经济学人57:日光之下无新事

 　　Human-rights abuses

　　人权问题

　　Nothing new under the sun

　　日光之下无新事

　　Some dictators may have fallen, but human-rights abuses continue

　　也许有些独裁者已然倒下，但侵犯人权之事依旧存续

　　May 12th 2011 | OSLO | from the print edition

　　Tunisian plainclothes back in action突尼斯的便衣又开始行动了

　　THE world really can become a better place—that seemed to be the belief of the protesters who have thronged¹ streets in the Middle East. Sadly, those who spoke² this week at the Oslo Freedom Forum³,a glittering gathering⁴ of veterans of human-rights struggles, instead attested⁵ to the wisdom of Ecclesiastes: “The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done.”

　　世界可以更美好——这似乎是中东地区涌上街头抗议的人们的信念。不幸的是，这周奥斯陆自由论坛——备受关注的为人权斗争的一些老兵们的集会上的发言却证实了传道书中的名言：“已有之事后必再有；已行之事后必再行。日光之下并无新事。”

　　Take the impact of technology. Facebook and other social media services have created opportunities for dissidents and revolutionaries to organise⁶ and voice their opposition⁷. But those in power have discovered that they, too, can use the internet, in their case to stifle⁸ freedom of speech. The dream of all dictators is to know as much about you as Google does, says Jacob Mchangama, a Danish human-rights lawyer.

　　就拿科技的作用来说吧。Facebook及其他的社会传媒为持不同政见者及革命分子创造了机会，使他们组能够织起来，表达各自的反对意见。但当权者也发现他们也可以利用互联网来扼杀言论自由。一位丹麦律师Jacob Mchangama说，所有独裁者的梦想都是像google一样了解你。

　　Authoritarian⁹ states have also learned how to use the language of human rights to legitimise their oppressive tactics, for instance by claiming to defend religious groups. But their tools of abuse—violence, torture and censorship—remain depressingly familiar. The grand tradition of making opponents “disappear,” perfected by the military dictatorship in Argentina in the 1970s, is still flourishing today. In Bahrain doctors and nurses who treated protesters injured by security forces have vanished. Also in Bahrain, Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, the former head of the Centre for Human Rights and a fierce critic of the regime, was seized by armed men in the middle of the night. A month later he reappeared, tortured and is now facing trial.

　　独裁国家也已经学会了如何以人权之名使其镇压策略合法化,比如声称捍卫宗教团体。但是他们的工具依旧是我们熟悉的、令人沮丧的暴力、折磨及审查制度。20世纪70年代阿根廷的军事独裁统治将“使对手‘消失’”这一重要传统得以完善,如今它依旧盛行。在巴林岛，已经没有医生和护士为被安全部队打伤的示威者治疗了。也是在巴林,昔日人权中心的领导人、该制度的猛烈抨击者 Abdulhadi al-Khawaja,在一个深夜被武装的人抓走。一个月之后,受过虐待的他再度出现,目前正面临审判。

　　Post-revolutionary leaders can find it all too easy to slip into the abusive habits of their predecessors¹⁰. In Oslo Lina Ben Mhenni, a Tunisian blogger, talked of her fear that the transitional government will use the methods of the ousted¹¹ regime of Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali. When fresh demonstrations¹² broke out in Tunisia in early May, police used tear gas and live ammunition¹³. Journalists were beaten and had their equipment seized.

　　革命后的领导人觉得太容易像他们的前任一样滥用权力了。一位突尼斯籍的博主Lina Ben Mhenni在奥斯陆谈到，她担心过渡政府将使用被赶下台的扎因·阿比丁·本·阿里政权的手段。新的示威游行五月初在突尼斯爆发时,警察使用了催泪瓦斯和实弹。新闻记者遭到毒打,他们的设备也被扣押。

　　Nor do governments have a monopoly on violence. From Jamaica to South Africa, gays and lesbians continue to be the victims of vicious intolerance. Lesbians are raped¹⁴ in an effort to "correct" their sexuality. At the Oslo conference the Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays, the first group of its kind on the Caribbean island, said it was remarkable¹⁵ that only one of its founders¹⁶ had been murdered in the past decade, such is the violence typically directed at its people.

　　政府不仅在暴力方面有独占权。从牙买加到南非，同性恋者继续成为这种恶毒的偏狭的受害者。女同性恋者因为澄清自己的性取向而被强奸。在奥斯陆会议的牙买加同性恋及双性恋论坛上,其加勒比海岛上的第一批代表说，过去十年里他们的创始人只有一个被杀，真的是成效卓越——这就是典型的针对他们的暴力事件。

　　Yet there was also brighter news in Oslo. As those in power become more inventive in their clampdowns, so do their opponents. Some have started to help victims make their experiences public. In Malawi children who have been raped or forced into marriage are encouraged to write letters to Radio Timweni, a national news programme, which then interviews them. In the age of Facebook and Google, the truth remains¹⁷ the most powerful weapon of all.

　　当然，在奥斯陆也有好消息。在当权者加强压制的同时，其对手也没有懈怠。有一些开始帮助受害者将其经历公诸于众。在马拉维，他们鼓励受到性侵或者被迫结婚的孩子写信给Timweni电台——一个全国性的新闻节目，然后，他们对其进行采访。在有Facebook与Google的年代，真相仍旧是最有力的武器。

1 thronged   

v.成群，挤满( throng的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Mourners thronged to the funeral. 吊唁者蜂拥着前来参加葬礼。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The department store was thronged with people. 百货商店挤满了人。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

4 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

5 attested   

adj.经检验证明无病的，经检验证明无菌的v.证明( attest的过去式和过去分词 )；证实；声称…属实；使宣誓

参考例句：

• The handwriting expert attested to the genuineness of the signature. 笔迹专家作证该签名无讹。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Witnesses attested his account. 几名证人都证实了他的陈述是真实的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 organise   

vt.组织，安排，筹办

参考例句：

• He has the ability to organise.他很有组织才能。
• It's my job to organise all the ceremonial events.由我来组织所有的仪式。

7 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。

8 stifle   

vt.使窒息；闷死；扼杀；抑止，阻止

参考例句：

• She tried hard to stifle her laughter.她强忍住笑。
• It was an uninteresting conversation and I had to stifle a yawn.那是一次枯燥无味的交谈，我不得不强忍住自己的呵欠。

9 authoritarian   

n./adj.专制(的)，专制主义者，独裁主义者

参考例句：

• Foreign diplomats suspect him of authoritarian tendencies.各国外交官怀疑他有着独裁主义倾向。
• The authoritarian policy wasn't proved to be a success.独裁主义的政策证明并不成功。

10 predecessors   

n.前任( predecessor的名词复数 )；前辈；（被取代的）原有事物；前身

参考例句：

• The new government set about dismantling their predecessors' legislation. 新政府正着手废除其前任所制定的法律。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Will new plan be any more acceptable than its predecessors? 新计划比原先的计划更能令人满意吗？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

12 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

13 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

14 raped   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的过去式和过去分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• A young woman was brutally raped in her own home. 一名年轻女子在自己家中惨遭强暴。 来自辞典例句
• We got stick together, or we will be having our women raped. 我们得团结一致，不然我们的妻女就会遭到蹂躏。 来自辞典例句

15 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

16 founders   

n.创始人( founder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was one of the founders of the university's medical faculty. 他是该大学医学院的创建人之一。 来自辞典例句
• The founders of our religion made this a cornerstone of morality. 我们宗教的创始人把这看作是道德的基石。 来自辞典例句

17 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。