VOA标准英语2008年-Dutch Court says Netherlands Not Responsible fo

A Dutch court has ruled that The Netherlands owes nothing to the families of two Bosnian Muslims who were killed after Dutch peacekeepers turned them over to Serb forces during the 1995 Srebrenica massacres². For VOA, Lauren Comiteau has more from Amsterdam.
　

Hasan Nuhanovic talks to the media after the judgement at the District Court in The Hague, Netherlands, 10 Sept. 2008

It has taken six years for this case to reach a verdict, and now one of the plaintiffs, Hasan Nuhanovic, says he will appeal the decision that is keeping what he calls his "nightmare" alive. Nuhanovic was working as an interpreter for Dutch U.N. forces charged with protecting the U.N. safe area of Srebrenica from advancing Serb forces in 1995.

But with thousands of Muslim refugees in the Dutch compound - including Nuhanovic and his mother, father and brother - Dutch forces handed them over to the Serbs. About 8,000 of them - men and boys - were then executed, including Nuhanovic's entire family.

The Hague District Court ruled the government cannot be held liable because the Dutch battalion³ was working for the United Nations.

Nuhanovic and the family of Rizo Mustafic, an electrician murdered at Srebrenica, were seeking compensation from the Dutch state because both were employed by its peacekeepers.

This decision does not bode⁴ well for another civil lawsuit⁵ still working its way through the Dutch courts, a larger class-action lawsuit brought by about 6,000 family members of the victims. A court in that case already ruled earlier this year that the United Nations cannot be held responsible for failing to prevent the massacre¹ because it enjoys immunity⁶ from legal processes.
　

Relatives Mehida Mustafic-Majic, left, her daughter Alma, center, and her son Damir, right, listen during the verdict at District Court in The Hague, Netherlands, 10 Sept. 2008

Six years ago the Dutch government collapsed⁷ after a report concluded it had sent its ill-prepared troops on an impossible mission. But the state denied liability for the murders, ruling out any monetary⁸ compensation at the time.

"I have been betrayed so many times before in my life," Nuhanovic said after the verdict, vowing⁹ to continue his fight.

But Dutch officials blame the Srebrenica massacres solely¹⁰ on the Bosnian Serbs, whose leaders, Radovan Karadzic and General Ratko Mladic, have been charged with genocide for what happened at Srebrenica. Now that Karadzic has been arrested after 13 years on the run, his upcoming trial at the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal may be the last hope for the justice Nuhanovic and the other Srebrenica survivors¹¹ say they are looking for.

1 massacre   

n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀

参考例句：

• There was a terrible massacre of villagers here during the war.在战争中，这里的村民惨遭屠杀。
• If we forget the massacre,the massacre will happen again!忘记了大屠杀，大屠杀就有可能再次发生！

2 massacres   

大屠杀( massacre的名词复数 )； 惨败

参考例句：

• The time is past for guns and killings and massacres. 动不动就用枪、动不动就杀、大规模屠杀的时代已经过去了。 来自教父部分
• Numberless recent massacres were still vivid in their recollection. 近来那些不可胜数的屠杀，在他们的头脑中记忆犹新。

3 battalion   

n.营；部队；大队(的人)

参考例句：

• The town was garrisoned by a battalion.该镇由一营士兵驻守。
• At the end of the drill parade,the battalion fell out.操练之后，队伍解散了。

4 bode   

v.预示

参考例句：

• These figures do not bode well for the company's future.这些数字显示出公司的前景不妙。
• His careful habits bode well for his future.他那认真的习惯预示著他会有好的前途。

5 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

6 immunity   

n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权

参考例句：

• The law gives public schools immunity from taxation.法律免除公立学校的纳税义务。
• He claims diplomatic immunity to avoid being arrested.他要求外交豁免以便避免被捕。

7 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

8 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

9 vowing   

起誓，发誓（vow的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild its collapsed bridge. 布什总统承诺将帮助明尼阿波利斯重建坍塌的大桥。
• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild this collapse bridge. 布什总统发誓要帮助明尼阿波利斯重建起这座坍塌的桥梁。

10 solely   

adv.仅仅，唯一地

参考例句：

• Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
• The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。

11 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者