VOA慢速英语2014 AS IT IS 2014-05-07 Youths Oppose Required Military Service 年轻人拒服兵役

 

AS IT IS 2014-05-07 Youths Oppose Required Military Service 年轻人拒服兵役

Hello, and welcome to As It Is from VOA Learning English!

I’m Christopher Cruise in Washington.

Today on the program, we report on efforts by people in two countries to change their nations’ policies of required military service.

“The way conscientious¹ objectors, objectors are treated is of course, you know, is of course, substandard in, in all, you know, human rights senses.”

We tell about attempts to change the system of forced military service in South Korea and Israel, today on As It Is. 

South Koreans, Israelis Oppose Forced Military Service

South Korea requires all able-bodied male citizens to serve about two years in the nation’s armed forces. But some object to military service for moral reasons. Most of them are sent to prison.

They are called “conscientious objectors.” That means a person who refuses to serve in the armed forces for moral or religious reasons. Some conscientious objectors do agree to join the military, but they will not carry or use a weapon.  

Kim Ji-kwan was held in prison for more than a year, near the capital Seoul, for refusing to serve in the South Korean military.

“I became a conscientious objector because I learned from the Bible that you have to love your neighbor and your enemy. We should love life.”

His father and two brothers all went to jail for refusing to serve in the military. They are members of Jehovah’s Witnesses, a Christian² group. Jehovah’s Witnesses say learning to use weapons, or fighting, violates their religious beliefs.

Kim Ji-kwan says he would like to have served his country in other ways if he had been given the chance.

“If there were an alternative service -- one that does not go against my beliefs -- then I would have done that, a service that does not require actual military training.”

The South Korean government says every year hundreds of men are given prison terms of up to 18 months for refusing military service.

The group War Resisters International keeps records about the number of conscientious objectors worldwide. Sergeiy Sandler works for the group. We spoke³ to him on Skype.

“According to the data we have, right now the largest number of imprisoned⁴ conscientious objectors -- not necessarily the number of objectors themselves -- but of imprisoned conscientious objectors, is currently in South Korea. The way conscientious, conscientious objectors are treated is of course, you know, is of course, substandard in, in all, you know, human rights senses.”

South Korea’s Ministry⁵ of National Defense⁶ says there are no plans to change the country’s requirement of military service.  The ministry says it must keep the requirement in place because of concerns about North Korea and its military.

Lee Jae-seong is a law professor at Konkuk University in Seoul. He says most South Koreans no longer support the government’s policies.

“The South Korean government has always stressed security, and they’ve said that an alternative to military service would harm our safety. But the public no longer believes that. Only the government is holding on to that idea.”

Professor Lee notes the findings of a recent public opinion survey. It found that 68 percent of those who were asked like the idea of creating an alternative service, so that conscientious objectors will not have to go to jail.

Kim Ji-kwan says he and the other men in his family did the right thing by going to prison for their beliefs. But he says if he one day has a son, he would not expect him to make the same decision. That is because Mr. Kim believes refusing to serve in the military is a personal decision based on one’s own faith.

Some Young Israelis Refuse Military Service

In Israel, some young people are also refusing to obey the country’s requirement of military service. They strongly object to the way Israel and its military have been treating Palestinians.

Most Israeli women and men must join the country’s Defense Force when they are 18 years old. Men serve for three years; women for about two. Religious Israeli women and Arab citizens are not required to do so. Nor are very religious Israeli men, known as “ultra-orthodox Jews,” when they are studying religion.  However, that may change under a law being considered by the Israeli parliament. 

In March, at least 50 young Israelis wrote a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It said they would not serve in the military. The young people said the main reason for their refusal to serve is “our opposition⁷ to the military occupation of Palestinian territories.” They said the Israeli army was guilty of human rights abuses and war crimes, including assassinations⁸ and torture.   

 

The Telegraph newspaper reported Israeli finance minister Yair Lapid answered the letter strongly on his Facebook page. It said he called those who refused to join “pampered, wealthy youngsters.” In his words, “I’m ashamed of them.”The newspaper reported that refusing to join the Israeli military does not necessarily mean a young person will be put in prison; yet some conscientious or ideological⁹ objectors are put in prison. But the report said an Israeli citizen who refused to serve could have difficulty finding a good job or being admitted to a university.

The Telegraph noted¹⁰ that a majority of Israelis support forced military service. It said in Israel, “army service is seen as a near-sacred duty, essential to protect a country surrounded by enemies.”

And that’s our program for today. It was based partly on stories from reporters Jason Strother and Malte Kollenberg in Seoul. We also used information from reports by The Telegraph newspaper, the Associated Press, Al-Jazeera, CommonDreams.org and the Reuters news service. 

We would love to hear from you. We read every message you send us.

1 conscientious   

adj.审慎正直的，认真的，本着良心的

参考例句：

• He is a conscientious man and knows his job.他很认真负责，也很懂行。
• He is very conscientious in the performance of his duties.他非常认真地履行职责。

2 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

3 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。

4 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。

5 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。

6 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。

7 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。

8 assassinations   

n.暗杀( assassination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Most anarchist assassinations were bungled because of haste or spontaneity, in his view. 在他看来，无政府主义者搞的许多刺杀都没成功就是因为匆忙和自发行动。 来自辞典例句
• Assassinations by Israelis of alleged terrorists habitually kill nearby women and children. 在以色列，自称恐怖分子的炸弹自杀者杀害靠近自己的以色列妇女和儿童。 来自互联网

9 ideological   

a.意识形态的

参考例句：

• He always tries to link his study with his ideological problems. 他总是把学习和自己的思想问题联系起来。
• He helped me enormously with advice on how to do ideological work. 他告诉我怎样做思想工作，对我有很大帮助。

10 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。