2007年VOA标准英语-Liberia's Charles Taylor Ends Boycott, Attends

By Kari Barber
Dakar
03 July 2007

Liberia's former president Charles Taylor ended a boycott¹ Tuesday of his trial for war crimes he is accused of committing during Sierra Leone' decade long civil war. Mr. Taylor had boycotted² the trial, which began last month in The Hague, saying that his defense³ team was inadequate⁴ and he had no chance of a fair hearing. Kari Barber reports from VOA's West Africa bureau in Dakar.

Charles Taylor (2006 file photo)

Charles Taylor did not explain his decision to attend the hearing at the U.N.-backed special court, where he pleaded not guilty to an amended⁵ charge of sexual slavery.

Taylor has pleaded not guilty to all 11 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity which include murder, rape⁶, mutilation and the use of child soldiers during the brutal⁷ civil war in Sierra Leone.

Taylor is accused of backing the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) and other rebels in Sierra Leone - giving them guns, training and money in exchange for diamonds from the areas they controlled.

Netherlands-based researcher Stephen Ellis, author of a book on Liberia's civil war, says Mr. Taylor's appearance gives more credence⁸ to the special court for Sierra Leone.

Mr. Taylor's trial has been criticized for being held in Europe. The trial was moved to The Hague because of fears it could lead to renewed tensions within Sierra Leone and Liberia.

"It is going to give the court more legitimacy⁹ than it might have if he were to completely boycott the trial and on the other hand it also means he has some chance to defend himself," said Ellis.

Spokesman for the Freetown-based Special Court for Sierra Leone Peter Andersen says while it is encouraging that Mr. Taylor chose to participate, the case would have gone on regardless.

"For the administration of justice it has to be seen that the judges are in control of the court, so the process will continue," said Andersen. "If an accused can bring the process to a halt or claim to discredit¹⁰ the process by saying, 'I am not going to cooperate,' then you have a very big problem in the administration of justice."

Andersen says in all of the cases the special court has seen there have been times when defendants¹¹ refuse to participate.

"It is not mandatory¹². We do not drag a person in in chains," he said. "The judges will note that the person has waived¹³ his rights to be present and they will continue on until the person comes to court and in every case we have had so far the accused have eventually returned to court."

Mr. Taylor's case is scheduled to reconvene on August 20 to give time to put together a new defense counsel.

1 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。

2 boycotted   

抵制，拒绝参加( boycott的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Athletes from several countries boycotted the Olympic Games. 有好几国的运动员抵制奥林匹克运动会。
• The opposition party earlier boycotted the Diet agenda, demanding Miyaji's resignation. 反对党曾杯葛国会议程，要宫路下台。

3 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。

4 inadequate   

adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
• She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。

5 Amended   

adj. 修正的 动词amend的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He asked to see the amended version. 他要求看修订本。
• He amended his speech by making some additions and deletions. 他对讲稿作了些增删修改。

6 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。

7 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

8 credence   

n.信用，祭器台，供桌，凭证

参考例句：

• Don't give credence to all the gossip you hear.不要相信你听到的闲话。
• Police attach credence to the report of an unnamed bystander.警方认为一位不知姓名的目击者的报告很有用。

9 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

10 discredit   

vt.使不可置信；n.丧失信义；不信，怀疑

参考例句：

• Their behaviour has bought discredit on English football.他们的行为败坏了英国足球运动的声誉。
• They no longer try to discredit the technology itself.他们不再试图怀疑这种技术本身。

11 defendants   

被告( defendant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The courts heard that the six defendants had been coerced into making a confession. 法官审判时发现6位被告人曾被迫承认罪行。
• As in courts, the defendants are represented by legal counsel. 与法院相同，被告有辩护律师作为代表。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

12 mandatory   

adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者

参考例句：

• It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
• There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。

13 waived   

v.宣布放弃( waive的过去式和过去分词 )；搁置；推迟；放弃（权利、要求等）

参考例句：

• He has waived all claim to the money. 他放弃了索取这笔钱的权利。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I waived the discourse, and began to talk of my business. 我撇开了这个话题，开始讲我的事情。 来自辞典例句