VOA标准英语2014--20 Years After Genocide, Rwanda Prospers but Political Freedom Remains Elusive

 

20 Years After Genocide, Rwanda Prospers¹ but Political Freedom Remains² Elusive 

KIGALI — Rwanda today is a remarkable³ story of renewal⁵ and rapid economic development.

Looking around the capital, it is hard to imagine that only 20 years ago, the country was torn apart by one of the worst atrocities⁶ of the last century. 

Visitors often remark on Kigali's impeccably clean streets, high-tech⁷ efficiency and the ease of doing business. But critics say despite these advances, the government has left little room for the opposition⁸.

“There isn't really any democracy that one can speak of in Rwanda," said Carina Tertsakian, a Rwanda researcher for Human Rights Watch. "Opposition parties are not able to function. There are currently two opposition party leaders who are in prison serving sentences respectively of 15 years and four years, and other members of those and other parties who have been in and out of prison several times.”

President Paul Kagame and his Rwandan Patriotic⁹ Front are the dominant¹⁰ political forces in Rwanda. There is only one registered opposition party and many political opponents have fled into exile. While the country has progressed economically during Kagame's time in office, opponents say it has come at the cost of political freedom.

“I do not agree that to be able to develop you've got to sacrifice people's rights," said Theogene Rudasingwa, a member of the opposition Rwanda National Congress who spoke¹¹ to VOA in Washington. "In fact, all literature and human experience shows that for there to be prosperity for people, for a country to build, you've got to enrich people's rights.”

In January, one of Rudasingwa's colleagues, Patrick Karegeya, a former spy chief for the government, was found dead in a South Africa hotel room. Rwandan officials who accuse the opposition of planning attacks in Rwanda cheered Karegeya's death but denied any involvement. 

At a genocide memorial event outside Kigali, Rwandan Defense¹² Minister James Kabarebe had a stern message for those who challenge the government.

“There are some who tried to [take the country backward] and there are those who have this ideology¹³, they are there, but I know they will die with that ideology,” he said.

According to Rudasingwa, opposition members in exile live under constant threat.

“We are concerned, we've made these concerns known to the governments, but besides that, change is a very costly¹⁴ business and freedom doesn't come cheap,” he said.

 

A generation removed from the genocide, Rwanda is moving forward.  But opposition figures worry that lingering tension and the crackdown on dissent¹⁵ could mar⁴ the country's future.

1 prospers   

v.成功，兴旺( prosper的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Whatever prospers my business is welcome. 凡使我生意兴隆者皆竭诚欢迎。 来自辞典例句
• Whatever prospers my business is good. 任何使我生意兴隆的都是好的。 来自辞典例句

2 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

3 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

4 mar   

vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟

参考例句：

• It was not the custom for elderly people to mar the picnics with their presence.大人们照例不参加这样的野餐以免扫兴。
• Such a marriage might mar your career.这样的婚姻说不定会毁了你的一生。

5 renewal   

adj.(契约)延期，续订，更新，复活，重来

参考例句：

• Her contract is coming up for renewal in the autumn.她的合同秋天就应该续签了。
• Easter eggs symbolize the renewal of life.复活蛋象征新生。

6 atrocities   

n.邪恶，暴行( atrocity的名词复数 )；滔天大罪

参考例句：

• They were guilty of the most barbarous and inhuman atrocities. 他们犯有最野蛮、最灭绝人性的残暴罪行。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The enemy's atrocities made one boil with anger. 敌人的暴行令人发指。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 high-tech   

adj.高科技的

参考例句：

• The economy is in the upswing which makes high-tech services in more demand too.经济在蓬勃发展，这就使对高科技服务的需求量也在加大。
• The quest of a cure for disease with high-tech has never ceased. 人们希望运用高科技治疗疾病的追求从未停止过。

8 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。

9 patriotic   

adj.爱国的，有爱国心的

参考例句：

• His speech was full of patriotic sentiments.他的演说充满了爱国之情。
• The old man is a patriotic overseas Chinese.这位老人是一位爱国华侨。

10 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

11 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。

12 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

13 ideology   

n.意识形态，(政治或社会的)思想意识

参考例句：

• The ideology has great influence in the world.这种思想体系在世界上有很大的影响。
• The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration.我的理想是在意识思想和灵感鼓动之间找到一个折衷。

14 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

15 dissent   

n./v.不同意，持异议

参考例句：

• It is too late now to make any dissent.现在提出异议太晚了。
• He felt her shoulders gave a wriggle of dissent.他感到她的肩膀因为不同意而动了一下。