美国国家公共电台 NPR--Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was killed a year ago

Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was killed a year ago

Transcript¹

NPR's Michel Martin talks with Robert Mahoney of the Committee to Protect Journalists, which released a new report showing the faces of 20 journalists killed by Israeli military fire since 2001.

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

A year ago today, Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was killed while doing her job, reporting in the West Bank. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, her death was not a tragic² one-time event but actually part of a long, deadly pattern. A new report from the group says at least 20 journalists have been killed by Israeli military fire since 2001. And it says, quote, "to date, no one has been held accountable." Robert Mahoney is with the committee and helped edit the report and is here with us now to tell us more. Good morning.

ROBERT MAHONEY: Good morning.

MARTIN: First, would you just tell us a bit more about the 20 journalists killed?

MAHONEY: Well, of the 20 killed, 18 were Palestinians. One was a British national. And one was an Italian. And all of them were killed reporting on the ground from the West Bank or Gaza over the last two decades.

MARTIN: So it's been a year since - as we said, since Shireen Abu Akleh was killed. Authorities have had that much time to investigate it. And no one's been held responsible. Why is that?

MAHONEY: That's because we believe that the whole system of investigation³, which the Israeli armed forces have set up, is actually designed to evade⁴ responsibility and to protect its soldiers from prosecution⁵. When the authorities do open any kind of probe, it takes a long time. Evidence can get lost. Witnesses can forget their testimony⁶. So no one is being held to account. And no one is being held to account for the killing⁷ of Shireen Abu Akleh, who, let's remember, was an American citizen.

MARTIN: So how have Israeli officials responded to claims that they're responsible for these deaths? And I'm also interested in if whether they've responded to the allegations in the report that, in fact, the investigations⁸ are kind of designed to obscure the facts.

MAHONEY: Yeah, we've been in touch with the Israeli authorities throughout the reporting of this report. And I am now in Jerusalem, where we presented the report. The Israeli authorities say they do not deliberately⁹ target civilians¹⁰, and they respect press freedom. And what we think is, if that's the case, then they should open investigations into the killings¹¹ of these journalists, who, let's remember, are civilians and should be given the protections afforded to civilians in a time of conflict. They should not be shot at, as many were. Of the 20 dead, there are - to add to those, there are hundreds who were badly wounded over this case. And there is one investigation that's been opened and it's a very important investigation, and that's by the FBI because Shireen was a U.S. citizen.

MARTIN: Now, the committee does have some recommendations about what could be done to prevent more journalist deaths. Can you tell us about that?

MAHONEY: Absolutely. What needs to be done is the Israeli Defense¹² Forces needs to review its rules of engagement. Its rules of engagement are confidential¹³, as are its probes. So we don't know what they are, in contrast to the United States Army, for example, where we do exactly know what the rules of engagement are. And the U.S. forces amend¹⁴ those rules of engagement on a frequent basis. So we want the Israelis to look at that. We want them to open investigations into these killings. And we want them to cooperate with the FBI investigation, and they have refused to do so.

MARTIN: And finally, before we let you go - 20 seconds here - but has there been any response to those recommendations?

MAHONEY: From the Israeli side? No. No one in the Israeli government has agreed to meet with us. Although, we do get a very friendly reception from Israeli journalists, who, like the rest of us, rely on these Palestinians to bring us the news.

MARTIN: OK. That's Robert Mahoney with the Committee to Protect Journalists. Thank you so much.

MAHONEY: Thank you.

(SOUNDBITE OF MAX RICHTER'S "THE QUALITY OF MERCY")

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

3 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。

4 evade   

vt.逃避，回避；避开，躲避

参考例句：

• He tried to evade the embarrassing question.他企图回避这令人难堪的问题。
• You are in charge of the job.How could you evade the issue?你是负责人，你怎么能对这个问题不置可否？

5 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

6 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

7 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。

8 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。

9 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

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 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

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 confidential   

adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的

参考例句：

• He refused to allow his secretary to handle confidential letters.他不让秘书处理机密文件。
• We have a confidential exchange of views.我们推心置腹地交换意见。

14 amend   

vt.修改，修订，改进；n.[pl.]赔罪，赔偿

参考例句：

• The teacher advised him to amend his way of living.老师劝他改变生活方式。
• You must amend your pronunciation.你必须改正你的发音。