2007年VOA标准英语-Report Says Misuse of Ivory Coast Cocoa Revenue

By Selah Hennessy
Dakar
08 June 2007

A new report by the London-based watchdog group Global Witness says cocoa exports have helped fund the conflict in divided Ivory Coast, both for the government-run army and northern-based rebels. The world's leading cocoa producer remains¹ split in two, despite peace efforts, that have repeatedly stalled. Selah Hennessy reports from the VOA West Africa bureau in Dakar.

Ivorian farmers unload sacks of cocoa beans for burning at Anyama, north of Abidjan, Oct 2006

The report, released Friday by Global Witness in the Senegalese capital, says the Ivorian government spent over $50 million of cocoa money during the first year of fighting in the Ivory Coast civil war, from late 2002 to 2003. It says taxes levied² by the rebels on the cocoa trade amount to about $30 million every year.

Global Witness says that in the same way that so-called "blood diamonds" have adversely³ affected⁴ the lives of people in Sierra Leone and Liberia, and oil has fueled violence in the Niger Delta⁵, so cocoa has done the same in Ivory Coast.

The report says that the misuse⁶ of cocoa revenue in Ivory Coast is now slowing down the country's peace process.

Alioune Tine, a West African human rights activist⁷, says this report for the first time clearly demonstrates how the cocoa sector⁸ has been used to fuel conflict.

"We have [with this report] how these resources are used to buy arms and aggravate⁹ the conflict in Ivory Coast," said Tine.

He says it has long been known that Ivory Coast's cocoa industry is also marred¹⁰ by mismanagement.

"It is the problem of bad governance, problem of transparency, problem of corruption," he said.

Maria Lopez from Global Witness called for urgent reforms, as the latest peace deal is slowly taking hold.

"We believe that at this really transitional, key point of the situation in Ivory Coast, it is time for transparency in the cocoa sector and it is time to set the right foundation for a good future, for development to strive in Ivory Coast," said Lopez.

The report stops short of calling for an embargo¹¹.

"We are not asking for an embargo or, for say a boycott¹² for Ivorian cocoa. What we are asking companies [is] just to play a positive role and say clearly how much they are paying the cocoa institutions, that would be the right step towards more transparency in the cocoa sector," said Lopez.

Michel Saraka who works with the non-profit foundation Open Society Initiative for West Africa says it is the cocoa farmers and Ivorian citizens who are the main victims.

"If citizens don't know how the sector is managed, they cannot really demand accountability," said Saraka.

Rebels and government officials did not immediately respond to charges made in the new report.

President Laurent Gbagbo has repeatedly denied there is any illicit¹³ use of cocoa funds. He has also been accused by Ivorian media of using cocoa funds to sponsor the so-called Young Patriots¹⁴, who have repeatedly marched and rioted in main southern cities when they believed the international community was curtailing¹⁵ presidential power.

Cocoa exporting companies have said they have no control over how Ivorians spend cocoa revenue. They also say tracing the origin of cocoa, as is now done for diamonds to eliminate so-called blood diamonds, would be impossible.

During the 1990s, cocoa companies faced charges of child labor¹⁶ on the many Ivorian cocoa plantations¹⁷, but have since worked to reduce the problem.

1 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

2 levied   

征（兵）( levy的过去式和过去分词 )； 索取； 发动（战争）； 征税

参考例句：

• Taxes should be levied more on the rich than on the poor. 向富人征收的税应该比穷人的多。
• Heavy fines were levied on motoring offenders. 违规驾车者会遭到重罚。

3 adversely   

ad.有害地

参考例句：

• We commented adversely upon the imbecility of that message of telegraphic style. 我们对着这条电报式的愚蠢的留言发泄了一通不满。
• Widely fluctuating exchange rates may adversely affect international trade. 浮动幅度很大的汇率可能会对国际贸易产生有害的影响。

4 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

5 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

6 misuse   

n.误用，滥用；vt.误用，滥用

参考例句：

• It disturbs me profoundly that you so misuse your talents.你如此滥用自己的才能，使我深感不安。
• He was sacked for computer misuse.他因滥用计算机而被解雇了。

7 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

8 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

9 aggravate   

vt.加重(剧)，使恶化；激怒，使恼火

参考例句：

• Threats will only aggravate her.恐吓只能激怒她。
• He would only aggravate the injury by rubbing it.他揉擦伤口只会使伤势加重。

10 marred   

adj. 被损毁, 污损的

参考例句：

• The game was marred by the behaviour of drunken fans. 喝醉了的球迷行为不轨，把比赛给搅了。
• Bad diction marred the effectiveness of his speech. 措词不当影响了他演说的效果。

11 embargo   

n.禁运（令）；vt.对...实行禁运，禁止（通商）

参考例句：

• This country put an oil embargo on an enemy country.该国对敌国实行石油禁运。
• During the war,they laid an embargo on commerce with enemy countries.在战争期间，他们禁止与敌国通商。

12 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。

13 illicit   

adj.非法的，禁止的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He had an illicit association with Jane.他和简曾有过不正当关系。
• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year.今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。

14 patriots   

爱国者，爱国主义者( patriot的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Abraham Lincoln was a fine type of the American patriots. 亚伯拉罕·林肯是美国爱国者的优秀典型。
• These patriots would fight to death before they surrendered. 这些爱国者宁愿战斗到死，也不愿投降。

15 curtailing   

v.截断，缩短( curtail的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They will be curtailing the discussions at two thirty. 他们将把讨论缩短至两点半。 来自互联网
• Individually, banks are acting rationally by retaining their capital and curtailing lending. 此外，银行们正在合理地保留其资本和减少贷款。 来自互联网

16 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

17 plantations   

n.种植园，大农场( plantation的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Soon great plantations, supported by slave labor, made some families very wealthy. 不久之后出现了依靠奴隶劳动的大庄园，使一些家庭成了富豪。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• Winterborne's contract was completed, and the plantations were deserted. 维恩特波恩的合同完成后，那片林地变得荒废了。 来自辞典例句