VOA常速英语2008年-Rights Groups, Religious Leaders Call on Islami

By Nancy Palus
Saly, Senegal
10 March 2008

Human rights groups are calling on the Organization of the Islamic Conference, meeting in Dakar this week, to push for an end to violence in Sudan's Darfur region. Activists² and religious leaders say the world Islamic body has a responsibility to stop attacks on civilians³. Nancy Palus reports from Saly, Senegal, where rights activists and Islamic scholars gathered on Sunday.

Human rights activists say this is the first time civil society groups are formally taking their concerns about Darfur to the Organization of the Islamic Conference, or OIC.

The OIC is holding its 11th summit in Dakar this week.

Amir Osman, the international advocacy director for the Washington-based group called Save Darfur, says he believes the Islamic group can have influence.

"It is unique and important because this is the first civil society and scholars' initiative around the OIC," said Osman. "And we know the importance of this institute and the member states are all the Muslim countries around the world."Osman says pressure must be applied⁴ from the summit in the direction of the Sudanese government.

"They have a voice and they can clearly speak to the government of Sudan and advise them to stop killing⁵ their own citizens," he said. "They have influence over the government of Sudan and if they are willing to use this influence we will see an end to the conflict."

Activists blame the government for backing Arab militias⁶ that have rampaged across Darfur, killing tens of thousands of people, and forcing hundreds of thousands to flee. Sudanese government officials deny they target civilians.

The participants in Sunday's talks signed a declaration stating all sides to the Darfur conflict bear responsibility for the widespread abuses of humanitarian⁷ and human rights law.

A religious leader in Darfur, Allami Mahmoud Ousmane, says the people of Darfur feel the Muslim world is neglecting them.

He says he is here not only to remind the leaders of the OIC but also ordinary individuals in the Islamic community, what he calls the umma, that they are not sufficiently⁸ addressing the human suffering in Darfur, to a point that victims can feel they are concerned.

The president of an African human rights group called RADDHO, Alioun Tine, says the umma must act on the problem of Darfur.

"We cannot understand in a country like Sudan, when there is a conflict between Muslims, and we see the indifference⁹ of the umma, the Islamic umma," said Tine. "I think that it is not acceptable. I think the time is up to end this kind of indifference."

But another human rights activist¹ was not optimistic. He says he doubts that the leaders gathering¹⁰ in Dakar will seriously take up the question of Darfur.

Habott Sid Ahmed, head of a human rights group in Mauritania, says he does not believe that what he calls "this club" gathering in Dakar in the name of Islam will take serious decisions on Darfur.

But, he concludes, activists must continue to call on them to ensure protection of human rights around the world.

1 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

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 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

5 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

6 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

7 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。

8 sufficiently   

adv.足够地，充分地

参考例句：

• It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。
• The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。

9 indifference   

n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎

参考例句：

• I was disappointed by his indifference more than somewhat.他的漠不关心使我很失望。
• He feigned indifference to criticism of his work.他假装毫不在意别人批评他的作品。

10 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。