voa标准英语2008-Ethiopia Rejects Rights Report on Somalia as 'Po

A just-released Human Rights Watch report accuses all parties to the conflict in Somalia of regularly committing war crimes that contribute to the Horn of Africa nation's humanitarian¹ catastrophe². But Ethiopia is taking strong exception to charges made against Ethiopian troops, and questioning the methods used in compiling the report.
　

Ethiopian troops in Mogadishu (file photo)

The report, issued Monday, charges Somalia's transitional government, the Ethiopian forces supporting it, and the country's various insurgent³ forces of widespread violations⁴ of the laws of war.

A summary posted on the internet quotes the group's Africa director Georgette Gagnon as saying, 'the combatants in Somalia have inflicted⁵ more harm on civilians⁶ than on each other'.

Ethiopia reacted immediately and strongly, calling the report 'deeply flawed'. In a phone interview, spokesman Wahde Belay charged Human Rights Watch's reliance on hearsay⁷ and second-hand⁸ evidence had led them to accuse Ethiopian forces of crimes committed by other groups.

"Almost all crimes in this report are committed by al-Shabab. I can talk with pride that our military is one of the most disciplined in the continent. Saying this, if there are credible⁹ allegations about any abuses by our forces in Somalia, we are ready to look into the details. But this report by Human Rights Watch is a politically-motivated one," he said.

The report's chief author, researcher Chris Albin-Lackey¹⁰ defended his conclusions. In a phone interview from Nairobi, Lackey said Ethiopian officials appear to be confused about how the rights group gets its information, and said some abuses attributed to Ethiopian troops appear to have been a matter of policy.

"I don't think it's possible to have an army so well-trained that it will not commit serious abuses if the soldiers on the ground are allowed to do so with complete impunity¹¹. And that's what happened with regard to Ethiopian troops in Somalia. And the systemic indiscriminate bombardment of whole neighborhoods of Mogadishu by Ethiopian military forces is organized. It appears to be a military policy," said Albin-Lackey.

Somalia has been without a functioning government since 1991, and a United Nations peacekeeping mission withdrew in failure in 1995. Ethiopian troops intervened in December, 2006 to drive out Islamist forces that had taken control of Mogadishu, and installed a U.N. backed government.

But the two-year Ethiopian military presence, along with an African Union peacekeeping force, has witnessed a dramatic increase in violence. Foreign ministry¹² spokesman Wahde Monday reiterated¹³ that Ethiopia's decision to withdraw its remaining 2,000 soldiers from Somalia by the first week in January is irrevocable.

The African Union is hastily trying to bolster¹⁴ its 3,400-strong peacekeeping force to fill the security vacuum left by the Ethiopian withdrawal¹⁵. But AU officials acknowledge it may be necessary to pull the peacekeepers out, too unless they can be reinforced to withstand an expected push by the Islamist extremists to reimpose their rule when the Ethiopians leave.

1 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

2 catastrophe   

n.大灾难，大祸

参考例句：

• I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
• This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。

3 insurgent   

adj.叛乱的，起事的；n.叛乱分子

参考例句：

• Faruk says they are threatened both by insurgent and government forces.法鲁克说，他们受到暴乱分子和政府军队的双重威胁。
• The insurgent mob assembled at the gate of the city park.叛变的暴徒聚在市立公园的门口。

4 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

5 inflicted   

把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They inflicted a humiliating defeat on the home team. 他们使主队吃了一场很没面子的败仗。
• Zoya heroically bore the torture that the Fascists inflicted upon her. 卓娅英勇地承受法西斯匪徒加在她身上的酷刑。

6 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

7 hearsay   

n.谣传，风闻

参考例句：

• They started to piece the story together from hearsay.他们开始根据传闻把事情的经过一点点拼湊起来。
• You are only supposing this on hearsay.You have no proof.你只是根据传闻想像而已，并没有证据。

8 second-hand   

adj.用过的，旧的，二手的

参考例句：

• I got this book by chance at a second-hand bookshop.我赶巧在一家旧书店里买到这本书。
• They will put all these second-hand goods up for sale.他们将把这些旧货全部公开出售。

9 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

10 lackey   

n.侍从；跟班

参考例句：

• I'm not staying as a paid lackey to act as your yes-man.我不要再做拿钱任你使唤的应声虫。
• Who would have thought that Fredo would become a lackey of women?谁能料到弗烈特竟堕落成女人脚下的哈叭狗？

11 impunity   

n.(惩罚、损失、伤害等的)免除

参考例句：

• You will not escape with impunity.你不可能逃脱惩罚。
• The impunity what compulsory insurance sets does not include escapement.交强险规定的免责范围不包括逃逸。

12 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

13 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。

14 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

15 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。