VOA常速英语2008年-Facebook, Google Join Hunt for Sudanese War Cri

By Tendai Maphosa
London
26 April 2008

Sunday, April 27, marks the first anniversary of the issuance of two arrest warrants by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity committed in Sudan's Darfur region. Tendai Maphosa reports the Internet sites Facebook and Google are helping¹ human rights organizations put pressure on the Sudanese government to hand over the suspects.

Sudan has steadfastly² refused to hand over the two suspects - Humanitarian³ Affairs Minister Ahmed Harun and Janjaweed militia⁴ leader Ali Kushayb.  But human rights groups aim to increase pressure on the Sudanese government by turning to Google Earth, Google Maps and the social networking site Facebook.

On Sunday Facebook is launching the Wanted for War Crimes Watch List. The list will include links to indicted⁵ war criminals still on the run and encourage Facebook users to come forward with sightings and reports on their last-known locations.

The Aegis⁶ Trust, a Britain-based non-governmental organization focused on the prevention of genocide, is the coordinator⁷ of the Wanted for War Crimes campaign.  Aegis Trust spokesman Nick Donovan said that wanted posters can only be seen by a few people while billions of people surf the World Wide Web.

"What we are doing with Google Earth and Google maps and Facebook is telling people about the crimes," he said.  "On the Map we are showing locations of the two suspects.  We have Ahmed Harun's office address.  We have his phone number, know where he lives.  We know where he works.  We are asking people to monitor Google Earth and Google maps if they see the two suspects, to report their movements so that we can build up a pattern just to show that we know where these people are, they are not fugitives⁸ hiding in caves somewhere."

Google Earth and Google Maps have been used to map the last-known movements of the two Sudanese suspects, each indicted by the ICC for over 40 counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in Darfur in 2003 and 2004.

Also on Sunday, human rights organizations around the world, including the Aegis Trust, are launching a "Justice for Darfur" campaign, calling for the two to be arrested. 

"It's a campaign designed to draw attention to some of the serious crimes against humanity and war that have been committed in Darfur," explains Nick Donovan. "So we are launching this campaign, which I fear will be a long campaign."

The Sudanese government has said the International Criminal Court has no jurisdiction⁹ in Sudan and that there is no evidence linking the wanted men to any crimes in Darfur.  It adds it has tried and handed down heavy sentences to some people responsible for crimes in Darfur.

Sudan Humanitarian Affairs Minister Ahmad Muhammad Harun was state interior minister at the height of the Darfur conflict. He is accused of helping to recruit Janjaweed militias¹⁰ and contributing to the commission of crimes against humanity. Ali Kushayb, was a senior Janjaweed militia leader.

It is estimated more than 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million others driven from their homes since the conflict in Darfur began in 2003, when southern rebels launched an attack against a government garrison¹¹. The government responded with a harsh crackdown, using regular troops and Janjaweed militias.

1 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

2 steadfastly   

adv.踏实地，不变地；岿然；坚定不渝

参考例句：

• So he sat, with a steadfastly vacant gaze, pausing in his work. 他就像这样坐着，停止了工作，直勾勾地瞪着眼。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
• Defarge and his wife looked steadfastly at one another. 德伐日和他的妻子彼此凝视了一会儿。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

3 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

4 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

5 indicted   

控告，起诉( indict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The senator was indicted for murder. 那位参议员被控犯谋杀罪。
• He was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of murder. 他被大陪审团以两项谋杀罪名起诉。

6 aegis   

n.盾；保护，庇护

参考例句：

• Medical supplies are flied in under the aegis of the red cross.在红十字会的保护下，正在空运进医药用品。
• The space programme will continue under the aegis of the armed forces.这项太空计划将以武装部队作后盾继续进行。

7 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

8 fugitives   

n.亡命者，逃命者( fugitive的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Three fugitives from the prison are still at large. 三名逃犯仍然未被抓获。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Members of the provisional government were prisoners or fugitives. 临时政府的成员或被捕或逃亡。 来自演讲部分

9 jurisdiction   

n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权

参考例句：

• It doesn't lie within my jurisdiction to set you free.我无权将你释放。
• Changzhou is under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province.常州隶属江苏省。

10 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

11 garrison   

n.卫戍部队；驻地，卫戍区；vt.派(兵)驻防

参考例句：

• The troops came to the relief of the besieged garrison.军队来援救被围的守备军。
• The German was moving to stiffen up the garrison in Sicily.德军正在加强西西里守军之力量。