2007年VOA标准英语-Libya's President Takes Niger Journalists to Co

By Phuong Tran
Dakar
17 September 2007

Tuareg rebels fighting in Niger say they have released 14 government soldiers after Libyan mediation¹. Meanwhile, a Niger court delayed a hearing until next month of a libel case by Libya's President Gaddafi against Niger journalists. Phuong Tran has more from VOA's West Africa Bureau in Dakar.

Libya's President Moammar Gaddafi (file photo)

Mr. Gaddafi filed a defamation² lawsuit³ against three independent Niger newspapers for accusing him of backing the Tuareg rebellion in order to get more access to Niger's potential mineral and oil wealth.

The court asked Mr. Gaddafi's lawyers to provide more information about how the Libyan leader was defamed by the journalists he is suing.

Leonard Vincent with the Paris-based journalist lobby group, Reporters Without Borders, says the delay increases his concern the trial will become more political.

Vincent says a current Niger government restriction⁴ on coverage⁵ of the rebellion hurts the journalists' chances for a fair trial.

For the past eight months, rebel Tuareg nomads⁶ have waged a low-intensity war in the uranium-rich northeast Agadez region, demanding a larger share of the region's wealth.

"Niger justice might not give the same ruling that it might have in times of peace," said Vincent. "We have noticed that the Niger authorities have been very, very irritable⁷ around the issue of the Tuareg fighting."

The Niger government has broadened its powers of arrest after declaring a state of emergency in the northeast and restricted broadcasts of the rebellion. The government also recently shut down independent newspaper Air Info for three months and the local office of Radio France International for one month, accusing both of biased⁸ pro-rebellion reporting.

The journalists defend their reporting as fair, and say they are victims of war-time censorship.

Reporter Without Borders' Vincent says journalists found guilty of libel face harsh punishment in Niger.

"If for instance, Mr. Gaddafi were to attack a French newspaper, the worst could be that the newspaper be condemned⁹ to a fine," said Vincent. "Here in Niger, it can send people to prison for heavy and long prison terms."

Bousada Ben Ali, the director of L'Action, one of the three newspapers that are the target of Mr. Gaddafi's defamation lawsuit, says he is not worried because he has proof to back his paper's report that Mr. Gaddafi supports the Niger Tuareg rebellion.

The Niger government has accused, in its words, rich foreign powers, and specifically, the French uranium group, Areva, of supporting Tuareg fighters to frighten away potential investors¹⁰ competing for mining rights.

Government officials in France and Libya, as well as Tuareg fighters have all denied foreign support of the rebellion.

Niger government officials have reached out to Libya for help in quelling¹¹ the rebellion that has killed dozens of government soldiers.

Fighters say the government has not honored its earlier peace promises when the Tuaregs last revolted in the 1990s.

Government officials say they have fulfilled most peace deal agreements, and dismiss the fighters as violent bandits and smugglers.

More than a dozen government forces remain in captivity¹² in Niger's northeast mountains.

Rebel leaders told VOA they have released 14 government soldiers after recent Libyan intervention¹³. Niger government officials have not confirmed the release.

1 mediation   

n.调解

参考例句：

• The dispute was settled by mediation of the third country. 这场争端通过第三国的斡旋而得以解决。
• The dispute was settled by mediation. 经调解使争端得以解决。

2 defamation   

n.诽谤；中伤

参考例句：

• Character defamation can be either oral or written.人格诽谤既可以是口头的也可以是书面的。
• The company sued for defamation.这个公司因受到诽谤而提起诉讼。

3 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

4 restriction   

n.限制，约束

参考例句：

• The park is open to the public without restriction.这个公园对公众开放，没有任何限制。
• The 30 mph speed restriction applies in all built-up areas.每小时限速30英里适用于所有建筑物聚集区。

5 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

6 nomads   

n.游牧部落的一员( nomad的名词复数 )；流浪者；游牧生活；流浪生活

参考例句：

• For ten years she dwelled among the nomads of North America. 她在北美游牧民中生活了十年。
• Nomads have inhabited this region for thousands of years. 游牧民族在这地区居住已有数千年了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 irritable   

adj.急躁的；过敏的；易怒的

参考例句：

• He gets irritable when he's got toothache.他牙一疼就很容易发脾气。
• Our teacher is an irritable old lady.She gets angry easily.我们的老师是位脾气急躁的老太太。她很容易生气。

8 biased   

a.有偏见的

参考例句：

• a school biased towards music and art 一所偏重音乐和艺术的学校
• The Methods: They employed were heavily biased in the gentry's favour. 他们采用的方法严重偏袒中上阶级。

9 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。

10 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

11 quelling   

v.（用武力）制止，结束，镇压( quell的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Quelling her grief, she said 'Good-bye! 'again and went on. 她把悲痛压下去，二番说了一声再见，又转身走去了。 来自辞典例句
• The police succeeded in quelling the riot. 警方把暴乱镇压了下去。 来自辞典例句

12 captivity   

n.囚禁；被俘；束缚

参考例句：

• A zoo is a place where live animals are kept in captivity for the public to see.动物园是圈养动物以供公众观看的场所。
• He was held in captivity for three years.他被囚禁叁年。

13 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。