2006年VOA标准英语-Kurds Push to Make Strong Legal Case of Genocid

By Brian Padden
Irbil, Iraq
28 August 2006

Kurdish leaders in Iraq say they want to be sure prosecutors¹ build the strongest case possible against Saddam Hussein and six of his military commanders charged with genocide in the Anfal military operation against Iraqi Kurds that prosecutors say killed 180,000 people. VOA's Brian Padden reports from Irbil, in the heart of the Kurdish region of Iraq.

-----

		Saddam Hussein at his trial in Baghdad

During the Anfal campaign against Iraqi Kurds in the 1980s, Dr. Yusif Aziz treated many victims of chemical attacks.

"I am one of the witnesses of this place," said Yusif Aziz. "I have personally smelled the mustard gas. I have treated many people, hundred, thousands of people I have treated them."

Dr. Aziz is the minister of human rights for the Kurdistan regional government in northern Iraq. He has been working on the government's case against Saddam Hussein and six of his military commanders charged with genocide against the Kurds. Prosecutors say 180,000 people died in the military campaign.

Dr. Aziz says the Kurds do not want revenge. They want justice under the law.

"We will use the law against him," he said. "Only the law will be the answer of Saddam Hussein."

Dr. Aziz is confident that the overwhelming evidence, the mass graves, the testimony² from survivors³ and official Iraqi government documents ordering mass killings⁵, will be enough to convict the accused in a court of law.

But Civil Rights Association Director in Kurdistan Haval Maaroof is unsure about the government's ability to prosecute⁶ this case.

"A case like this, it is a genocide," said Haval Maaroof. "It is like the holocaust⁷. So, I was expecting more from the prosecution⁸."

Maaroof says, within Iraqi law, there is no clear definition of the crime.

"We have created the special criminal court to deal with this case, the case of mass killings, which happened in the Saddam's regime," he said. "But, legally, if we want to define it, we do not have legal articles, or legal text that define it."

Instead, he says, the prosecution will rely on proving that Saddam violated international human-rights accords.

Saddam's lawyers argue that the operation was aimed at wiping out Kurdish separatist guerillas, who sided with Iran in its war with Iraq.

Dr. Aziz says the prosecution's response concedes that Kurds were fighting for independence, but that the response of the Saddam regime far exceeds what is acceptable, even in a time of war.

"Killing⁴ innocent people, as a woman and children," said Yusif Aziz. "There is not any law in the world that will give you the right to do this."

Maaroof agrees that the abundance of evidence is indisputable. But he says the prosecution needs to make a strong case in defining the extent of the crime, establishing the intent of the Iraqi leadership to eradicate⁹ the Kurds, and linking Saddam to the killings.

"We have to look after the chain of command," he pointed¹⁰ out. "Who gave the orders? We know that, in Iraq, the only person who could give an order was Saddam Hussein."

The trial has been adjourned¹¹ until September 11.

1 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

2 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

3 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

4 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

5 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

6 prosecute   

vt.告发；进行；vi.告发，起诉，作检察官

参考例句：

• I am trying my best to prosecute my duties.我正在尽力履行我的职责。
• Is there enough evidence to prosecute?有没有起诉的足够证据？

7 holocaust   

n.大破坏；大屠杀

参考例句：

• The Auschwitz concentration camp always remind the world of the holocaust.奥辛威茨集中营总是让世人想起大屠杀。
• Ahmadinejad is denying the holocaust because he's as brutal as Hitler was.内贾德否认大屠杀，因为他像希特勒一样残忍。

8 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。

9 eradicate   

v.根除，消灭，杜绝

参考例句：

• These insects are very difficult to eradicate.这些昆虫很难根除。
• They are already battling to eradicate illnesses such as malaria and tetanus.他们已经在努力消灭疟疾、破伤风等疾病。

10 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

11 adjourned   

（使）休会， （使）休庭( adjourn的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The court adjourned for lunch. 午餐时间法庭休庭。
• The trial was adjourned following the presentation of new evidence to the court. 新证据呈到庭上后，审讯就宣告暂停。