VOA标准英语2009年-US Calls on Sri Lanka to Investigate Alleg
时间：2019-01-14 作者：英语课 分类：VOA标准英语2009年(十月)
By David Gollust
Washington
22 October 2009
The first aerial view of the coastal 1 strip, a former war zone where the Tamil rebels made their last stand, videotaped by VOA
The United States is calling on the Sri Lankan government to thoroughly 2 investigate charges of war crimes in the final months of its long war with Tamil Tiger rebels. A State Department report issued Thursday listed what were termed credible 3 allegations of abuses by both sides in the conflict.
The State Department says if the Sri Lankan government really is interested, as it says it is, in post-war reconciliation 4, it should investigate alleged 5 abuses in the closing months of the conflict and bring to justice those responsible.
The comments came as the department released a report, mandated 6 by Congress, cataloguing alleged war crimes in the bitter fighting on the northern tip of Sri Lanka early this year that led to the final government rout 7 of separatist Tamil Tiger guerrillas.
The State Department said it could not verify all the reports from diplomats 8, non-governmental groups and media organizations but said they are credible.
Among other things, it cited accounts of the Tamil Tigers recruiting children as combatants and using civilians 9 as human shields.
It also listed reports of government forces shelling nominal 10 safe-haven areas for Tamil civilians, killing 11 rebels trying to surrender, and allowing dismal 12 humanitarian 13 conditions to prevail in displaced-person camps.
At a news briefing, State Department Spokesman Ian Kelly said the United States has been urging Sri Lankan authorities to open up the northern region to international organizations, and to conduct a thorough investigation 14 of the charges. "We call on them to develop the kind of mechanisms 15 that can more thoroughly investigate these many allegations which are laid out in this report, and then ultimately - as appropriate - bring to justice those who are found guilty. The government of Sri Lanka has said that they are determined 16 to establish a reconciliation process with the people of the north. But we believe strongly that a very important part of any reconciliation process is accountability," he said.
The U.S. report stressed that it did not reach legal conclusions as to whether the abuses cited constituted violations 17 of international law.
It also said the United States recognizes a government's right to defend itself from attacks by terrorist groups, but that it expects both state and non-state actors to comply with international legal obligations.
The Tamil Tigers, long classified by the United States as a terrorist group, waged a 26-year war for an ethnic-Tamil state in the northern part of the mostly-Sinhalese country before its defeat and final surrender in May.
The United Nations says the conflict killed as many as 100,000 people and many thousands remain displaced from this year's fighting.
The private monitoring group Human Rights Watch said the State Department report should dispel 18 any doubts that serious abuses were committed during the Sri Lankan conflict's final months.
But it said that given the Sri Lankan government's complete failure thus far to investigate possible war crimes, the only hope for justice would be an independent, international investigation.
- The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
- This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。
- The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
- The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。
- The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
- Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？
- He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
- Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。
- 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
- Mandated desegregation of public schools. 命令解除公立学校中的种族隔离
- Britain was mandated to govern the former colony of German East Africa. 英国受权代管德国在东非的前殖民地。
- The enemy was put to rout all along the line.敌人已全线崩溃。
- The people's army put all to rout wherever they went.人民军队所向披靡。
- These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
- The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- 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。
- The king was only the nominal head of the state. 国王只是这个国家名义上的元首。
- The charge of the box lunch was nominal.午餐盒饭收费很少。
- Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
- Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。
- That is a rather dismal melody.那是一支相当忧郁的歌曲。
- My prospects of returning to a suitable job are dismal.我重新找到一个合适的工作岗位的希望很渺茫。
- She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
- The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。
- 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。
- The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms. 这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- He explained how the two mechanisms worked. 他解释这两台机械装置是如何工作的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- 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。
- 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。