2006年VOA标准英语-Bush, Obasanjo Welcome Arrest of Liberia's

By Paula Wolfson
Washington
29 March 2006

The White House has welcomed the arrest by Nigerian police of former Liberian President and rebel leader Charles Taylor. Taylor arrived in Liberia en route to Sierra Leone shortly after President Bush sat down for talks Wednesday with Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo.

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George Bush meets with Olusegun Obasanjo at White House, March 29, 2006   
  

When President Obasanjo arrived in Washington Tuesday evening, Charles Taylor was missing. By the time the Nigerian leader met with President Bush the next morning, everything had changed.

Taylor's disappearance¹ was dramatic and relatively² brief. Less than 24 hours after he disappeared from his place of exile in Nigeria, he was captured trying to cross the border into Cameroon. Nigerian police say he was picked up in a vehicle with diplomatic license³ plates and bags of cash.

President Obasanjo speaks of the arrest in terms of "divine intervention⁴." As he wrapped up his talks with President Bush, he told reporters that at that very moment a plane carrying Charles Taylor was about to land on Liberian soil.

He left no doubt he was aware of the comments of critics, including a few prominent members of Congress, who charged Tuesday that Nigerian negligence⁵ allowed Taylor to slip away. He said Nigeria has proved them wrong.

"If we had been negligent⁶, then Charles Taylor would have gotten away. He would not have been arrested," he said.

Charles Taylor was granted asylum⁷ in Nigeria three years ago under a deal designed to end 14 years of civil war in Liberia. Meanwhile, an international tribunal in Freetown charged him with 17 counts of crimes against humanity for his support of rebels in neighboring Sierra Leone known for their brutal⁸ tactics against civilians⁹.

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf    
  
The newly elected president of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf recently asked Nigeria to extradite Taylor, and on Saturday President Obasanjo agreed. President Bush, who met with Mrs. Sirleaf last week, told the Nigerian leader he is pleased that Taylor will face justice.

"I appreciate the decision you made regarding Charles Taylor," said Mr. Bush. "During my visit last week with the president of Liberia, we talked about Charles Taylor, the fact that Charles Taylor will be brought to justice in a court of law will help Liberia and signal, Mr. President, your deep desire for there to be peace in your neighborhood."

Later, President Bush suggested the Charles Taylor trial might be moved from Sierra Leone to another country, most likely the Netherlands. At the State Department, spokesman Sean McCormick confirmed discussions are underway on a possible change of venue¹⁰, saying the goal is to find a location that could handle a trial of this magnitude. However, he emphasized jurisdiction¹¹ would remain with the Freetown tribunal, which would simply try the case at a different site.

1 disappearance   

n.消失，消散，失踪

参考例句：

• He was hard put to it to explain her disappearance.他难以说明她为什么不见了。
• Her disappearance gave rise to the wildest rumours.她失踪一事引起了各种流言蜚语。

2 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

3 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

4 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

5 negligence   

n.疏忽，玩忽，粗心大意

参考例句：

• They charged him with negligence of duty.他们指责他玩忽职守。
• The traffic accident was allegedly due to negligence.这次车祸据说是由于疏忽造成的。

6 negligent   

adj.疏忽的；玩忽的；粗心大意的

参考例句：

• The committee heard that he had been negligent in his duty.委员会听说他玩忽职守。
• If the government is proved negligent,compensation will be payable.如果证明是政府的疏忽，就应支付赔偿。

7 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

8 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

9 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。

10 venue   

n.犯罪地点，审判地，管辖地，发生地点，集合地点

参考例句：

• The hall provided a venue for weddings and other functions.大厅给婚礼和其他社会活动提供了场所。
• The chosen venue caused great controversy among the people.人们就审判地点的问题产生了极大的争议。

11 jurisdiction   

n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权

参考例句：

• It doesn't lie within my jurisdiction to set you free.我无权将你释放。
• Changzhou is under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province.常州隶属江苏省。