VOA标准英语2010年-Iranian Activist Wins Award for Advanc

Iranian opposition¹ activist² Akbar Ganji accepts the Milton Friedman Award for Advancing Liberty

Iranian opposition activist Akbar Ganji has won the Milton Friedman Award for Advancing Liberty, named after the famous American economist³, now deceased. 

Iranian opposition activist and journalist, Akbar Ganji, received the award in Washington Thursday night. 

Ganji spent six years in top security Evin Prison for exposing the Islamic government's alleged⁴ involvement in the murder of five Iranian dissidents. He was released in 2006 and left Iran.

But the protests against President Ahmadinejad's controversial re-election last year, inspired activists⁵ like Ganji to  further oppose the Islamic government in Tehran. 

With the first anniversary of the election in June, Ganji says the recent execution of five Iranian dissidents is a warning that Iranians should not take to the streets on the anniversary. "They make moves that on the one hand create terror and intimidation⁶ and on the other they provoke certain segment into committing violence," he said.

The human rights situation in Iran, rather than Mr. Ahmadinejad and the controversy⁷ over Tehran's nuclear program, should be the focus of Western Media, he says.

Coverage⁸ of Iran's nuclear ambitions benefits the government, he says, because it sparks nationalist sentiment. "And when a confrontation⁹ occurs with the West on this issue, that is when the government can collect (rally) more forces behind itself," he said.

In the bid to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power, Israel has said all options - including a military option - are on the table. The US has been more ambiguous.

Ganji says a military strike will hurt the  movement for democracy. "This is what the regime wants right now. They want Israel or the US to come and bomb a certain area," he said.

He also says new economic sanctions  are not the solution, because they will only hurt the Iranian people. "Where one can really fight this regime is the issue of human rights. The world must take up this as the main issue with Iran," he said.

Ganji says the West must make sure Iran gets foreign investment only if it respects human rights. And Iranian leaders linked to the murders of civilians¹⁰, he says, should be arrested when they travel outside Iran. "Just as they arrested Milosevic, so they must arrest these people. They must create dossier for crimes against humanity for these people," he said.

He says the future of Iran lies with the 50 million people born after the 1979 Revolution.

He says the the Islamic regime has failed to understand them. 

To underscore the generation gap,  Ganji talked about his daughters who refused to join him at the award ceremony. They said "Dad, that is YOUR award. We don't want to be known because of YOU."

 

1 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。

2 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。

3 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

4 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

5 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 intimidation   

n.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• The Opposition alleged voter intimidation by the army.反对党声称投票者受到军方的恐吓。
• The gang silenced witnesses by intimidation.恶帮用恐吓的手段使得证人不敢说话。

7 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

8 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

9 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。

10 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。