VOA标准英语2011-- of Khmer Rouge Leaders Starts in Cambod

Key Trial of Khmer Rouge¹ Leaders Starts in Cambodia

On Monday the United Nations-backed tribunal in Phnom Penh will open its hearing into the four surviving leaders of Cambodia's Khmer Rouge movement.
Cambodians have waited three decades for this day: when the surviving leaders of the Khmer Rouge movement appear in court charged with an array of crimes - genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, murder. The list is long.
The four defendants³ are Nuon Chea, also known as Brother Number Two, who is considered the movement's chief ideologue; Khieu Samphan, the head of state; Ieng Sary, the foreign minister and, his wife, Ieng Thirith, the social action minister.
The defendants in this case, the court's second, deny all charges.
That marks a change from Case One, where former security chief Kaing Guek Eav, known as Comrade Duch, admitted his role and pledged to cooperate with the court.
Case One
Duch ran the notorious S-21 security center in Phnom Penh, where at least 14,000 men, women and children were held, tortured, and then executed as enemies of the revolution.
Duch was convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity and was jailed for 30 years. He has appealed his conviction.
Duch was charged with implementing⁴ policy, in his case, that involved torture and executions to unmask so-called strings⁵ of traitors⁶ whom the regime believed were trying to undermine the revolution. But the four defendants in Case Two are effectively on trial for devising policy, which distances them from atrocities⁷.
Clair Duffy monitors the tribunal on behalf of the Soros-funded Open Society Justice Initiative. She says that difference will likely feature in defense⁸ arguments.
"When we have seen trials of this scope involving defendants at that level of leadership allegedly, that is the kind of defense that has typically been run - either that they were not present at meetings where these kinds of policies were devised or that they weren't aware of what actually was going to be the result of the policies that were being devised- i.e.: killings⁹, torture, etc," said Duffy.
Complexities¹⁰
When the court closed Case Two last year, tribunal officials said the case file of 350,000 documents would make this the most complex since the Nuremberg trials of the Nazis¹¹.
There are other complexities too. For a start the tribunal has recently been wracked by divisions over its handling of two more cases - known as Cases Three and Four. The Cambodian government has long said it would not permit those last cases to proceed because they could threaten the country's stability.
Investigating judges have been accused of deliberately¹² undermining the cases because of political pressure. Several U.N. staff member recently quit the investigations¹⁴ office in response, and there are fears that the court's handling of Cases Three and Four could damage its legacy¹⁵.
Another challenge is that all four defendants are elderly, between 79 and 85 years old, and none is in robust¹⁶ health. The trial will likely take several years, and there are fears one or more could die before it ends.
That is what happened in the trial of former Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic at The Hague, as well as with a number of defendants at the Rwanda tribunal.
OSJI's Duffy says a new rule will allow convictions or acquittals to be delivered against the accused as the trial proceeds. So unless a defendant² dies very early on, they would either be convicted or acquitted¹⁸ of certain crimes prior to the trial's conclusion.
"The objective of that is potentially to shorten the trial into smaller bite-size pieces and render judgment¹⁹ progressively on each part rather than have one huge trial involving four accused that potentially goes on for years and judgment is never rendered in relation to one or even all of them," she said.
At 84, Nuon Chea, who was Pol Pot's deputy, is the second-oldest defendant. He has previously²⁰ blamed Cambodia's age-old enemy Vietnam for much of what went wrong during his government's rule.
Fair trial
One of Nuon Chea's defense lawyers, Michiel Pestman, says he is not optimistic his client will receive a fair trial.
"The signs are on red as far as we are concerned. We are seriously worried that this court is unable to do what they are supposed to do, and that is deliver a fair trial," said Pestman.
Pestman accuses the investigation¹³ office, which is meant to be objective in its search for evidence of guilt²¹ or innocence²², of deliberately favoring information that would convict, rather than acquit¹⁷, his client.
He says that has undermined Nuon Chea's fair trial rights. "And we have tried to influence this investigation, but all our requests to hear certain witnesses were rejected," said Pestman. "And now we are hoping that the Trial Chamber²³ will hear those witnesses. And we will hear on Monday whether they are willing to do so, but we are afraid that they are not as interested as we think they should be."
Much of the evidence against the four accused has come from a genocide research project in Phnom Penh called the Documentation Center of Cambodia. It provided around half a million documents to the tribunal.
DC-Cam's director is Youk Chhang, and along with millions of Cambodians, he has waited three decades for this day. Youk Chhang says Case Two has the potential to help Cambodians come to terms with their history.
"So I think case two is the most important for me," said Chhang. "I think also for many other survivors²⁴ as well, because we all know these four guys. As we all know they have no acknowledgments about what happened. They put all the blame to their subordinates, and they blame others. So I think that is important that we have [it]. We want to hear what they have to say."
Whatever the outcome, and regardless of whether any or all of the defendants survive the trial, Monday is highly significant. The surviving leaders of one of the 20th century's most brutal²⁵ political movements will stand trial for crimes committed in the name of their revolution.

