2007年VOA标准英语-Egyptian Newspapers Call Strike in Support of J

By Challiss McDonough
Cairo, Egypt
25 September 2007

Egyptian journalists are planning a newspaper strike to protest a crackdown on the press. The head of the Egyptian Press Syndicate says the string of court cases is aimed at muzzling¹ the independent news media, which has been critical of the government.  VOA correspondent Challiss McDonough has more from Cairo.

The decision to hold a day without independent newspapers has taken on new urgency after the sentencing of three more journalists to jail terms in connection to their critical reporting on government officials.

On Monday, a court sentenced the editor of the opposition² daily Al-Wafd and two of his journalists to two years in prison for allegedly publishing false information about the justice minister.

The editor, Anwar al-Hawari, is the fifth chief of a private or opposition newspaper to be sentenced to jail this month.

In a separate case, a court earlier issued year-long jail terms to four editors for defaming President Hosni Mubarak and his son Gamal.  The papers had published stories about the president's health and speculation³ that his son would be named his successor.

After those sentences were handed down, Egypt's private and opposition-owned newspapers decided⁴ to hold a one-day publishing strike.

Now with three more journalists sentenced to jail, the secretary-general of the Egyptian Press Syndicate, Yehia Kallash, says the editors will be meeting Wednesday to decide when the strike will take place.

He told VOA that the court cases are clearly aimed at stifling⁵ the country's boisterous⁶ independent press, and punishing journalists who criticize the government or the ruling party.

He says the goal of these verdicts is to frighten and silence the voices of reporters.  But, he says, based on previous experience he believes they would rather make a sacrifice than be silenced.

He said even though President Mubarak has promised to eliminate the laws allowing journalists to be sent to prison for publishing offenses⁷, it is clear from the recent string of prosecutions⁸ that the government is not really interested in changing that.

The sentencing of the four editors earlier in the month prompted criticism from a variety of human rights groups, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the Committee to Protect Journalists.

On Monday, the White House issued a statement saying it was deeply concerned about the sentences handed down to the Wafd journalists, as well as the recent decision to shut down a local human rights group, the Association for Human Rights Legal Aid.

The United States is an ally of the Egyptian government and sends about two billion dollars worth of civilian⁹ and military assistance to Egypt every year.  Some members of Congress have argued that Egypt's aid package should be cut because of the country's poor human rights record and lack of progress toward democracy. 

1 muzzling   

给（狗等）戴口套( muzzle的现在分词 )； 使缄默，钳制…言论

参考例句：

• They accused the government of muzzling the press. 他们指责政府压制新闻自由。

2 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

3 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 stifling   

a.令人窒息的

参考例句：

• The weather is stifling. It looks like rain. 今天太闷热，光景是要下雨。
• We were stifling in that hot room with all the windows closed. 我们在那间关着窗户的热屋子里，简直透不过气来。

6 boisterous   

adj.喧闹的，欢闹的

参考例句：

• I don't condescend to boisterous displays of it.我并不屈就于它热热闹闹的外表。
• The children tended to gather together quietly for a while before they broke into boisterous play.孩子们经常是先静静地聚集在一起，不一会就开始吵吵嚷嚷戏耍开了。

7 offenses   

n.进攻( offense的名词复数 )；（球队的）前锋；进攻方法；攻势

参考例句：

• It's wrong of you to take the child to task for such trifling offenses. 因这类小毛病责备那孩子是你的不对。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Thus, Congress cannot remove an executive official except for impeachable offenses. 因此，除非有可弹劾的行为，否则国会不能罢免行政官员。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

8 prosecutions   

起诉( prosecution的名词复数 )； 原告； 实施； 从事

参考例句：

• It is the duty of the Attorney-General to institute prosecutions. 检察总长负责提起公诉。
• Since World War II, the government has been active in its antitrust prosecutions. 第二次世界大战以来，政府积极地进行着反对托拉斯的检举活动。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

9 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。