VOA常速英语2007-Amnesty International Demands Investigations int

By Kari Barber
Dakar
25 October 2007

Human rights group Amnesty International released a report Thursday calling on the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo to rein¹ in its security troops and prosecute² those accused of torture, murder and rape³. The rights group says much of the abuse is tied to political repression⁴ of the opposition⁵. Kari Barber has more from our West Africa bureau in Dakar.

Amnesty's Democratic Republic of Congo researcher Andrew Philip says many had hoped presidential elections last year would usher⁶ in an area of peaceful democracy. But he says violence by security forces against civilians⁷ - often those believed to have ties to opposition leader Jean-Pierre Bemba - has gotten worse.

"Running through that is the fear that the security forces are not working genuinely at the service of the Congolese, but they are still at the service of individual political figures and doing their bidding," he said.

Joseph Kabila defeated Bemba, a rebel leader turned politician, in the presidential elections.

Researcher Philip says there were many reports of civilians being raped⁸, tortured and killed by security forces during that period. There were also abuses reported following political fighting in March that left hundreds of civilians dead. He says it was often because they came from the same ethnic⁹ group as Bemba.

Philip says opposition forces should also be investigated on accusations¹⁰ of human rights abuses against civilians.

Thousands of U.N. peacekeepers are in Congo helping¹¹ to implement¹² a program to reform the unruly security forces.

Philip says although the program is headed by the Congolese government, international organizations should bear some responsibility in how it is managed.

"Since the international community in all of its different aspects is supporting the reform program, it is not necessarily that they are not doing enough, but I think they should be doing more to ensure that their contribution to the reform program also translates into justice for the victims of these abuses," he said.

He says international bodies should push for investigations¹³ and trials.

Human rights investigator¹⁴ with Kinshasa-based Voice for the Voiceless Rostin Manketa says the situation in the city is tense even though opposition leader Bemba has left the country.

"All of those accused of supporting Jean Pierre-Bemba for the time being are not very safe," said Manketa. "They are not safe. They are still afraid."

Government officials contacted for this report were unavailable for response.

United States President George Bush announced Wednesday the extension of sanctions against the Democratic Republic of Congo because of widespread violence and instability. The announcement was made just days before a scheduled meeting between Mr. Bush and President Kabila.

1 rein   

n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治

参考例句：

• The horse answered to the slightest pull on the rein.只要缰绳轻轻一拉,马就作出反应。
• He never drew rein for a moment till he reached the river.他一刻不停地一直跑到河边。

2 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？

3 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

4 repression   

n.镇压，抑制，抑压

参考例句：

• The repression of your true feelings is harmful to your health.压抑你的真实感情有害健康。
• This touched off a new storm against violent repression.这引起了反对暴力镇压的新风暴。

5 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

6 usher   

n.带位员，招待员；vt.引导，护送；vi.做招待，担任引座员

参考例句：

• The usher seated us in the front row.引座员让我们在前排就座。
• They were quickly ushered away.他们被迅速领开。

7 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。

8 raped   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的过去式和过去分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• A young woman was brutally raped in her own home. 一名年轻女子在自己家中惨遭强暴。 来自辞典例句
• We got stick together, or we will be having our women raped. 我们得团结一致，不然我们的妻女就会遭到蹂躏。 来自辞典例句

9 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

10 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

11 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

12 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

13 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

14 investigator   

n.研究者，调查者，审查者

参考例句：

• He was a special investigator for the FBI.他是联邦调查局的特别调查员。
• The investigator was able to deduce the crime and find the criminal.调查者能够推出犯罪过程并锁定罪犯。