2006年VOA标准英语-World Court Launches Bosnia-Herzegovina Ge

By Lauren Comiteau
The Hague
27 February 2006
 

Bosnian survivors¹ demonstrate, carrying banners bearing the names of each of the more than 8,000 victims of the 1995 massacre² at Srebrenica, outside the Peace Palace in The Hague  
  
The International Court of Justice in The Hague opened two months of hearings in its first genocide case. Bosnia-Herzegovina has taken Serbia-Montenegro to court, accusing it of committing genocide during the 1990s Balkans war and demanding reparations.

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Saying he was speaking on behalf of Bosnia-Herzegovina's victims, Bosnia's representative, Sakib Softic, told judges, the violence that hit his country, as he put it, like a man-made tsunami³, in the early 1990s, destroyed the very character of Bosnia-Herzegovina, along with a substantial part of its non-Serb population.

"We are here because the Belgrade authorities have knowingly taken the non-Serbs of Bosnia-and-Herzegovina on a path to hell. A path littered with dead bodies, broken families, lost youths," he said.

While Softic was making his case inside, several dozen demonstrators were outside reading the names of some of the 8,000 victims of the 1995 massacre of Bosnian Muslims in the U.N.-declared safe haven⁴ of Srebrenica.

Many of the demonstrators are originally from Bosnia, like 20-year-old Medina Alic. She lost almost all her male relatives in Srebrenica, and wants the world court to hold Belgrade responsible.

"I hope that some people find some peace," she said. "It can't bring the family members back, so ..."

Monday's hearings are the culmination⁵ of 13 years of legal back and forth⁶, with Bosnia accusing Serbia of stalling proceedings⁷ in an effort to prevent a judgment⁸ from ever being handed down.

At the time Bosnia brought its case against what was then Yugoslavia, the war was still raging, and the Srebrenica massacres⁹ had yet to be committed. Sarajevo asked the court to order Belgrade to stop the violence, and find it guilty of ethnic¹⁰ cleansing¹¹ and genocide. It also wants reparations.

Another court, the Yugoslav War Crimes Tribunal, also in The Hague, has ruled Srebrenica genocide. While there have been political and military leaders convicted of genocide, this is the first instance in which a state will be judged for the crime.

In order to prove it, Sarajevo's lawyers will have to convince the court's judges that Serbia intended to destroy Bosnia's Muslim population, something, which is not expected to be easy.

1 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

2 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！

3 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

4 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

5 culmination   

n.顶点；最高潮

参考例句：

• The space race reached its culmination in the first moon walk.太空竞争以第一次在月球行走而达到顶峰。
• It may truly be regarded as the culmination of classical Greek geometry.这确实可以看成是古典希腊几何的登峰造级之作。

6 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

7 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

8 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

9 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。

10 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

11 cleansing   

n. 净化(垃圾) adj. 清洁用的 动词cleanse的现在分词

参考例句：

• medicated cleansing pads for sensitive skin 敏感皮肤药物清洗棉
• Soap is not the only cleansing agent. 肥皂并不是唯一的清洁剂。