2007年VOA标准英语-Thai Security Forces Accused of Abuse in Fighti

By Ron Corben
Bangkok
13 July 2007

Human Rights Watch says that despite government efforts at reconciliation¹, Thai security forces are still committing rights abuses in fighting an insurgency² in southern Thailand. As Ron Corben reports from Bangkok, Human Rights Watch says such tactics are likely to strengthen the insurgents³. 
 

wreckage4 of a pickup5 truck that was hit by a bomb while carrying their colleagues during a patrol on a road in Pattani province, southern Thailand, 13 June 2007" hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070716/1357540.jpg" width="211" vspace="2" border="0" />

Thai soldiers examine the wreckage of a pickup truck that was hit by a bomb while carrying their colleagues during a patrol on a road in Pattani province, southern Thailand, 13 June 2007

Brad Adams, the head of the U.S. group Human Rights Watch, says even Thai military sources have privately⁶ confirmed the group's allegations of abuses in southern Thailand.
 
"The army is still committing extra-judicial executions, lots of cases of torture, arbitrary arrests and disappearances⁷ and making the situation worse down there where the Thai government needs to win hearts and minds," he said.  "We have done our own investigations⁸, which show that disappearances are a widespread problem."

Adams was in Bangkok this week, meeting with diplomats⁹ and government officials to urge new efforts to end the three-year Islamic insurgency in the south.

Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont has tried to take a softer tone in the south since he came to power 10 months ago. But killings¹⁰ continue and there are concerns that the Islamic militants¹¹ might try to move the battle elsewhere in the country.
 
Thailand's population is more than 90 percent Buddhist¹², but the southern border provinces are home to about 1.5 million Muslims.

"General Surayud has from the day he took office said the right things about the south," added Mr. Adams.  "He said the main reason that the insurgency started was a lack of justice in the south. He has recognized poor socio-economic conditions in the south and he has continued to talk about respecting human rights and reconciliation."
 
Thailand's army chief, and the leader of the coup¹³ that put Mr. Surayud in office, General Sonthi Boonyaratglin, has also backed efforts for reconciliation.
 
But Adams says the security forces are divided. Some officers want to adopt a harder line toward the insurgents. But Adams says this is what the insurgents are seeking.

"What the militants want is an overreaction from the Thai government and the Thai military, because they want to demonstrate to the community in the south that they should not have any loyalty¹⁴, allegiance or hope with the Thai state," he noted¹⁵.

The insurgents themselves are shadowy and no group or leader has declared responsibility for the violence.

Over 2,400 people have died since the insurgency began in early 2004, in a long series of beheadings, bombings, and assassinations¹⁶ of civil servants and teachers.

Adams says that after a civilian¹⁷ government is elected later this year, it should adopt the recommendations of a National Reconciliation Commission. The commission calls for a greater civilian role in the administration of the provincial¹⁸ governments.

"The Thai government has to end extra-judicial killings, arbitrary arrests, torture and disappearances," he said.  "It needs to fight a counter-insurgency within the law."

The southern region, which was a sultanate until coming under Thai control over 100 years ago, has faced sporadic¹⁹ violence over the past decades.
 
The region, one of the poorest in Thailand, has also long claimed of discrimination and government efforts to suppress the local Malay dialect.

1 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

2 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

3 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

4 wreckage   

n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏

参考例句：

• They hauled him clear of the wreckage.他们把他从形骸中拖出来。
• New states were born out of the wreckage of old colonial empires.新生国家从老殖民帝国的废墟中诞生。

5 pickup   

n.拾起，获得

参考例句：

• I would love to trade this car for a pickup truck.我愿意用这辆汽车换一辆小型轻便卡车。||The luck guy is a choice pickup for the girls.那位幸运的男孩是女孩子们想勾搭上的人。

6 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

7 disappearances   

n.消失( disappearance的名词复数 )；丢失；失踪；失踪案

参考例句：

• Most disappearances are the result of the terrorist activity. 大多数的失踪案都是恐怖分子造成的。 来自辞典例句
• The espionage, the betrayals, the arrests, the tortures, the executions, the disappearances will never cease. 间谍活动、叛党卖国、逮捕拷打、处决灭迹，这种事情永远不会完。 来自英汉文学

8 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。

9 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 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。

11 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

12 Buddhist   

adj./n.佛教的，佛教徒

参考例句：

• The old lady fell down in adoration before Buddhist images.那老太太在佛像面前顶礼膜拜。
• In the eye of the Buddhist,every worldly affair is vain.在佛教徒的眼里，人世上一切事情都是空的。

13 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

14 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

15 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

16 assassinations   

n.暗杀( assassination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Most anarchist assassinations were bungled because of haste or spontaneity, in his view. 在他看来，无政府主义者搞的许多刺杀都没成功就是因为匆忙和自发行动。 来自辞典例句
• Assassinations by Israelis of alleged terrorists habitually kill nearby women and children. 在以色列，自称恐怖分子的炸弹自杀者杀害靠近自己的以色列妇女和儿童。 来自互联网

17 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

18 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

19 sporadic   

adj.偶尔发生的 [反]regular；分散的

参考例句：

• The sound of sporadic shooting could still be heard.仍能听见零星的枪声。
• You know this better than I.I received only sporadic news about it.你们比我更清楚，而我听到的只是零星消息。