VOA标准英语2009年-Demonstrators in Khartoum Protest Arrest Warran

Thousands protested in the Sudanese capital Khartoum after the announcement that the International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for the country's president. Security has been beefed up in Khartoum and in Darfur as the country waits to see whether any repercussions¹ will follow court's decision.
　
A Sudanese woman holds up a picture of President Omar al-Bashir during rally protesting International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant, in Khartoum, 04 Mar² 2009

After months of waiting, Sudanese have received the news that their president, Omar Hassan al-Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of crimes against humanity and murder. Now the population waits to see how the government will react.

On Wednesday, traffic was clogged³ in Khartoum as thousands gathered to protest the approval of the warrant, which did not include charges of genocide, which are the most difficult to prove. But the government frequently organizes demonstrations⁴ and popular sentiment in the capital can be harder to gauge⁵. Further rallies were planned for later in the week, and President Bashir is expected to visit the Darfur region at the weekend.

Security was increased in the capital Khartoum, especially around diplomatic missions, and foreign workers were advised to stay indoors and to prepare for the possibility of unrest. Sudanese officials have said they will protect diplomatic and U.N. representatives, but that they may not be able to control popular protests.

Presidential advisor⁶ Mustafa Osman Ismail described the warrant, as "neo-colonialism" and security officials warned of the consequences of cooperating with the ICC investigation⁷. On Tuesday, President Bashir said any warrant would be worthless, and that the court could "eat" the document. He was speaking at the inauguration⁸ of a large dam, before a crowd that burned and stamped on images of the ICC's chief prosecutor⁹ Luis Moreno-Ocampo.

Security was also increased in the main towns in Darfur. Government plans flew overhead in a show of force. The U.N. peacekeeping mission, UNAMID, said it was carrying out regular activities. The head of U.N. peacekeeping, Alain Le Roy, told the Security Council this week that the mission was prepared for unrest, but was not expecting any reprisals¹⁰.

"So far we don't fear that the U.N. mission will be targeted by any group and there is no plan to scale down our mission, we are there," said Le Roy. "But it's normal that we are prepared."

Darfur's largest rebel group, the Justice and Equality Movement, has voiced enthusiastic support for President Bashir to be turned over to the ICC, and has vowed¹² to counter any renewed military attacks by the government.

Leaders of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, former rebels who led a two-decade civil war against the government in the north before a 2005 peace agreement, and who now run the semi-autonomous government of Southern Sudan have also affirmed their support for the president. While President Bashir is highly unpopular in the south, many of the former rebels see support for the president as the best chance to keep the peace deal alive, as many other Northern political factions¹³ have opposed the agreement.

SPLM Secretary-General Pagan Amum spoke¹⁴ to reporters in the southern capital Juba on Tuesday.

"We believe that if an indictment¹⁵ is issued, that should not be allowed to affect the process of building peace and the process of transition to democracy," he said. "We are happy that the president himself last week made a statement that if there is anything like this nothing will take away the focus of his government from achieving the transition to democracy and for continuing the search for peace in Darfur."

International reaction to the effort to prosecute¹⁶ President Bashir has been mixed. Some humanitarian¹⁷ groups operating in the country have criticized the effort, saying that it could lead to reprisal¹¹ attacks in Darfur and restrictions¹⁸ on humanitarian worker. The medical organization Doctors Without Borders says that the Sudanese government has told its international staff to leave a number of sites in south and west Darfur, saying their security cannot be guaranteed in the face of the warrant.

The African Union and the Arab League have both urged the U.N. Security Council to defer¹⁹ an arrest warrant for a year, saying the warrant could destabilize the country and threaten peace efforts. The United States, Britain, and France, however, have indicated they are unlikely to do so. China and Russia, while seen as more sympathetic to Khartoum, have been relatively²⁰ quiet on this question.

Egypt's foreign minister called for the Security Council to hold a special meeting to consider suspending the warrant, according to Egypt state media. But Libya's UN ambassador, currently serving as the Security Council president, said this week the council has no immediate²¹ plans to discuss the issue.

Several advocacy and human rights groups welcomed the news of the warrant. Human Rights Watch said the ICC's decision sends a signal that even top leaders can be held accountable for international crimes, and Amnesty International called on President Bashir to turn himself in. The International Crisis Group called on the international community to back the court's decision and urged the government of Sudan to cooperate.

The ICC has already issued warrants for Sudan's humanitarian affairs minister, Ahmed Haroun, and a leader of a government-backed militia²², Ali Kushayb. The ICC's prosecutor is also seeking charges against Darfur rebel leaders accused of attacking African Union peacekeepers in 2007. President Bashir has been in power for two decades, since seizing power in a coup²³ in 1989.

1 repercussions   

n.后果，反响( repercussion的名词复数 )；余波

参考例句：

• The collapse of the company will have repercussions for the whole industry. 这家公司的垮台将会给整个行业造成间接的负面影响。
• Human acts have repercussions far beyond the frontiers of the human world. 人类行为所产生的影响远远超出人类世界的范围。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 mar   

vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟

参考例句：

• It was not the custom for elderly people to mar the picnics with their presence.大人们照例不参加这样的野餐以免扫兴。
• Such a marriage might mar your career.这样的婚姻说不定会毁了你的一生。

3 clogged   

（使）阻碍( clog的过去式和过去分词 )； 淤滞

参考例句：

• The narrow streets were clogged with traffic. 狭窄的街道上交通堵塞。
• The intake of gasoline was stopped by a clogged fuel line. 汽油的注入由于管道阻塞而停止了。

4 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

5 gauge   

v.精确计量；估计；n.标准度量；计量器

参考例句：

• Can you gauge what her reaction is likely to be?你能揣测她的反应可能是什么吗？
• It's difficult to gauge one's character.要判断一个人的品格是很困难的。

6 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

7 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。

8 inauguration   

n.开幕、就职典礼

参考例句：

• The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。

9 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。

10 reprisals   

n.报复（行为）( reprisal的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They did not want to give evidence for fear of reprisals. 他们因为害怕报复而不想作证。
• They took bloody reprisals against the leaders. 他们对领导进行了血腥的报复。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 reprisal   

n.报复，报仇，报复性劫掠

参考例句：

• There is no political alternative but a big reprisal.政治上没有旁的选择只能是大规模报复。
• They bombed civilian targets in reprisal.他们炮轰平民目标作为报复。

12 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

13 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

14 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

15 indictment   

n.起诉；诉状

参考例句：

• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
• They issued an indictment against them.他们起诉了他们。

16 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？

17 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。

18 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

19 defer   

vt.推迟，拖延；vi.(to)遵从，听从，服从

参考例句：

• We wish to defer our decision until next week.我们希望推迟到下星期再作出决定。
• We will defer to whatever the committee decides.我们遵从委员会作出的任何决定。

20 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。

21 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

22 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

23 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。