2006年VOA标准英语-Milosevic's Body Returned to Serbia for Bu

By Stefan Bos
Budapest
15 March 2006
 
The body of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic has arrived in Serbia on a commercial flight from the Netherlands for a private burial in his home town of Pozarevac. 

Socialist¹ party officials carry coffin² of Slobodan Milosevic, upon arrival at Belgrade airport   
  
There were no honor guards, no speeches. All that Serbs saw on television was a small group of Milosevic's Socialist Party supporters waiting in the bitter cold at Belgrade airport.

The functionaries³ draped his coffin in a Serbian flag as soon as it emerged from the cargo⁴ compartment⁵ of the airliner⁶ and carried it to a waiting van.

The Serbian government had made it clear there would be no state funeral for Milosevic.

As Milosevic's body was being honored by his followers⁷ in a private ceremony, questions continue to abound⁸ over the circumstances that led to his death in a prison cell near the U.N. tribunal in The Hague where he was tried for war crimes.

Russia's top cardiologist, Leo Bokeria, who headed a team of Russian doctors who joined Dutch pathologists in the Netherlands, ruled out poisoning and agreed he had died of a heart attack.

But he suggested that better medical treatment in the U.N. detention⁹ facility could have avoided Milosevic's death.

"It is my opinion that his death was preventable," said Bokeria. "Absolutely. Because he had a pathology which is treated in any place in the world at the moment."
 

Boris Tadic  
  
Serbian President Boris Tadic agreed, saying Milosevic's death has diminished the credibility of the U.N. tribunal. He recalled that Milosevic died shortly after Croatian Serb leader Milan Babic committed suicide in the same jail.

"I have to say that we have a problem today with the credibility of The Hague Tribunal because of two very sensitive cases within three weeks," said Tadic. "First of all the suicide of Mr. Babic and after that Milosevic's death. [This is controversial] especially after his demand for extra medical care. This is a real problem for my country today and the government in Serbia."

But he said Belgrade will continue to cooperate with the U.N. court in bringing other war crimes suspects to international justice.

Mr. Tadic said honoring Milosevic in a state funeral would be "absolutely inappropriate considering the role he has played in Serbia's recent history." Milosevic took Serbia through four wars during his 13 years in power.

Milosevic, who was 64, will be laid to rest on Saturday in his home town of Pozarevac.

 
Mira Markovic
(2002 file photo) 
  
It was still unclear whether his widow, Mira Markovic, who is in self-imposed exile in Moscow, would attend the funeral. Once a powerful figure in Serbian politics, she is facing corruption¹⁰ charges at home, and while a Belgrade court temporarily lifted a warrant for her arrest, it also ordered she surrender her passport on arrival.

Chief editor of Serbia's Politika newspaper, Ljiljana Smajlovic, says Milosevic's death spared the Serbs international condemnation¹¹.

"Everyone here feels I think that Mr. Milosevic's dying unconvicted may to some extent help Serbia evade¹² collective punishment at the World Court and may help in Serbia not being convicted of genocide," said Smajlovic.

Elsewhere in Europe, the death of Milosevic is seen as an opportunity for Serbia to bury its bloodstained past and build a more peaceful future.

1 socialist   

n.社会主义者；adj.社会主义的

参考例句：

• China is a socialist country,and a developing country as well.中国是一个社会主义国家，也是一个发展中国家。
• His father was an ardent socialist.他父亲是一个热情的社会主义者。

2 coffin   

n.棺材，灵柩

参考例句：

• When one's coffin is covered,all discussion about him can be settled.盖棺论定。
• The coffin was placed in the grave.那口棺材已安放到坟墓里去了。

3 functionaries   

n.公职人员，官员( functionary的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Indian transmitters were court functionaries, not missionaries. 印度文化的传递者都是朝廷的官员而不是传教士。 来自辞典例句
• All government institutions functionaries must implement state laws, decrees and policies. 所有政府机关极其工作人员都必须认真执行国家的法律，法规和政策。 来自互联网

4 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

5 compartment   

n.卧车包房，隔间；分隔的空间

参考例句：

• We were glad to have the whole compartment to ourselves.真高兴，整个客车隔间由我们独享。
• The batteries are safely enclosed in a watertight compartment.电池被安全地置于一个防水的隔间里。

6 airliner   

n.客机，班机

参考例句：

• The pilot landed the airliner safely.驾驶员使客机安全着陆。
• The passengers were shepherded across the tarmac to the airliner.旅客们被引导走过跑道去上飞机。

7 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

8 abound   

vi.大量存在；(in，with)充满，富于

参考例句：

• Oranges abound here all the year round.这里一年到头都有很多橙子。
• But problems abound in the management of State-owned companies.但是在国有企业的管理中仍然存在不少问题。

9 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

10 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。

11 condemnation   

n.谴责; 定罪

参考例句：

• There was widespread condemnation of the invasion. 那次侵略遭到了人们普遍的谴责。
• The jury's condemnation was a shock to the suspect. 陪审团宣告有罪使嫌疑犯大为震惊。

12 evade   

vt.逃避，回避；避开，躲避

参考例句：

• He tried to evade the embarrassing question.他企图回避这令人难堪的问题。
• You are in charge of the job.How could you evade the issue?你是负责人，你怎么能对这个问题不置可否？