VOA常速英语2008年-Chad Creates Inquiry into Rebel Attack

By Naomi Schwarz
Dakar
03 March 2008

Chad's government has created an official inquiry¹ to look into the events surrounding a rebel attack on Chad's capital, N'Djamena, a month ago. But human rights activists² say the inquiry will not be independent. For VOA, Naomi Schwarz has more from Dakar.

More than 250 civilians³ are reported to have died and at least three prominent members of Chad's opposition⁴ disappeared during the rebel attack on the capital.

Now Chad's authorities have created a commission to investigate what really happened during the attack that nearly toppled the government.

But Reed Brody, of New York-based Human Rights Watch says to be effective, an inquiry would have to look critically at the government's role in the events.

"It is going to be led by the President of the Chadian National Assembly a former prime minister who is a close ally of President Idriss Deby," said Brody. "So it does not look like it is going to be an independent commission."

According to Chadian national radio, the commission will also include representatives from France, the European Union, and the African Union. The Red Cross refused to participate, saying it would compromise their neutrality.

Brody says he would welcome a commission run by an outside body, such as the United Nations, but that this commission is unlikely to clear up questions surrounding the disappearances⁵ of opposition leaders.

"[What] the government needs to do is to explain where it is holding Ibni [Oumar Saleh Mohamet] and why it arrested Yorongar and then apparently⁶ set him loose on the 21st of February," said Brody.

Ibni Oumar Saleh Mohamet and Ngorlejy Yorongar, along with former president Lol Mahamet Choua, are prominent members of the political opposition. They disappeared during the rebel attacks, and many accused Chad's government of profiting from the chaos⁷ to stifle⁸ its opponents.

There is still no sign of Saleh Mohamet.

The government initially⁹ denied involvement in the disappearances, but later acknowledged that Choua had been detained as a prisoner of war, and put under house arrest. He was later freed.

Yorongar eventually surfaced in Cameroon, where he said he said he had fled after being detained by government forces for more than two weeks.

Brody says Human Rights Watch investigations¹⁰ have concluded the government also detained Saleh Mohamet. And he says, based on testimony¹¹ by fellow prisoner, Yorongar, some fear Saleh Mohamet died in custody¹².

"Yorongar has said that he was held for over two weeks in very difficult conditions, that he saw the others, that he is afraid at a certain point, he stopped seeing Ibni Oumar [Saleh Mohamet] and he is worried that perhaps he died in prison," said Brody. "And we are very worried that Ibni Oumar Mohamet Saleh may have died and that is why the government has not produced him."

The European Union is sending a peacekeeping force of nearly 4,000 soldiers to eastern Chad to protect refugees and displaced people. But some say the international community should intervene more directly to restore peace in Chad.

1 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

2 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》

3 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。

4 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。

5 disappearances   

n.消失( disappearance的名词复数 )；丢失；失踪；失踪案

参考例句：

• Most disappearances are the result of the terrorist activity. 大多数的失踪案都是恐怖分子造成的。 来自辞典例句
• The espionage, the betrayals, the arrests, the tortures, the executions, the disappearances will never cease. 间谍活动、叛党卖国、逮捕拷打、处决灭迹，这种事情永远不会完。 来自英汉文学

6 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

7 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

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 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

10 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

11 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。

12 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。