1 rouge   

n.胭脂，口红唇膏；v.(在…上)擦口红

参考例句：

• Women put rouge on their cheeks to make their faces pretty.女人往面颊上涂胭脂，使脸更漂亮。
• She didn't need any powder or lip rouge to make her pretty.她天生漂亮，不需要任何脂粉唇膏打扮自己。

2 defendant   

n.被告；adj.处于被告地位的

参考例句：

• The judge rejected a bribe from the defendant's family.法官拒收被告家属的贿赂。
• The defendant was borne down by the weight of evidence.有力的证据使被告认输了。

3 defendants   

被告( defendant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The courts heard that the six defendants had been coerced into making a confession. 法官审判时发现6位被告人曾被迫承认罪行。
• As in courts, the defendants are represented by legal counsel. 与法院相同，被告有辩护律师作为代表。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

4 implementing   

v.实现( implement的现在分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• -- Implementing a comprehensive drug control strategy. ――实行综合治理的禁毒战略。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• He was in no hurry about implementing his unshakable principle. 他并不急于实行他那不可动摇的原则。 来自辞典例句

5 strings   

n.弦

参考例句：

• He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上，随意地拨着吉他的弦。
• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。

6 traitors   

卖国贼( traitor的名词复数 )； 叛徒； 背叛者； 背信弃义的人

参考例句：

• Traitors are held in infamy. 叛徒为人所不齿。
• Traitors have always been treated with contempt. 叛徒永被人们唾弃。

7 atrocities   

n.邪恶，暴行( atrocity的名词复数 )；滔天大罪

参考例句：

• They were guilty of the most barbarous and inhuman atrocities. 他们犯有最野蛮、最灭绝人性的残暴罪行。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The enemy's atrocities made one boil with anger. 敌人的暴行令人发指。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 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。

9 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。

10 complexities   

复杂性(complexity的名词复数)； 复杂的事物

参考例句：

• The complexities of life bothered him. 生活的复杂使他困惑。
• The complexities of life bothered me. 生活的杂乱事儿使我心烦。

11 Nazis   

n.（德国的）纳粹党员( Nazi的名词复数 )；纳粹主义

参考例句：

• The Nazis worked them over with gun butts. 纳粹分子用枪托毒打他们。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Nazis were responsible for the mass murder of Jews during World War Ⅱ. 纳粹必须为第二次世界大战中对犹太人的大屠杀负责。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

13 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

14 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

15 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

16 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

17 acquit   

vt.宣判无罪；(oneself)使(自己)表现出

参考例句：

• That fact decided the judge to acquit him.那个事实使法官判他无罪。
• They always acquit themselves of their duty very well.他们总是很好地履行自己的职责。

18 acquitted   

宣判…无罪( acquit的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（自己）作出某种表现

参考例句：

• The jury acquitted him of murder. 陪审团裁决他谋杀罪不成立。
• Five months ago she was acquitted on a shoplifting charge. 五个月前她被宣判未犯入店行窃罪。

19 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。

20 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

21 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

22 innocence   

n.无罪；天真；无害

参考例句：

• There was a touching air of innocence about the boy.这个男孩有一种令人感动的天真神情。
• The accused man proved his innocence of the crime.被告人经证实无罪。

23 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

24 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

25 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。