2006年VOA标准英语-Sri Lankan Paramilitary Organizations Accused o

By Patricia Nunan
Trincomalee
29 June 2006

As Sri Lanka threatens to slide back into all-out civil war, much talk is focused on paramilitaries - armed groups accused of carrying out attacks on civilians¹. Both the government and the Tamil Tiger separatists deny any links to paramilitary organizations, and blame the other for such groups' actions. Meanwhile, civilians are caught in the middle.

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A soldier patrols the Trincomalee harbor  
  
Raj Rajarammohan is a Tamil businessman and the head of the Chamber² of Commerce in Trincomalee, in eastern Sri Lanka.

The town is made up primarily of Tamils, Sri Lanka's largest ethnic³ minority. But it is also home to Muslims - and to Sinhalese, the largest ethnic group, which dominates the central government in the south.

That makes Trincomalee a lightening rod for conflict between the government and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam - the Tamil Tiger rebels. Both claim they want to save a 2002 cease-fire, but deadly violence erupts almost daily, and civilians like Rajarammohan are often the ones who suffer.

More than 800 Sri Lankans have died of violence in the past six months, many of them in what some call the country's "shadow war" - attacks against civilians that appear to be orchestrated by one side or the other.

That is what Rajarammohan says happened in April when a bomb went off in central Trincomalee. The bomb prompted a "riot" - which he says appeared to be very well organized.

"Soon after the bomb blast, within five minutes, hundreds of people - a mob - they already had these cans of fuel, and guns, and, you know, swords and clubs," said Raj Rajarammohan. "They just came in. I mean, they were targeting all the Tamil businessmen, that is how we feel. Because all the 32 shops that were gutted⁴ down, were Tamils'. And Sinhala shops and the Muslim shops... there was no damage whatsoever⁵."

Sri Lanka's civil war dates from 1983, when the Tamil Tigers began their campaign for a separate homeland for the Tamil minority. More than 60,000 died before a cease-fire, brokered⁶ by Norway, was signed in 2002. For a time, the violence all but disappeared. Last year, it began again in earnest.

There have been several recent clashes that fall into the category of conventional war - battles at sea between the rebels and the Sri Lankan navy, and bombing raids by the Sri Lankan air force in retaliation⁷ for suicide bombings attributed to the rebels.

The perpetrators of other incidents, like the attack described by Rajarammohan, are more difficult to pin down. The rebels charge that the perpetrators are groups backed by the government. The government denies this, and independent European ceasefire monitors say they are not sure who is telling the truth.

One group accused of violence against civilians is a splinter faction⁸ of the Tigers. In 2004, the rebel group, which had been known as a highly disciplined organization, split into two factions⁹ along geographic¹⁰ lines. Fighters from the east charged that the leadership, based in the north, was using them for the heaviest fighting.

The rebel leadership says the government orchestrated the split, and now use the eastern splinter faction to carry out violence against civilians. That way, the rebels argue, the government can claim that the Tamil Tigers are to blame for exacerbating¹¹ tensions.

Ellian is the alias¹² used by the Tamil Tigers' regional political chief outside Trincomalee. He says the rebels recently captured two paramilitary soldiers who confessed that they were trained by the Sri Lankan army, and given safe-haven in government-controlled territory.

He says the paramilitaries are undergoing training in an army-controlled area, so how can the government say there are no links? He says the army is keeping its mouth shut, but everybody knows it is only with the connivance¹³ of the army that the paramilitaries can operate.

Thorfinnur Omarsson is the spokesman for the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission, the European ceasefire monitors. He says there is some evidence to support the claim that the paramilitaries have freedom of movement in government territory.

"There have been some indications, and we've already reported them," he said. "There are indications pointing towards [that], but on the other hand, we hear many stories, and sometimes we are 99 percent sure, but we don't have the complete evidence for it.

