美国国家公共电台 NPR--Myanmar court again finds Aung San Suu Kyi guilty of corruption

Myanmar court again finds Aung San Suu Kyi guilty of corruption¹

Transcript²

NPR's A Martinez talks to Derek Mitchell, a former U.S. ambassador to Myanmar and president of the National Democratic Institute, about Myanmar court finding Aung San Suu Kyi guilty of corruption.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

A court in military-ruled Myanmar earlier today sentenced the country's former civilian³ leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, to seven more years in prison. Suu Kyi was arrested when the military seized power in a coup⁴ nearly two years ago, and she's been accused of corruption and other charges. Suu Kyi already received sentences of more than two dozen years in prison from previous charges, and human rights groups have called the proceedings⁵ against her a sham⁶. To understand what these latest verdicts mean, we've called Derek Mitchell. He's president of the National Democratic Institute. Derek, so what do you make of these rulings against her?

DEREK MITCHELL: Well, I agree with those human rights commentators⁷. This is a foregone conclusion. The whole process, the trial - so call - was a farce⁸. Veneer⁹ of a rule of law in Burma, or Myanmar, is there - a veneer - but it's no more than that. There is no rule of law in Myanmar.

MART?NEZ: Is it obvious to you - is it one of those things that's impossible to deny, that the rulings are a sham?

MITCHELL: Yeah, it's impossible. This was a foregone conclusion. I mean, they want to sideline Aung San Suu Kyi. They see her as a threat to their power. Every time they've had any kind of elections, which is what the military wants to do again in 2023, is have "an election" in quotes - every time they have a real election, she wins. She and her party win. And that happened a couple years ago. They don't like that, so they want to put her away, basically permanently¹⁰ sideline her, so they can assume power and all the trappings that come with it.

MART?NEZ: So it seems like civilians¹¹ in Myanmar have a lot of trust, or at least they like her enough to keep electing her.

MITCHELL: Well, yeah, she's the symbol of - she's the hopeful symbol of the country. She's a unique figure. She's the daughter of the independence leader from the 1940s. She's led the democracy movement for decades. She's won the Nobel Peace Prize. She's won numerous prizes. I think most of your listeners will know that name, generally. And she remains¹² really powerful as a symbol of resistance or a symbol of hope, a symbol of democracy in the country. So people rally around her on that basis. So, yes, that makes her uniquely challenging to the military, uniquely dangerous.

MART?NEZ: The U.N. Security Council had a resolution condemning¹³ the actions of the military junta¹⁴. What impact do you think that will have, if any?

MITCHELL: It has a very important symbolic¹⁵ impact. The junta does care what the world thinks of it. It wants the coup to be normalized. I think its strategy was to weather the storm that would naturally come after the February 2021 coup. But then after weathering that storm, people get used to it and then accommodate to it. Some countries have. Some in the region, particularly Asia, have. But overall, the U.N. Security Council coming out and saying, this is unacceptable; this must end. Even including Russia and China, who normally vetoes these resolutions - they abstained¹⁶ in this case, allowed it to go forward - sends a signal to the junta that their desire to normalize what they've done is not working.

MART?NEZ: Thirty seconds left, Derek. I know President Biden signing the BURMA Act provides humanitarian¹⁷ aid to the country and also imposes targeted sanctions. What kind of a difference could that make in Myanmar?

MITCHELL: Well, I think that does send a very - again, a very powerful signal about U.S. policy. I think it also sends a signal from Congress to the Biden administration that they want continued pressure, heightened pressure, more support for the opposition¹⁸, the democratic opposition, more pressure against the junta, more intense diplomacy¹⁹ with their allies - all of that to try to reverse what's happened and show again that what the junta has done cannot be normalized.

MART?NEZ: Derek Mitchell is the president of the National Democratic Institute. Derek, thanks.

MITCHELL: Thank you.

1 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

2 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。

3 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

4 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

5 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

6 sham   

n./adj.假冒(的)，虚伪(的)

参考例句：

• They cunningly played the game of sham peace.他们狡滑地玩弄假和平的把戏。
• His love was a mere sham.他的爱情是虚假的。

7 commentators   

n.评论员( commentator的名词复数 )；时事评论员；注释者；实况广播员

参考例句：

• Sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 体育解说员翻来覆去说着同样的词语，真叫人腻烦。
• Television sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 电视体育解说员说来说去就是那么几句话，令人厌烦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 farce   

n.闹剧，笑剧，滑稽戏；胡闹

参考例句：

• They played a shameful role in this farce.他们在这场闹剧中扮演了可耻的角色。
• The audience roared at the farce.闹剧使观众哄堂大笑。

9 veneer   

n.(墙上的)饰面，虚饰

参考例句：

• For the first time her veneer of politeness began to crack.她温文尔雅的外表第一次露出破绽。
• The panel had a veneer of gold and ivory.这木板上面镶饰了一层金和象牙。

10 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

11 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。

12 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。

13 condemning   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的现在分词 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。
• I concur with the speaker in condemning what has been done. 我同意发言者对所做的事加以谴责。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

14 junta   

n.团体；政务审议会

参考例句：

• The junta reacted violently to the perceived threat to its authority.军政府感到自身权力受威胁而进行了激烈反击。
• A military junta took control of the country.一个军政权控制了国家。

15 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

16 abstained   

v.戒（尤指酒），戒除( abstain的过去式和过去分词 )；弃权（不投票）

参考例句：

• Ten people voted in favour, five against and two abstained. 十人投票赞成，五人反对，两人弃权。
• They collectively abstained (from voting) in the elections for local councilors. 他们在地方议会议员选举中集体弃权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

18 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。

19 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。