VOA标准英语2010年-Warrants Raise Hope for Victims in Gua

The Inter¹ American Court of Human Rights judge Diego Garcia Sayan gestures as he speaks on July 14, 2009 in La Paz, during a session on the case of the massacre² of 250 indigenous³ people in Dos Erres, Guatemala, in December 7, 1982, during the dictatorship (1982-1983) of Efrain Rios Montt (File Photo)

Guatemalan rights advocates are hailing this week's decision by the country's Supreme⁴ Court to issue arrestwarrants for former members of the military accused of massacring villagers during the country's long and brutal⁵ civil war. But lawyers for the victims say bringing those responsible for the massacre to justice remains⁶ elusive⁷.
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Lawyers for some of Guatemala's most active human rights groups say the warrants for the arrest of 17 former military men is a step in the right direction after a decade of legal squabbling. The 17 are believed responsible for the 1982 Dos Erres massacre in the northern department of Peten, carried out during one of the bloodiest⁸ years of the country's civil war.

Benito Morales, a lawyer for the human rights group Rigoberta Menchu Foundation, says the large number of warrants in such a case is unprecedented⁹.

Morales says victims' rights organizations are pleased the Guatemalan Courts have finally taken action in the case. But Morales expressed skepticism that the arrest warrants would be followed up with concrete action. He says a number of higher ranking officers named in the case, whose whereabouts were known as of last week, fled their homes in Guatemala City following news of the arrest warrants. He added Guatemalan authorities appear uninterested in their attempts to apprehend¹⁰ the perpetrators.

The Guatemalan Supreme Court issued the capture orders, some of which reactivate old warrants issued nearly a decade ago but never acted upon, after the Inter-American Human Rights Court urged action in the case. Some of those sought had been previously¹¹ indicted¹² ten years ago. But legal maneuvers¹³ had stalled any further action, until victims' rights associations took the case to the Inter-American court, which is based in Costa Rica.

Edgar Perez, a lawyer for the Guatemala City-based Center for Legal Action on Human Rights, says it was only because of international pressure that relatives of the victims are closer to seeing justice done.

Perez says the cases would likely still be stalled in the Guatemalan justice system had the Inter-American court not forced Guatemalan judges into action. He says there are other such cases pending¹⁴ before international courts, and victims' rights advocates hope for similar results.

The families of victims of the Dos Erres massacre also expressed hope that the new arrest warrants would lead to justice for their loved ones after nearly three decades of impunity¹⁵ for those responsible. Raul Gomez lived in Dos Erres at the time of the massacre, and though he managed to escape, he lost a number of family members.

Gomez says he will consider justice to be done only when those responsible for the killing¹⁶ of his family members have been tried in court. While welcoming the warrants, he and other relatives of the victims say it is outrageous¹⁷ that perpetrators known to be responsible for the slaying¹⁸ of their loved ones have not been apprehended¹⁹, and continue to live in relative luxury in Guatemala.

The remains of more than 200 people, including numerous women and children, were discovered in mass graves around the town of Dos Erres in 1995. Five years later, Guatemalan President Alfonso Portillo admitted government responsibility for the slayings, leading to the initial legal proceedings²⁰ against the military members accused of carrying out the killings²¹.
 

1 inter   

v.埋葬

参考例句：

• They interred their dear comrade in the arms.他们埋葬了他们亲爱的战友。
• The man who died in that accident has been interred.在那次事故中死的那个人已经被埋葬了。

2 massacre   

n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀

参考例句：

• There was a terrible massacre of villagers here during the war.在战争中，这里的村民惨遭屠杀。
• If we forget the massacre,the massacre will happen again!忘记了大屠杀，大屠杀就有可能再次发生！

3 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

4 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

5 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

6 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

7 elusive   

adj.难以表达(捉摸)的；令人困惑的；逃避的

参考例句：

• Try to catch the elusive charm of the original in translation.翻译时设法把握住原文中难以捉摸的风韵。
• Interpol have searched all the corners of the earth for the elusive hijackers.国际刑警组织已在世界各地搜查在逃的飞机劫持者。

8 bloodiest   

adj.血污的( bloody的最高级 )；流血的；屠杀的；残忍的

参考例句：

• The Russians were going to suffer their bloodiest defeat of all before Berlin. 俄国人在柏林城下要遭到他们的最惨重的失败。 来自辞典例句
• It was perhaps the bloodiest hour in the history of warfare. 这也许是战争史上血腥味最浓的1个小时。 来自互联网

9 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

10 apprehend   

vt.理解，领悟，逮捕，拘捕，忧虑

参考例句：

• I apprehend no worsening of the situation.我不担心局势会恶化。
• Police have not apprehended her killer.警察还未抓获谋杀她的凶手。

11 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

12 indicted   

控告，起诉( indict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The senator was indicted for murder. 那位参议员被控犯谋杀罪。
• He was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of murder. 他被大陪审团以两项谋杀罪名起诉。

13 maneuvers   

n.策略，谋略，花招( maneuver的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He suspected at once that she had been spying upon his maneuvers. 他立刻猜想到，她已经侦察到他的行动。 来自辞典例句
• Maneuvers in Guizhou occupied the Reds for four months. 贵州境内的作战占了红军四个月的时间。 来自辞典例句

14 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

15 impunity   

n.(惩罚、损失、伤害等的)免除

参考例句：

• You will not escape with impunity.你不可能逃脱惩罚。
• The impunity what compulsory insurance sets does not include escapement.交强险规定的免责范围不包括逃逸。

16 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。

17 outrageous   

adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的

参考例句：

• Her outrageous behaviour at the party offended everyone.她在聚会上的无礼行为触怒了每一个人。
• Charges for local telephone calls are particularly outrageous.本地电话资费贵得出奇。

18 slaying   

杀戮。

参考例句：

• The man mimed the slaying of an enemy. 此人比手划脚地表演砍死一个敌人的情况。
• He is suspected of having been an accomplice in the slaying,butthey can't pin it on him. 他有嫌疑曾参与该杀人案，但他们找不到证据来指控他。

19 apprehended   

逮捕，拘押( apprehend的过去式和过去分词 )； 理解

参考例句：

• She apprehended the complicated law very quickly. 她很快理解了复杂的法律。
• The police apprehended the criminal. 警察逮捕了罪犯。

20 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

21 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。