VOA常速英语2007-Critics Say British PM Fails to Protect Asylum S

By Tendai Maphosa
London
03 October 2007

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown recently stepped up his criticism of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe for his dictatorial¹ rule and human rights abuses.  The British government also repeatedly condemns² other governments that violate the human rights of their citizens.  But critics say Mr. Brown has failed to follow his words with deeds when it comes to standing³ up for refugees fleeing some of the world's worst tyrannies.  Tendai Maphosa filed this report for VOA from London.

Last month Gordon Brown threatened to boycott⁴ the European Union-African Union summit meeting slated⁵ for December if Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe were to attend.  Writing in the daily newspaper The Independent, the prime minister said he was not prepared to be at the same conference as a leader responsible for the abuse of his own people, widespread torture and the mass intimidation⁶ of political opponents.

Mr. Brown repeated his concern for the oppressed at his party's annual conference last month.

"The message should go out to anyone facing persecution⁷ anywhere from Burma to Zimbabwe.  Human rights are universal and no injustice⁸ can last forever," Mr. Brown said. "People will look back on events in Darfur as they did in Rwanda and say why did you, the most powerful countries in the world, fail to act, to come to the aid of those with the least power?"

But critics say Mr. Brown, like his predecessor⁹ Tony Blair, does not match his rhetoric¹⁰ with action.

In April, British Court of Appeal judges halted the deportation¹¹ of three Darfuri asylum¹² seekers that the government wanted to send back to the Sudanese capital, Khartoum.  The judges ruled the three should not be sent back to camps in Khartoum, because conditions there were "unduly¹³ harsh."

But the government has petitioned the House of Lords, the highest court in the land, for permission to appeal the court's decision.

The Home Office, which is responsible for internal security and immigration affairs, argues that Darfur refugees will not be tortured if they are sent to Khartoum because the conflict is in Darfur.

James Smith of the Aegis¹⁴ Trust, a non-governmental organization that has been acting¹⁵ on behalf of the Darfur refugees, says there is evidence that people who were sent back to Sudan were tortured, but the British government is disregarding it.

"Their guidance to the judiciary in the U.K. is that people are not at risk of being picked up and tortured at the airport or anywhere else if they return to Khartoum," Smith said. "Aegis is trying to demonstrate evidence to the contrary; they are dismissing the evidence, they are also disregarding advice from the UNHCR that people of African origin from Darfur who sought refuge in the U.K. should not be returned to Sudan."

Critics of Mr. Brown say his government is also failing to help Iraqi refugees.  The human rights group Amnesty International describes Britain as one of the key players in forcible returns of failed Iraqi asylum seekers.  The report says Britain has sent back more Iraqis than any other European country.

Hannah Ward¹⁶ is a press officer for the Refugee Council, a group that provides support for refugees and asylum seekers.  She says the government is bowing to Europe- wide right-wing pressure that opposes immigration.

"We believe that the government does feel that it is sending out a message to people not to come to this country.  We know it is very concerned about numbers, we know it spent a lot of time and resources on getting numbers down," Ward said. "The number of people coming to the U.K. and claiming asylum has fallen quite dramatically since 2002."

Ward also says there are hundreds of asylum seekers from Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of the Congo who the government wants to send back, but cannot because the refugees have appealed their expulsions.

Aegis Trust's Smith says Mr. Brown and Britain's political leadership must go beyond talk in resolving the plight¹⁷ of those who have been persecuted¹⁸.

"There is a lot of talk from political leaders," Smith said. "While they are showing this strong leadership maybe at the Security Council level or on the world stage in the media, they need to make it clear also to members of their own government that they expect their policies to be consistent and followed through, and that includes the Home Office."

A Home Office spokesperson told The Independent newspaper this week that while the government has grave concerns about the human rights situation in Zimbabwe, Darfur and Burma, not everyone is at risk of persecution.  She added that each case is dealt with individually, and those who need protection will receive it. 

1 dictatorial   

adj. 独裁的，专断的

参考例句：

• Her father is very dictatorial.她父亲很专横。
• For years the nation had been under the heel of a dictatorial regime.多年来这个国家一直在独裁政权的铁蹄下。

2 condemns   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的第三人称单数 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• Her widowhood condemns her to a lonely old age. 守寡使她不得不过着孤独的晚年生活。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The public opinion condemns prostitution. 公众舆论遣责卖淫。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

4 boycott   

n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与

参考例句：

• We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
• The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。

5 slated   

用石板瓦盖( slate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Yuki is working up an in-home phonics program slated for Thursdays, and I'm drilling her on English conversation at dinnertime. Yuki每周四还有一次家庭语音课。我在晚餐时训练她的英语口语。
• Bromfield was slated to become U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. 布罗姆菲尔德被提名为美国农业部长。

6 intimidation   

n.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• The Opposition alleged voter intimidation by the army.反对党声称投票者受到军方的恐吓。
• The gang silenced witnesses by intimidation.恶帮用恐吓的手段使得证人不敢说话。

7 persecution   

n. 迫害,烦扰

参考例句：

• He had fled from France at the time of the persecution. 他在大迫害时期逃离了法国。
• Their persecution only serves to arouse the opposition of the people. 他们的迫害只激起人民对他们的反抗。

8 injustice   

n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利

参考例句：

• They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。
• All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。

9 predecessor   

n.前辈，前任

参考例句：

• It will share the fate of its predecessor.它将遭受与前者同样的命运。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

10 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

11 deportation   

n.驱逐，放逐

参考例句：

• The government issued a deportation order against the four men.政府发出了对那4名男子的驱逐令。
• Years ago convicted criminals in England could face deportation to Australia.很多年以前，英国已定罪的犯人可能被驱逐到澳大利亚。

12 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。

13 unduly   

adv.过度地，不适当地

参考例句：

• He did not sound unduly worried at the prospect.他的口气听上去对前景并不十分担忧。
• He argued that the law was unduly restrictive.他辩称法律的约束性有些过分了。

14 aegis   

n.盾；保护，庇护

参考例句：

• Medical supplies are flied in under the aegis of the red cross.在红十字会的保护下，正在空运进医药用品。
• The space programme will continue under the aegis of the armed forces.这项太空计划将以武装部队作后盾继续进行。

15 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

16 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。

17 plight   

n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定

参考例句：

• The leader was much concerned over the plight of the refugees.那位领袖对难民的困境很担忧。
• She was in a most helpless plight.她真不知如何是好。

18 persecuted   

（尤指宗教或政治信仰的）迫害(~sb. for sth.)( persecute的过去式和过去分词 )； 烦扰，困扰或骚扰某人

参考例句：

• Throughout history, people have been persecuted for their religious beliefs. 人们因宗教信仰而受迫害的情况贯穿了整个历史。
• Members of these sects are ruthlessly persecuted and suppressed. 这些教派的成员遭到了残酷的迫害和镇压。