2007年VOA标准英语-European Experts Offer Help to Philippines In S

By Douglas Bakshian
Manila
18 June 2007

A team of European Union (EU) experts has begun a 10-day mission to the Philippines to help the country solve extra-judicial killings¹ that have claimed as many as 800 lives since 2001. There has been strong international condemnation² of the killings, but they continue. Douglas Bakshian reports from Manila

The EU mission is being undertaken at the request of the Philippine government. The purpose is not to probe the killings, but to find ways in which the EU can provide technical assistance to help the government investigate and prosecute³ the crimes.

This could include establishing special courts, training judges and prosecutors⁵ and strengthening witness protection programs.

The killings have been widely condemned⁶ by human rights groups in the Philippines as well as global organizations including the United Nations and Amnesty International. But Alistair MacDonald, the chief EU representative to the Philippines, says no effective action has been taken.

"The point is that the killings have continued," he said. "The point is that the number of prosecutions⁷, in particular the number of prosecutions which have concluded with a conviction, are relatively⁸ small."

The EU investigators⁹ include a German diplomat¹⁰ and prosecutor⁴, a British prosecutor and expert in international cooperation, a Swedish police officer, and a Finnish professor of international humanitarian¹¹ law. These are widely experienced individuals who have worked in other international hotspots including Sri Lanka, Rwanda, Lebanon, and Serbia.

The Philippine human rights group Karapatan says more than 800 people have died in extra-judicial killings since 2001, when President Gloria Arroyo¹² took office. Most of the victims belonged to leftist groups that the military says are fronts for the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and the New People's Army (NPA), which are on U.S. and EU terrorist lists. Ambassador MacDonald says, even though the groups are on such lists, it does not mean their members can be killed indiscriminately.

"Inclusion on the terrorist list is not in any standards, in any societies, under any circumstances, an excuse to go and kill people," he said. "So whether or not the CPP and the NPA are included in the terrorist list is not in itself a target pinned on their back authorizing¹³ some forces in the country to go out and kill them without the benefit of due process."

A panel created by President Arroyo to investigate the killings has issued a report saying elements of the military were involved but not the whole military establishment. The military has denied any direct role in the killings and says soldiers found guilty of such actions will face the full force of the law.

1 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

2 condemnation   

n.谴责; 定罪

参考例句：

• There was widespread condemnation of the invasion. 那次侵略遭到了人们普遍的谴责。
• The jury's condemnation was a shock to the suspect. 陪审团宣告有罪使嫌疑犯大为震惊。

3 prosecute   

vt.告发；进行；vi.告发，起诉，作检察官

参考例句：

• I am trying my best to prosecute my duties.我正在尽力履行我的职责。
• Is there enough evidence to prosecute?有没有起诉的足够证据？

4 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

5 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

6 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

7 prosecutions   

起诉( prosecution的名词复数 )； 原告； 实施； 从事

参考例句：

• It is the duty of the Attorney-General to institute prosecutions. 检察总长负责提起公诉。
• Since World War II, the government has been active in its antitrust prosecutions. 第二次世界大战以来，政府积极地进行着反对托拉斯的检举活动。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

8 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

9 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

11 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• 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。

12 arroyo   

n.干涸的河床，小河

参考例句：

• She continued along the path until she came to the arroyo.她沿着小路一直走到小河边。
• They had a picnic by the arroyo.他们在干枯的河床边野餐过。

13 authorizing   

授权，批准，委托( authorize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Letters of Marque: Take letters from a warning friendly power authorizing privateering. 私掠许可证：从某一个国家获得合法抢劫的证书。
• Formal phavee completion does not include authorizing the subsequent phavee. 阶段的正式完成不包括核准随后的阶段。