VOA标准英语2009年-US Calls on Sri Lanka to Investigate Alleg

By David Gollust
Washington
22 October 2009

 
The first aerial view of the coastal¹ strip, a former war zone where the Tamil rebels made their last stand, videotaped by VOA
The United States is calling on the Sri Lankan government to thoroughly² investigate charges of war crimes in the final months of its long war with Tamil Tiger rebels. A State Department report issued Thursday listed what were termed credible³ allegations of abuses by both sides in the conflict.

The State Department says if the Sri Lankan government really is interested, as it says it is, in post-war reconciliation⁴, it should investigate alleged⁵ abuses in the closing months of the conflict and bring to justice those responsible.

The comments came as the department released a report, mandated⁶ by Congress, cataloguing alleged war crimes in the bitter fighting on the northern tip of Sri Lanka early this year that led to the final government rout⁷ of separatist Tamil Tiger guerrillas.

The State Department said it could not verify all the reports from diplomats⁸, non-governmental groups and media organizations but said they are credible.

Among other things, it cited accounts of the Tamil Tigers recruiting children as combatants and using civilians⁹ as human shields.

It also listed reports of government forces shelling nominal¹⁰ safe-haven areas for Tamil civilians, killing¹¹ rebels trying to surrender, and allowing dismal¹² humanitarian¹³ conditions to prevail in displaced-person camps.

At a news briefing, State Department Spokesman Ian Kelly said the United States has been urging Sri Lankan authorities to open up the northern region to international organizations, and to conduct a thorough investigation¹⁴ of the charges. "We call on them to develop the kind of mechanisms¹⁵ that can more thoroughly investigate these many allegations which are laid out in this report, and then ultimately - as appropriate - bring to justice those who are found guilty. The government of Sri Lanka has said that they are determined¹⁶ to establish a reconciliation process with the people of the north. But we believe strongly that a very important part of any reconciliation process is accountability," he said.

The U.S. report stressed that it did not reach legal conclusions as to whether the abuses cited constituted violations¹⁷ of international law.

It also said the United States recognizes a government's right to defend itself from attacks by terrorist groups, but that it expects both state and non-state actors to comply with international legal obligations.

The Tamil Tigers, long classified by the United States as a terrorist group, waged a 26-year war for an ethnic-Tamil state in the northern part of the mostly-Sinhalese country before its defeat and final surrender in May.

The United Nations says the conflict killed as many as 100,000 people and many thousands remain displaced from this year's fighting.

The private monitoring group Human Rights Watch said the State Department report should dispel¹⁸ any doubts that serious abuses were committed during the Sri Lankan conflict's final months.

But it said that given the Sri Lankan government's complete failure thus far to investigate possible war crimes, the only hope for justice would be an independent, international investigation.

1 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

2 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

3 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

4 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

5 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

6 mandated   

adj. 委托统治的

参考例句：

• Mandated desegregation of public schools. 命令解除公立学校中的种族隔离
• Britain was mandated to govern the former colony of German East Africa. 英国受权代管德国在东非的前殖民地。

7 rout   

n.溃退，溃败；v.击溃，打垮

参考例句：

• The enemy was put to rout all along the line.敌人已全线崩溃。
• The people's army put all to rout wherever they went.人民军队所向披靡。

8 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 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。

10 nominal   

adj.名义上的；(金额、租金)微不足道的

参考例句：

• The king was only the nominal head of the state. 国王只是这个国家名义上的元首。
• The charge of the box lunch was nominal.午餐盒饭收费很少。

11 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

12 dismal   

adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的

参考例句：

• That is a rather dismal melody.那是一支相当忧郁的歌曲。
• My prospects of returning to a suitable job are dismal.我重新找到一个合适的工作岗位的希望很渺茫。

13 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。

14 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

15 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》

16 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

17 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。

18 dispel   

vt.驱走，驱散，消除

参考例句：

• I tried in vain to dispel her misgivings.我试图消除她的疑虑，但没有成功。
• We hope the programme will dispel certain misconceptions about the disease.我们希望这个节目能消除对这种疾病的一些误解。