VOA常速英语2007-DRC Massacre Victims, Families Demand Justice

By Naomi Schwarz
Dakar
18 October 2007

On the third anniversary of an army crackdown that killed more than 70 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo, families of the victims fear their court case is being blocked by powerful politicians. The army is accused of executing, torturing, and raping¹ civilians². An earlier ruling acquitted³ all the defendants⁴ of war crimes. Naomi Schwarz has more for VOA from Dakar.

The lawyer for victims of the eastern DRC massacre⁵, Georges Kapiamba, says the victims and their families will not give up their quest for justice. But he says they have no faith in the judicial⁶ system.

He says the families had confidence in the trial that ended in June, and they were disappointed with the outcome.

Nine members of the Congolese army and three mining employees from a company operating in the area were tried for war crimes in the incident. They were acquitted In June. The families are appealing the decision.

This is the third anniversary of the army crackdown in the remote fishing town of Kilwa that left more than 70 dead. The army says it was suppressing a rebel uprising. Human rights activists⁷ say the soldiers executed at least 25 civilians and raped⁸ and tortured many others.

The Anvil⁹ Mining Company from Canada operates a silver and copper¹⁰ mine nearby. It has admitted to using its airplanes to fly the soldiers to the remote region and also lending them its trucks.

Patricia Feeney is the director of the human rights and corporate¹¹ accountability watchdog, RAID. Her organization, along with human rights groups in DRC and overseas, has been helping¹² the victims lobby for a fair trial. She says Anvil's role in the massacre makes the case unique.

"I think what marks out this case is it is not just a generalized human rights issue that these people are known to carry out human rights abuses so any funds you give them are likely to further that," said Feeney. "This is, there was a particular incident, the company took certain decisions, and it is that that makes it a bit exceptional."

Anvil has consistently denied wrongdoing. It says it was legally required to supply vehicles when the army requested them.

The company declined to comment for this story, but a press release after the initial trial verdict said it was satisfied with the court's decision acquitting¹³ its employees.

Feeney says she fears that political interests will interfere¹⁴ and prevent a fair outcome in the current appeal.

"There are very big political, military and economic interests involved in this case which present great difficulties for the human rights community that have been working hard to try to make sure the case now can be brought to appeal here in Congo," said Feeney.

She says the governor of the region has spoken publicly in support of Anvil and is trying to prevent the appeal from being heard in DRC's capital, Kinshasa.

Government officials could not be reached for comment.

After the initial acquittal, the U.N. High Commissioner¹⁵ for Human Rights Louise Arbour expressed concern about the trial's fairness. She said the evidence and eyewitness¹⁶ testimony¹⁷ against the defendants were substantial.

Despite vast mineral wealth, international groups rank the Democratic Republic of Congo as one of the world's poorest, and most corrupt¹⁸, countries.

1 raping   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的现在分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• In response, Charles VI sent a punitive expedition to Brittany, raping and killing the populace. 作为报复，查理六世派军讨伐布列塔尼，奸淫杀戮平民。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The conquerors marched on, burning, killing, raping and plundering as they went. 征服者所到之处烧杀奸掠，无所不做。 来自互联网

2 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。

3 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。

4 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

5 massacre   

n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀

参考例句：

• There was a terrible massacre of villagers here during the war.在战争中，这里的村民惨遭屠杀。
• If we forget the massacre,the massacre will happen again!忘记了大屠杀，大屠杀就有可能再次发生！

6 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

7 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 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

9 anvil   

n.铁钻

参考例句：

• The blacksmith shaped a horseshoe on his anvil.铁匠在他的铁砧上打出一个马蹄形。
• The anvil onto which the staples are pressed was not assemble correctly.订书机上的铁砧安装错位。

10 copper   

n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的

参考例句：

• The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。
• Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。

11 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

12 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

13 acquitting   

宣判…无罪( acquit的现在分词 )； 使（自己）作出某种表现

参考例句：

• Meanwhile Ms Sotomayor is acquitting herself well enough. 另一方面，Sotomayor女士正在完成自己的任务。
• It has the following characteristics: high speed of data acquitting and data processing. 固件程序具有较高的采集响应速度和数据处理速度。

14 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

15 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

16 eyewitness   

n.目击者，见证人

参考例句：

• The police questioned several eyewitness to the murder.警察询问了谋杀案的几位目击者。
• He was the only eyewitness of the robbery.他是那起抢劫案的唯一目击者。

17 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

18 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。