VOA标准英语2008年-Congo-Kinshasa Government Denies Report on Expl

The government in Congo Kinshasa says it has no information to substantiate¹ accusations² that some senior commanders of Congo's army are working alongside ethnic³ Hutu militias⁴ in the exploitation of minerals in eastern Congo. The allegation was made earlier this week by London-based Global Witness organization, which tracks links between conflicts and mineral wealth in poor countries. VOA Correspondent Alicia Ryu has details from our East Africa Bureau in Nairobi.

In its latest report, Global Witness said its researchers have uncovered substantial evidence that rebels of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Rwanda, known by its French initials FDLR, are keeping their movement well-funded and supplied through profits generated from huge mining operations in rebel-controlled areas of South Kivu.

Global Witness further alleged⁵ that Congolese forces sent to South Kivu to dislodge and disarm⁶ the rebels are doing nothing to stop the illegal mining because some units and their commanders are operating their own mining concessions⁷ in the same area.

Congolese foreign ministry⁸ spokesman Jean-Claude Kamanga tells VOA the government is not aware of any wrongdoings by its forces in eastern Congo. "I do not think it is the real situation. The government is doing all that is possible to make the rebels go back to their country. If we had this kind of information, the government will do its best toward solving (the problem)."

The provinces are rich in gold and cassiterite, the principle ore in tin. Human rights groups, including Global Witness, have long complained that money earned from mining and trading these natural resources was fueling the conflict there.

The FDLR, the Congolese army, and other groups in eastern Congo, have been accused of committing gross human rights abuses against the civilian⁹ population, including mass rapes¹⁰ and murders.

Carina Tertsakian, Global Witness' lead campaigner on Congo, argues the government in Kinshasa, as well as the international community, have known for years that the war for control of North and South Kivu by different armed groups, including the national army, is partly a fight for ownership of gold and cassiterite mines.

"The situation has been going on for quite a long time. But the problem is the issue has not been tackled and nobody has taken any action to put a stop to it. Even some of the international mediators, facilitators and others have been very, very reluctant to address explicitly¹¹ this issue of natural resource exploitation. It is seen as very sensitive because some of the people implicated¹² are at a high-level and therefore, this issue has been more or less avoided," she said.

Tertsakian says her group is concerned that international efforts to mediate¹³ a peace agreement between eastern Congo's warring factions¹⁴ will fail unless the economic base fueling the conflict is dismantled¹⁵ first. "Certainly when you see the way these groups have established a pretty solid economic bases and sources of financing, you realize there is very little incentive¹⁶ to leave and even less to disarm or allow their troops to be demobilized," she said.

Late last month, a fragile cease-fire signed in January between the government and ethnic Tutsi rebels in North Kivu province nearly collapsed¹⁷ after the two sides traded mortars¹⁸ and machine-gun fire for several hours.

The leader of the rebel group in North Kivu, Laurent Nkunda, took up arms against the government in 2006, claiming to fight for minority ethnic Tutsis in eastern Congo and their protection from ethnic Hutus responsible for carrying out genocide against Tutsis in Rwanda in 1994.

Many of those ethnic Hutus are believed to be members of the FDLR.

1 substantiate   

v.证实；证明...有根据

参考例句：

• There is little scientific evidence to substantiate the claims.这些主张几乎找不到科学依据来证实。
• These theories are used to substantiate the relationship between the phenomenons of the universe.这些学说是用来证实宇宙现象之间的关系。

2 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

3 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

4 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

5 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

6 disarm   

v.解除武装，回复平常的编制，缓和

参考例句：

• The world has waited 12 years for Iraq to disarm. 全世界等待伊拉克解除武装已有12年之久。
• He has rejected every peaceful opportunity offered to him to disarm.他已经拒绝了所有能和平缴械的机会。

7 concessions   

n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权

参考例句：

• The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工，公司将不得不作出一些让步。
• The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。

8 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。

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。

10 rapes   

n.芸苔( rape的名词复数 )；强奸罪；强奸案；肆意损坏v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的第三人称单数 )；强奸

参考例句：

• The man who had committed several rapes was arrested. 那个犯了多起强奸案的男人被抓起来了。 来自辞典例句
• The incidence of reported rapes rose 0.8 percent. 美国联邦调查局还发布了两份特别报告。 来自互联网

11 explicitly   

ad.明确地，显然地

参考例句：

• The plan does not explicitly endorse the private ownership of land. 该计划没有明确地支持土地私有制。
• SARA amended section 113 to provide explicitly for a right to contribution. 《最高基金修正与再授权法案》修正了第123条，清楚地规定了分配权。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

12 implicated   

adj.密切关联的；牵涉其中的

参考例句：

• These groups are very strongly implicated in the violence. 这些组织与这起暴力事件有着极大的关联。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Having the stolen goods in his possession implicated him in the robbery. 因藏有赃物使他涉有偷盗的嫌疑。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

13 mediate   

vi.调解，斡旋；vt.经调解解决；经斡旋促成

参考例句：

• The state must mediate the struggle for water resources.政府必须通过调解来解决对水资源的争夺。
• They may be able to mediate between parties with different interests.他们也许能在不同利益政党之间进行斡旋。

14 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

15 dismantled   

拆开( dismantle的过去式和过去分词 )； 拆卸； 废除； 取消

参考例句：

• The plant was dismantled of all its equipment and furniture. 这家工厂的设备和家具全被拆除了。
• The Japanese empire was quickly dismantled. 日本帝国很快被打垮了。

16 incentive   

n.刺激；动力；鼓励；诱因；动机

参考例句：

• Money is still a major incentive in most occupations.在许多职业中，钱仍是主要的鼓励因素。
• He hasn't much incentive to work hard.他没有努力工作的动机。

17 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

18 mortars   

n.迫击炮( mortar的名词复数 )；砂浆；房产；研钵

参考例句：

• They could not move their heavy mortars over the swampy ground. 他们无法把重型迫击炮移过那片沼泽地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Where the hell are his mortars? 他有迫击炮吗？ 来自教父部分