VOA标准英语2008年-Amnesty International Criticizes Burmese Refere

By Tendai Maphosa
London
09 May 2008

Amnesty International has issued a statement criticizing the Burmese government's intention to proceed with a referendum for a new constitution Saturday instead of concentrating on providing relief for victims of Cyclone¹ Nargis.  Also, the human rights group describes the new constitution as an effort to undermine respect for human rights and to entrench² military rule.  From London, Tendai Maphosa has more.

Rather than focusing on the hundreds of thousands of its citizens' struggle for basic shelter, food and health care, the Amnesty International statement charges, Burma's government is prioritizing acceptance of the new constitution.

Amnesty also says the referendum for the draft constitution was being held in an environment where individuals cannot freely express themselves. The rights group's spokesman Benjamin Zawacki told VOA that soon after the referendum was announced in February, the government passed a law that outlaws³ any campaigning against the draft constitution.

"Essentially⁴ what the military government was saying through that law is you either support the constitution or you keep quiet but you do not have a political right to express the view that you don't want the constitution to pass," he said.

Zawacki added that those who dared campaign against the constitution were attacked and had their campaign materials seized

Amnesty International expressed concern that rather than attempting to introduce the rule of law and respect for human rights to Burma, the proposed constitution process seeks to perpetuate⁵ and legitimize the government's continuing human rights abuses and ensure no punishment for both past and future violations⁶. 

Zawacki also says that the process that brought about the draft constitution was not inclusive. The process, he says, started three years after the 1990 general elections, which the opposition⁷ National League for Democracy (NLD) was on course to win.

"By 1995 the NLD and other parties realized that they were essentially being sidelined, their concerns and their objectives were not being taken into account by the government and they opted⁸ to cease participating and once they tried to get back into the process they were not allowed back in," he added.

The Burmese government has postponed⁹ voting for the constitution in the regions hardest hit by the cyclone to May 24. VOA's attempts to get a comment from the Burmese embassy in London were unsuccessful.

1 cyclone   

n.旋风，龙卷风

参考例句：

• An exceptionally violent cyclone hit the town last night.昨晚异常猛烈的旋风吹袭了那个小镇。
• The cyclone brought misery to thousands of people.旋风给成千上万的人带来苦难。

2 entrench   

v.使根深蒂固；n.壕沟；防御设施

参考例句：

• A series of measures were designed to entrench democracy and the rule of law.采取一系列措施旨在巩固民主和法制。
• These dictators have entrenched themselves politically and are difficult to move.这些独裁者在政治上已经站稳了脚跟，很难推翻他们。

3 outlaws   

歹徒，亡命之徒( outlaw的名词复数 )； 逃犯

参考例句：

• During his year in the forest, Robin met many other outlaws. 在森林里的一年，罗宾遇见其他许多绿林大盗。
• I didn't have to leave the country or fight outlaws. 我不必离开自己的国家，也不必与不法分子斗争。

4 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

5 perpetuate   

v.使永存，使永记不忘

参考例句：

• This monument was built to perpetuate the memory of the national hero.这个纪念碑建造的意义在于纪念民族英雄永垂不朽。
• We must perpetuate the system.我们必须将此制度永久保持。

6 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。

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 opted   

v.选择，挑选( opt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She was co-opted onto the board. 她获增选为董事会成员。
• After graduating she opted for a career in music. 毕业后她选择了从事音乐工作。

9 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。