VOA标准英语2010-Senegal Says It Remains Committed to Try

Senegal has said it wants all $38 million of the trial's proposed three-year budget up front, a demand the international community is reluctant to agree to, especially because Senegal has not offered a clear plan on how it will conduct the trial.

Anne Look | Dakar 08 April 2010

Former Chadian President Hissène Habré (file)

Senegal says it remains¹ committed to trying former Chadian leader Hissène Habré for crimes against humanity, but will not move forward until it receives the entire $38 million trial budget from the international community.  Habré remains under house arrest in Dakar.

 

Former Chadian President Hissène Habré has been under house arrest in Senegal since 2000.  He fled to Senegal after being deposed² in 1990 and has since been accused of crimes against humanity and thousands of political killings³ and cases of torture during his eight years in power.

In 2006, the African Union called on Senegal to try Habré in the name of Africa.  Since then, Senegal has adopted laws that would allow it to do so, but the case is at a standstill.  Many doubt whether Senegal has the political will to try the former Chadian leader.

But Senegal Foreign Minister Madické Niang said this week in Dakar that negotiating a final budget and securing the funds from international donors⁴ are the only roadblocks remaining.

Niang says the trial will begin immediately after the total amount of the budget is collected.  He says all of the preparations have been made.  The will of Senegal to organize the trial, he says, is unwavering.  He says it is in the best interests of Africa the trial take place in the best conditions and that any judgment⁵ be fair and just.

"Budgetary demands"

Senegal has said it wants all $38 million of the trial's proposed three-year budget up front, a demand the international community is reluctant to agree to, especially because Senegal has not offered a clear plan on how it will conduct the trial.

Niang, who was Habré's defense⁶ attorney before being made Senegal's justice minister and now foreign affairs minister, said Senegal is working with the European Union and the African Union to hammer out a final budget.

Reed Brody is legal counsel for Human Rights Watch in Belgium, which took Senegal to the International Court of Justice in 2009 for its failure to prosecute⁷ Habré.

Brody says Senegal's budgetary demands are excessive, including money to bring witnesses to Dakar and a third of the budget to reconstruct a courthouse.

"We have the documents from Hissène Habré's political police, the roadmap, the names of over 12,000 people who were in jail, over 800 death certificates, over 1,200 documents that were sent to Hissène Habré about the fate of over 800 prisoners.  So, it is a trial that can be carried out based on the documents of his own political police, on the testimony⁸ of who those who were working with Habré and of course with victims and other witnesses, but it does not need to be so expensive," he said.

Brody says Habré fled Chad in 1990 with millions of dollars stolen from the Chadian treasury⁹.  "Unfortunately Habré has used his connections and used his money to build himself a whole network of protection here [in Senegal] that makes bringing him to trial appear to be so hard," he said.

Opinion shifting

But head of the Dakar-based African Assembly for the Defense of Human Rights, Alioune Tine, says popular opinion in Senegal is shifting in favor of trying Hissène Habré, largely thanks to a documentary shown several times on Senegalese television since its release in 2009. 

The hour-long film, called Hissène Habré: The Hunt for a Dictator, was made by French journalist, Florent Chevolleau, with French network, Canal Plus.  The film shows Chadians digging up the remains of unidentifiable detainees in mass graves and interviews with survivors¹¹ of prisons operated by Habré's political police.

Those victims detail brutal¹² torture techniques, including electrocution and beatings.  Small cells, they said, were packed with as many as 30 prisoners in the scorching¹³ heat.  One survivor¹⁰ said guards often took days to remove the decomposing¹⁴ bodies of prisoners who had died of asphyxiation¹⁵.  Records presented in the film show as many as 30 prisoners dying a day in one such prison. 

Senegalese human rights activist¹⁶ Tine says there was a time when Senegalese had a certain sympathy for Habré.  He says they saw Habré as a good Muslim, who often went to the mosque¹⁷ to pray.  But, Tine says, when the film came out and Senegalese saw the mass graves and heard the victims' stories, they were completely shocked and changed.

Celebrating 50 years of independence this month, Senegal has called for an African renaissance¹⁸ and assumed a leadership role in the quest of a politically unified¹⁹ Africa.

But Tine says, in order to have an African renaissance, you have to actively²⁰ combat impunity²¹.  He says African heads of state should distance themselves completely from their counterparts who have committed serious crimes.  He says that is the way to set things right for a new generation.

Those working on the case in Senegal say it could set a landmark²² legal precedent²³ of African courts judging African rulers on African soil.

In 2008, Mr. Habré filed a complaint with the court of the Economic Community of West African States to block his trial for crimes against humanity in Senegal, citing violations²⁴ of his rights.  The ECOWAS court ruled in November 2009 that victims may not take part in those proceedings²⁵, but has not yet determined²⁶ whether it has jurisdiction²⁷ to hear the case.

 

1 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。

2 deposed   

v.罢免( depose的过去式和过去分词 )；（在法庭上）宣誓作证

参考例句：

• The president was deposed in a military coup. 总统在军事政变中被废黜。
• The head of state was deposed by the army. 国家元首被军队罢免了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

4 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

6 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

7 prosecute   

vt.告发；进行；vi.告发，起诉，作检察官

参考例句：

• I am trying my best to prosecute my duties.我正在尽力履行我的职责。
• Is there enough evidence to prosecute?有没有起诉的足够证据？

8 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

9 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

10 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。

11 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

12 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

13 scorching   

adj. 灼热的

参考例句：

• a scorching, pitiless sun 灼热的骄阳
• a scorching critique of the government's economic policy 对政府经济政策的严厉批评

14 decomposing   

腐烂( decompose的现在分词 )； （使）分解； 分解（某物质、光线等）

参考例句：

• The air was filled with the overpowering stench of decomposing vegetation. 空气中充满了令人难以忍受的腐烂植物的恶臭。
• Heat was obtained from decomposing manures and hot air flues. 靠肥料分解和烟道为植物提供热量。

15 asphyxiation   

n. 窒息

参考例句：

• Objective Inquiry into the heavy asphyxiation rescues measure of the new born. 摘要目的探讨新生儿重度窒息抢救的措施。
• Self-contained breathing apparatus(SCBA) may be required to prevent asphyxiation of rescue personnel. 可能要求有自给式呼吸器(SCBA)，以防止救援人员窒息。

16 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

17 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

18 renaissance   

n.复活，复兴，文艺复兴

参考例句：

• The Renaissance was an epoch of unparalleled cultural achievement.文艺复兴是一个文化上取得空前成就的时代。
• The theme of the conference is renaissance Europe.大会的主题是文艺复兴时期的欧洲。

19 unified   

(unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的

参考例句：

• The teacher unified the answer of her pupil with hers. 老师核对了学生的答案。
• The First Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C. 秦始皇于公元前221年统一中国。

20 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

21 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。

22 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

23 precedent   

n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的

参考例句：

• Is there a precedent for what you want me to do?你要我做的事有前例可援吗？
• This is a wonderful achievement without precedent in Chinese history.这是中国历史上亘古未有的奇绩。

24 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。

25 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

26 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

27 jurisdiction   

n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权

参考例句：

• It doesn't lie within my jurisdiction to set you free.我无权将你释放。
• Changzhou is under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province.常州隶属江苏省。