VOA标准英语2009-UN Begins Inquiry Into Guinea Violence

UN investigators¹ are in Conakry to find out what happened when 157 people were killed protesting the expected presidential candidacy of military ruler Captain Moussa Camara on September 28

Scott Stearns | Dakar 26 November 2009

Bodies of people killed during a rally are seen at the capital's main mosque² in Conakry, Guinea (File Photo - 02 Oct 2009)

"If mass graves are discovered, the military must allow UN forensic³ teams to exhume⁴ those bodies," says Corrine Dufka, the head of the investigations⁶ in West Africa for the US-based Human Rights Watch

A United Nations commission of inquiry⁷ has opened its investigation⁵ into the killing⁸ of opposition⁹ protesters in Guinea.  Guinea's military government is promising¹⁰ to cooperate fully¹¹ with the inquiry into September's violence.

The UN commission and its investigators are in Conakry to find out what happened when soldiers opened fire on opposition demonstrators September 28th.

Human rights groups in Guinea say at least 157 people were killed protesting the expected presidential candidacy of military ruler Captain Moussa Camara. The military government says 57 people were killed, most in the crush of people fleeing the main sports stadium.

Captain Camara has expressed his "profound sympathy" for the families of those killed. But because he was not at the stadium, he says he is not responsible for the violence. Instead, he blames his political opponents and what he calls "uncontrollable elements" of the military.

The UN commission is working with the Guinean Organization of Human Rights, which has recorded 100 cases of rape¹² on September 28, including a woman who spoke¹³ at the human rights headquarters before meeting with UN investigators.

She says she was raped¹⁴ by Red Berets of the presidential guard. After the rape, she says they raped her again with the barrel of a gun. Since then, she can not sit properly because she is still torn. She says nothing serious has been done to care for those who survived.

She says some of her friends were raped by men wearing red bandanas with cowry shells, red t-shirts, and striped pants. She says those men came to the stadium in a bus with long knives, hatchets¹⁵, and bows and arrows. She says many of the women who were raped recognized their attackers, and she can give some of their names.

Corrine Dufka, who heads investigations in West Africa for the US-based Human Rights Watch, says protecting the identity of witnesses will be one of the UN commission's biggest challenges.

"In fact, they can't ensure the security of those they are talking to. They can take measures to try to hide their identity and protect them," said Dufka. "But ultimately once they are gone, once they have packed up and left and have made their inquiry, then those witnesses are going to be vulnerable."

Dufka says true witness protection must have a state component¹⁶, usually a witness-protection unit within the police or ministry¹⁷ of justice to ensure the safety of witnesses.

"Obviously that is not the case, so I think the protection of witnesses is going to be a key issue here," said Dufka.

Captain Camara and Guinea's ruling military council have pledged to cooperate fully with the UN investigation. Dufka says that means not interfering¹⁸ with commission members or following them to see who they are interviewing.

"That means allowing them access into places that could be mass grave sites, that could be  headquarters," she said. "That means giving them access to individuals who might have direct information about the inquiry. It also means giving them access to records that might shed some light on what happened."

Dufka says if mass graves are discovered, the military must allow UN forensic teams to exhume those bodies. While the commission's goals are to determine what happened, its recommendations will no doubt include holding accountable those responsible for the violence. In Guinea, Dufka says that is not so easy.

"The problem is that in Guinea you have a very weak judicial¹⁹ system which is plagued by numerous different deficiencies including corruption²⁰, lack of personnel, and now since the CNDD came to power, with another challenge which is the undue-influence by members of the military over the judicial system. So that means there is a justice vacuum in Guinea," said Dufka.

Commission members Mohamed Bedaoui, Francoise Kayiramirwa and Pramila Patten met with Captain Camara. They will be in Guinea until next Friday.

 

1 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

3 forensic   

adj.法庭的，雄辩的

参考例句：

• The report included his interpretation of the forensic evidence.该报告包括他对法庭证据的诠释。
• The judge concluded the proceeding on 10:30 Am after one hour of forensic debate.经过近一个小时的法庭辩论后，法官于10时30分宣布休庭。

4 exhume   

v.掘出，挖掘

参考例句：

• His remains have been exhumed from a cemetery in Queens,New York City.他的遗体被从纽约市皇后区的墓地里挖了出来。
• When the police exhume the corpse,they discover trace of poison in it.警方掘出尸体，发现有中毒的痕迹。

5 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。

6 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

7 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

8 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。

9 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

10 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

11 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

12 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。

13 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

14 raped   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的过去式和过去分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• A young woman was brutally raped in her own home. 一名年轻女子在自己家中惨遭强暴。 来自辞典例句
• We got stick together, or we will be having our women raped. 我们得团结一致，不然我们的妻女就会遭到蹂躏。 来自辞典例句

15 hatchets   

n.短柄小斧( hatchet的名词复数 )；恶毒攻击；诽谤；休战

参考例句：

• Hatchets, knives, bayonets, swords, all brought to be sharpened, were all red with it. 他们带来磨利的战斧、短刀、刺刀、战刀也全都有殷红的血。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
• They smashed all the carved paneling with their axes and hatchets. 圣所中一切雕刻的、们现在用斧子锤子打坏了。 来自互联网

16 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。

17 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

18 interfering   

adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词

参考例句：

• He's an interfering old busybody! 他老爱管闲事！
• I wish my mother would stop interfering and let me make my own decisions. 我希望我母亲不再干预，让我自己拿主意。

19 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

20 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。