to ensure the embargo is observed.

1 deploying   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的现在分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Provides support for developing and deploying distributed, component-based applications. 为开发和部署基于组件的分布式应用程序提供支持。
• Advertisement, publishing, repair, and install-on-demand are all available when deploying your application. 在部署应用程序时提供公布、发布、修复和即需即装功能。

2 defiance   

n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗

参考例句：

• He climbed the ladder in defiance of the warning.他无视警告爬上了那架梯子。
• He slammed the door in a spirit of defiance.他以挑衅性的态度把门砰地一下关上。

3 embargo   

n.禁运（令）；vt.对...实行禁运，禁止（通商）

参考例句：

• This country put an oil embargo on an enemy country.该国对敌国实行石油禁运。
• During the war,they laid an embargo on commerce with enemy countries.在战争期间，他们禁止与敌国通商。

4 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

5 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

6 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。

7 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

8 scorched   

烧焦，烤焦( scorch的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（植物）枯萎，把…晒枯； 高速行驶； 枯焦

参考例句：

• I scorched my dress when I was ironing it. 我把自己的连衣裙熨焦了。
• The hot iron scorched the tablecloth. 热熨斗把桌布烫焦了。

9 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

10 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。

11 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

12 deflect   

v.(使)偏斜，(使)偏离，(使)转向

参考例句：

• Never let a little problem deflect you.决不要因一点小问题就半途而废。
• They decided to deflect from the original plan.他们决定改变原计划。

13 faltering   

犹豫的，支吾的，蹒跚的

参考例句：

• The economy shows no signs of faltering. 经济没有衰退的迹象。
• I canfeel my legs faltering. 我感到我的腿在颤抖。

14 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

15 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

16 coordinate   

adj.同等的，协调的；n.同等者；vt.协作，协调

参考例句：

• You must coordinate what you said with what you did.你必须使你的言行一致。
• Maybe we can coordinate the relation of them.或许我们可以调和他们之间的关系。

17 mechanisms   

n.机械( mechanism的名词复数 )；机械装置；[生物学] 机制；机械作用

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms. 这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He explained how the two mechanisms worked. 他解释这两台机械装置是如何工作的。 来自《简明英汉词典》