VOA标准英语2010年-Rights Groups Chastise Egypt Over Gaza

"Whatever Egypt's motives¹ for its complicity with Israel, whether it reflects the extent to which it bows to U.S. and Israeli pressure, or is happy to use this as a lever against Hamas, those who are suffering are Gaza's civilian² population." - HRW Regional Director Sarah Leah Whitson

Human Rights Watch has criticized Egypt for its role in cutting off people in the Gaza Strip from the rest of the world.  But Egypt's president rejects any criticism of fortifying³ its border with the Palestinian territory.

Human Rights Watch says Israel has the primary responsibility for the welfare of the people in Gaza, but it argues Egypt's role "cannot be denied."

The director of the group's Middle East and North Africa division, Sarah Leah Whitson, says if the government in Cairo wanted to it could end the siege of Gaza tomorrow.

"It could do so by allowing food and medicine and other critical supplies to reach Gaza without interference, and for Gazans to travel freely to study and work abroad as they wish," she said.

Egypt for the most part keeps its border with Gaza closed, allowing only limited crossings of people and goods.  A system of illegal, but easily visible, tunnels runs between Gaza and Egypt, bringing in supplies.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak Sunday defended his country's actions, saying he will not allow chaos⁴ on Egypt's border, or terrorism and sabotage⁵ in its territory.

In a speech marking Police Day, Mr. Mubarak said construction and fortifications along Egypt's border are an Egyptian matter and he will not accept any arguments about it. 

Egypt is believed to be building an underground barrier to cut off the tunnels, though it has not officially confirmed it is doing so.

A Palestinian smuggler⁷ uses a rope to climb out of a tunnel linking the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah with Egypt (File)

Israel periodically bombs the passages, saying they are used to smuggle⁶ weapons to militants⁸ associated with Gaza's Hamas government.  Israel says it keeps its borders with Gaza tightly controlled to keep the militancy⁹ contained.

Regional director Whitson of the New York-based group says discussions of why Gaza remains¹⁰ sealed off miss a major point.

"Whatever Egypt's motives for its complicity with Israel, whether it reflects the extent to which it bows to U.S. and Israeli pressure, or is happy to use this as a lever against Hamas, those who are suffering are Gaza's civilian population.  And the closure is an unlawful form of collective punishment for which Egypt shares responsibility," she said.

The comments from Human Rights Watch come as it launches its annual report on the state of freedoms around the world.  As for the general state of human rights in the Middle East, Whitson says they are deplorable.

"The sadly recurring¹¹ theme of our findings for the Arab world and Iran is the brute¹² oppression under which its citizens live their lives, not free to speak freely, not free to associate as they wish, not free to practice their religions freely - not free," she said.

She argues that while Arab governments have failed in many areas, they are the world's most successful in one - keeping themselves in power.

1 motives   

n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• to impeach sb's motives 怀疑某人的动机
• His motives are unclear. 他的用意不明。

2 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。

3 fortifying   

筑防御工事于( fortify的现在分词 )； 筑堡于； 增强； 强化（食品）

参考例句：

• Fortifying executive function and restraining impulsivity are possible with active interventions. 积极干预可能有助加强执行功能和抑制冲动性。
• Vingo stopped looking, tightening his face, fortifying himself against still another disappointment. 文戈不再张望，他绷紧脸，仿佛正在鼓足勇气准备迎接另一次失望似的。

4 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

5 sabotage   

n.怠工，破坏活动，破坏；v.从事破坏活动，妨害，破坏

参考例句：

• They tried to sabotage my birthday party.他们企图破坏我的生日晚会。
• The fire at the factory was caused by sabotage.那家工厂的火灾是有人蓄意破坏引起的。

6 smuggle   

vt.私运；vi.走私

参考例句：

• Friends managed to smuggle him secretly out of the country.朋友们想方设法将他秘密送出国了。
• She has managed to smuggle out the antiques without getting caught.她成功将古董走私出境，没有被逮捕。

7 smuggler   

n.走私者

参考例句：

• The smuggler is in prison tonight, awaiting extradition to Britain. 这名走私犯今晚在监狱，等待引渡到英国。
• The smuggler was finally obliged to inform against his boss. 那个走私犯最后不得不告发他的首领。

8 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

9 militancy   

n.warlike behavior or tendency

参考例句：

• Full of militancy and revolutionary ardour, the people of all nationalities in the country are working hard for the realization of the four modernizations. 全国各族人民意气风发， 斗志昂扬，为实现四个现代化而奋战。
• The seniority system is another factor that leads to union militancy. 排资论辈制度也是导致工会好斗争的另一因素。

10 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。

11 recurring   

adj.往复的，再次发生的

参考例句：

• This kind of problem is recurring often. 这类问题经常发生。
• For our own country, it has been a time for recurring trial. 就我们国家而言，它经过了一个反复考验的时期。

12 brute   

n.野兽，兽性

参考例句：

• The aggressor troops are not many degrees removed from the brute.侵略军简直象一群野兽。
• That dog is a dangerous brute.It bites people.那条狗是危险的畜牲，它咬人。