VOA慢速英语2014 Unrest, Abuse Prevent Solution in Libya

 

AS IT IS 2014-11-28 Unrest, Abuse Prevent Solution in Libya

The political and security crisis in Libya is growing worse. Competing governments seek to control the east and west of the country. In a new report, Amnesty International says human rights violations¹ in Libya are widespread. And it says rights are violated without fear of punishment.

Libyans have been facing almost constant conflict since the fall of Moammar Gadhafi three years ago. The fighting is continuing. The country may have competing governments, but militias³ hold much of the real power. They represent supporters of the former Libyan leader, Islamists and other groups.

Recently, Amnesty International examined the situation in Libya. The new report condemns⁴ all sides for human rights abuses and violations of international law. Magdalena Mughrabi works for Amnesty.

“We’ve seen, you know, three years where, instead of investigating crimes, instead of investigating human rights violations, having a sort of transitional justice process, the authorities, the successive governments, were actually unable to deal with that situation.”

Magdelena Mughrabi says conditions worsened through three years of different governments. She says these governments gave power to militias in an effort to help them become part of Libyan society. But she says Libyan officials were unable to control the militias or to hold them responsible for their actions.

The political situation in Libya has also broken down. The Libyan Supreme⁵ Court cancelled the election of the latest parliament. This parliament still claims power from a town in the country’s east. But a militant⁶ commander, Khalifa Hifter, has set up another government in Tripoli. He formerly⁷ served as a general in the Libyan armed forces.

That means more fighting and suffering for the Libyan people, says Chris Doyle. He is the director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding.

“It means that there is still a struggle for power within the country. There is no legitimate⁸ authority. It means there’s going to be a further conflict now to assert who actually has the legitimacy⁹ to run the country.”

Mr. Doyle says some Libyans want another strongman as their leader. He notes that a small minority consider the Islamic State militant group as a model.

Yet many Libyans continue to flee toward Europe, creating another humanitarian¹⁰ crisis.

“If we do not address the situation in Libya, we are going to see more of that, and we are gonna see increased radicalization and extremism on the southern borders of Europe.”

The 2011 revolution created great hope for oil-rich and well-educated Libya. Now, Chris Doyle says, the competing groups need foreign help with negotiating an end to the crisis. And there is none they would all trust.

So Magdalena Mughrabi says Amnesty International is calling on militia² commanders to end the human rights abuses.

“There are certain things that, you know, not only can be done, but must be done by the armed groups because otherwise they can be liable to prosecution¹¹ by the International Criminal Court.”

But that call is unlikely to have much of an effect on Libyan commanders who have never been punished. Many believe they are fighting an all-or-nothing battle for the future of their country.

Words in This Story

crisis - n. an extremely important time when something may become much better or worse; a dangerous situation

violations - n. failure to obey or honor

punishment - n. causing pain, suffering or loss for doing something bad or illegal

militias - n. armies of citizens instead of professional soldiers; private armies

1 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。

2 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

3 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

4 condemns   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的第三人称单数 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• Her widowhood condemns her to a lonely old age. 守寡使她不得不过着孤独的晚年生活。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The public opinion condemns prostitution. 公众舆论遣责卖淫。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

6 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

7 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

8 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

9 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

10 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。

11 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。