2006年VOA标准英语-Uganda Offers Rebel Leader Kony Amnesty

By Pearse Lynch
Nairobi
05 July 2006

International criminal authorities say the warrant for the arrest of Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony stands despite the offer of amnesty by President Yoweri Museveni. Kony, who has led almost two decades of bloody¹ insurgency² against the government as leader of the Lord's Resistance Army, is charged by the International Criminal Court with war crimes and human rights violations³.

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Joseph Kony 
  
Uganda President Yoweri Museveni's offer to  of full amnesty is in direct defiance⁴ to warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the rebel leader's arrest on 33 charges of war crimes and human rights abuses.

The court said the outstanding warrant for Kony's arrest is still in force and it expects ICC member countries to cooperate in arresting him.

It was President Museveni who originally invited the Court to investigate Kony. Uganda is a member of the ICC.

But government spokesman Robert Kabushenga says the need for peace with Kony and his group is of the greatest importance for the Ugandan people.

"If he comes out of the bush with his group and abandons his acts of terrorism he will have full amnesty," said Kabushenga.  "This is an offer that has been made and if he responds than the Ugandan government will be committed to upholding that amnesty. So the most overriding⁵ thing now is to try and get peace for our country."

Salva Kiir    
  
The government and rebels are engaged in talks mediated⁶ by Sudan Vice⁷ President Salva Kiir in the southern Sudanese city of Juba.

The Ugandan People's Defense⁸ Force has stated its support for the government position. The military says Uganda's government was left with few alternatives but to negotiate, after the Lord's Resistance Army took refuge in the Garamba national park in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

"The government of Uganda decided⁹ to offer amnesty to Kony because of lack of partners in the region on the LRA problem. The LRA [Lord's Resistance Army] has been in Congo, the Congo government has not bothered to get rid of the LRA The U.N. that is in the Congo has not helped us on the problem," said Major Felix Kulayigye, the spokesman for the Ugandan Peoples Defense Force.  "But should the LRA indeed meet the conditions, obviously we shall scale down operations."

Mr. Museveni's offer of full amnesty is the strongest indication yet of Ugandan's commitment to the talks.

Several peace deals between the Lord's Resistance Army and the Ugandan government have failed in the past, with both sides accused of being uncommitted to peace.

If the current talks are successful they could see an end to 18 years of war in Northern Uganda in which the Lord's Resistance Army and Ugandan People's Defense Force have been accused of committing atrocities¹⁰.

The conflict has seen tens of thousands of casualties, more than one million people displaced from their homes and 30,000 children abducted¹¹ to fight as soldiers and serve as sex slaves.

1 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

2 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

3 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。

4 defiance   

n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗

参考例句：

• He climbed the ladder in defiance of the warning.他无视警告爬上了那架梯子。
• He slammed the door in a spirit of defiance.他以挑衅性的态度把门砰地一下关上。

5 overriding   

a.最主要的

参考例句：

• Development is of overriding importance. 发展是硬道理
• My overriding concern is to raise the standards of state education. 我最关心的是提高国民教育水平。

6 mediated   

调停，调解，斡旋( mediate的过去式和过去分词 )； 居间促成； 影响…的发生； 使…可能发生

参考例句：

• He mediated in the quarrel between the two boys. 他调解两个孩子之间的争吵。
• The government mediated between the workers and the employers. 政府在工人与雇主间搞调和。

7 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

8 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

9 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

10 atrocities   

n.邪恶，暴行( atrocity的名词复数 )；滔天大罪

参考例句：

• They were guilty of the most barbarous and inhuman atrocities. 他们犯有最野蛮、最灭绝人性的残暴罪行。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The enemy's atrocities made one boil with anger. 敌人的暴行令人发指。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 abducted   

劫持，诱拐( abduct的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展

参考例句：

• Detectives have not ruled out the possibility that she was abducted. 侦探尚未排除她被绑架的可能性。
• The kid was abducted at the gate of kindergarten. 那小孩在幼儿园大门口被绑架走了。