2007年VOA标准英语-French Court Hears Rwandan Tribunal Extradition

By Lisa Bryant
Paris
12 September 2007

Man at the "genocide cemetary" of Kigali, Rwanda (file photo)

A French appeals court is examining a demand to send two Rwandan genocide suspects to the International Criminal Tribunal in Tanzania. Lisa Bryant has more from Paris.

The appeals' court hearing is the latest chapter in lengthy¹ efforts to bring Rwandan Roman Catholic priest Wenceslas Munyeshyaka and former prefect Laurent Bucyibaruta to trial. Both men have been living in France for years and are accused of participating in the 1994 Rwandan genocide that killed 800,000 people. Father Munyeshyaka had been a practicing priest in a French parish.

French authorities arrested the two men in July, but released them in early August after a local court ruled that arrest warrants from the U.N.-backed International Criminal Tribunal on Rwanda were invalid². They were re-arrested last Thursday, after the Arusha-based tribunal reportedly issued new, more explicit³ warrants to have them tried in Tanzania.

But Jeanne Sulzer, head of the legal action group of the Paris-based International Federation⁴ for Human Rights, believes the two men should be tried in France, which has jurisdiction⁵ to do so. She also criticizes the long delay in bringing the two suspects to justice - especially in the case of Father Munyeshyaka.

"France has been condemned⁶ by the European Court for Human Rights for the unreasonable⁷ delay against Munyeshyaka," said Sulzer. "It has been more than 10 years since the investigation⁸ has been opened. What the victims are asking for now is that there is an effective investigation and that this person be prosecuted⁹ before an independent and impartial¹⁰ tribunal."

The Rwandan genocide also remains¹¹ a point of contention¹² between Kigali and Paris, prompting Rwanda to cut diplomatic ties last year. Officials hope relations will normalize under the new government of French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

1 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。

2 invalid   

n.病人，伤残人；adj.有病的，伤残的；无效的

参考例句：

• He will visit an invalid.他将要去看望一个病人。
• A passport that is out of date is invalid.护照过期是无效的。

3 explicit   

adj.详述的，明确的；坦率的；显然的

参考例句：

• She was quite explicit about why she left.她对自己离去的原因直言不讳。
• He avoids the explicit answer to us.他避免给我们明确的回答。

4 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

5 jurisdiction   

n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权

参考例句：

• It doesn't lie within my jurisdiction to set you free.我无权将你释放。
• Changzhou is under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province.常州隶属江苏省。

6 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

7 unreasonable   

adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的

参考例句：

• I know that they made the most unreasonable demands on you.我知道他们对你提出了最不合理的要求。
• They spend an unreasonable amount of money on clothes.他们花在衣服上的钱太多了。

8 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

9 prosecuted   

a.被起诉的

参考例句：

• The editors are being prosecuted for obscenity. 编辑因刊载污秽文字而被起诉。
• The company was prosecuted for breaching the Health and Safety Act. 这家公司被控违反《卫生安全条例》。

10 impartial   

adj.(in,to)公正的，无偏见的

参考例句：

• He gave an impartial view of the state of affairs in Ireland.他对爱尔兰的事态发表了公正的看法。
• Careers officers offer impartial advice to all pupils.就业指导员向所有学生提供公正无私的建议。

11 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。

12 contention   

n.争论，争辩，论战；论点，主张

参考例句：

• The pay increase is the key point of contention. 加薪是争论的焦点。
• The real bone of contention,as you know,is money.你知道，争论的真正焦点是钱的问题。