The Sri Lankan government vehemently¹⁴ denies any links to paramilitary organizations, which they consider to be a tactical ploy¹⁵ by the Tamil Tigers.

The peace monitors and other experts also point out that the rebels too, may be using paramilitary organizations in certain circumstances. Again, the goal is to hide the identity of the perpetrators of violence.

Rajarammohan, the Trincomalee businessman, says for civilians caught in the cross-fire, who is at fault is beside the point.

"It is a cold war, which is very ruthless," he said. "It is much worse than conventional war. Because people who are getting killed are innocent civilians. The people armed are quite safe, very safe."

Rajarammohan says he would prefer to see the civil war declared again. Then, he says, the government and the Tamil Tigers could start targeting each other, and maybe leave civilians alone

1 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。

2 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。

3 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

4 gutted   

adj.容易消化的v.毁坏（建筑物等）的内部( gut的过去式和过去分词 )；取出…的内脏

参考例句：

• Disappointed? I was gutted! 失望？我是伤心透了！
• The invaders gutted the historic building. 侵略者们将那幢历史上有名的建筑洗劫一空。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 whatsoever   

adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么

参考例句：

• There's no reason whatsoever to turn down this suggestion.没有任何理由拒绝这个建议。
• All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you,do ye even so to them.你想别人对你怎样，你就怎样对人。

6 brokered   

adj.由权力经纪人安排（或控制）的v.做掮客（或中人等）( broker的过去式和过去分词 )；作为权力经纪人进行谈判；以中间人等身份安排…

参考例句：

• a peace plan brokered by the UN 由联合国出面协商的和平计划
• Your husband brokered the deal to go in, transfrer the assets and get our man out. 你丈夫后来插了一脚，把生意都抢了过去，我们的人也被挤了出来。 来自电影对白

7 retaliation   

n.报复，反击

参考例句：

• retaliation against UN workers 对联合国工作人员的报复
• He never said a single word in retaliation. 他从未说过一句反击的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 faction   

n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争

参考例句：

• Faction and self-interest appear to be the norm.派系之争和自私自利看来非常普遍。
• I now understood clearly that I was caught between the king and the Bunam's faction.我现在完全明白自己已陷入困境，在国王与布纳姆集团之间左右为难。

9 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

10 geographic   

adj.地理学的，地理的

参考例句：

• The city's success owes much to its geographic position. 这座城市的成功很大程度上归功于它的地理位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Environmental problems pay no heed to these geographic lines. 环境问题并不理会这些地理界限。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

11 exacerbating   

v.使恶化，使加重( exacerbate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• This pedagogical understretch is exacerbating social inequalities. 这种教学张力不足加重了社会不平等。 来自互联网
• High fertilizer prices are exacerbating the problem. 高涨的肥料价格更加加剧了问题的恶化。 来自互联网

12 alias   

n.化名；别名；adv.又名

参考例句：

• His real name was Johnson,but he often went by the alias of Smith.他的真名是约翰逊，但是他常常用化名史密斯。
• You can replace this automatically generated alias with a more meaningful one.可用更有意义的名称替换这一自动生成的别名。

13 connivance   

n.纵容；默许

参考例句：

• The criminals could not have escaped without your connivance.囚犯没有你的默契配合，是逃不掉的。
• He tried to bribe the police into connivance.他企图收买警察放他一马。

14 vehemently   

adv. 热烈地

参考例句：

• He argued with his wife so vehemently that he talked himself hoarse. 他和妻子争论得很激烈，以致讲话的声音都嘶哑了。
• Both women vehemently deny the charges against them. 两名妇女都激烈地否认了对她们的指控。

15 ploy   

n.花招，手段

参考例句：

• I think this is just a government ploy to deceive the public.我认为这只是政府欺骗公众的手段。
• Christmas should be a time of excitement and wonder,not a cynical marketing ploy.圣诞节应该是兴奋和美妙的时刻，而不该是一种肆无忌惮的营销策略。