VOA标准英语2009-Gabonese Government Suspends Multiple Public

By Ricci Shryock
Dakar
16 November 2009

Gabon's National Communications Council has suspended at least six publications for what it says are ethical¹ violations² of journalism³.  Press freedom groups in West Africa and the United States have condemned⁴ the Gabon council's actions.

 
Ali Bongo (file photo)
Less than three months after the election of president Ali Bongo, the government-controlled media-monitoring body in Gabon has suspended six private newspapers.

The International Federation⁵ of Journalists' office in Dakar has condemned the government's actions. 

A program officer for the group, Libasse Hane, says a Gabonese journalist, who also works for a publication that supports an opposition⁶ leader, told him the National Communications Council says the six suspended papers were inciting⁷ tribalism. The state said the papers violated "the ethics⁸ of journalism."

Hane says its difficult to judge whether the publications were inciting tribalism.

Hane adds parts of the population are against the suspension.

Every suspended publication has written articles that criticized the recent electoral process in Gabon.

This September, Ali Bongo was elected president after the death of his father, President Omar Bongo who ruled Gabon for 41 years. Opposition leaders have disputed the election results, but a court declared the victory of the younger Bongo.

The New York based non-profit group the Committee to Protect Journalists, has also condemned the West African government's actions. The group says it learned the suspensions will last from one to three months. 

The Committee to Protect Journalists said that one affected⁹ call-in television show on station Canal Espoir, allowed callers to openly criticize individuals on the air.

After Ali Bongo was announced the victor in presidential elections in September, there were riots in some parts of the country, including the oil hub, Port Gentil. Gabon is Africa's sixth-largest exporter of oil, but despite a per-capita gross domestic product of $14,000, the United Nations estimates that 70 percent of the country's people live below the poverty line. 

Before his death this year, Omar Bongo's French bank accounts were frozen as part of an investigation¹⁰ into African leaders embezzling¹¹ public funds. The anti-corruption group Transparency International says more than 30 Bongo family properties in France, worth nearly $200 million, could not have been purchased on his state salary alone.

The Bongo family denies any wrongdoing. A French judge threw out the case last month saying Transparency International does not have the legal standing¹² to take civil action.

1 ethical   

adj.伦理的，道德的，合乎道德的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to get the youth to have a high ethical concept.必须使青年具有高度的道德观念。
• It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。

2 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

3 journalism   

n.新闻工作，报业

参考例句：

• He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师，可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
• He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。

4 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。

5 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

6 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。

7 inciting   

刺激的，煽动的

参考例句：

• What are you up to inciting mutiny and insubordination? 你们干吗在这里煽动骚动的叛乱呀。
• He was charged with inciting people to rebel. 他被控煽动民众起来叛乱。

8 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

9 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

10 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

11 embezzling   

v.贪污，盗用（公款）( embezzle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Accordingly, object embezzling waste to be carried temporarily the schedule of administration. 因此，反对贪污浪费就提上了临时中央政府的议事日程。 来自互联网
• Some were sentenced for taking bribes, others executed for embezzling funds. 有的因受贿而被判刑，有的因侵吞公款而被判处死刑。 来自互联网

12 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。