2006年VOA标准英语-Britain's Tony Blair Opposes Saddam Death Penal

By Sonja Pace
London
06 November 2006

		Britain's PM Tony Blair answers questions from media during his monthly press conference in 10, Downing Street, November 6, 2006

British Prime Minister Tony Blair says the conviction of Saddam Hussein on charges of  crimes against humanity is a stark¹ reminder² of conditions in Iraq under the former leader's regime. Mr. Blair refused to directly support the sentence, however, noting Britain's opposition³ to the death penalty.

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Mr. Blair told reporters in London the verdict handed down against Saddam Hussein is a reminder of the "sheer terror" of that regime.

"The trial of Saddam gives us a chance to see again what the past in Iraq was - the brutality⁴, the tyranny, the hundreds-of-thousands of people that he killed, the wars in which there were a million casualties," he said.

Mr. Blair said he viewed it as a sign of optimism that Saddam was tried by an Iraqi court for crimes he committed against his own people.

But, in a very testy⁵ exchange with one reporter, Mr. Blair refused to support the Iraqi court's sentence. Questions on the issue persisted, and the prime minister later was more direct.

"We are against the death penalty - we're against the death penalty, whether it's Saddam or anybody else," concluded Mr. Blair.

The verdict against Saddam has received mixed reactions. U.S. President Bush praised the trial as an important achievement for Iraq's young democracy.

The European Union, which opposes the death penalty, said the former Iraqi leader should not be executed. The human rights group, Amnesty International also opposes the death penalty and criticized the trial itself as not having been fair or impartial⁶.

The death sentence for Saddam and two co-defendants was handed down Sunday. Their sentences are subject to an automatic appeal.

1 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

2 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

3 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。

4 brutality   

n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• a general who was infamous for his brutality 因残忍而恶名昭彰的将军

5 testy   

adj.易怒的；暴躁的

参考例句：

• Ben's getting a little testy in his old age.上了年纪后本变得有点性急了。
• A doctor was called in to see a rather testy aristocrat.一个性格相当暴躁的贵族召来了一位医生为他检查。

6 impartial   

adj.(in,to)公正的，无偏见的

参考例句：

• He gave an impartial view of the state of affairs in Ireland.他对爱尔兰的事态发表了公正的看法。
• Careers officers offer impartial advice to all pupils.就业指导员向所有学生提供公正无私的建议。