VOA慢速英语2015 人权组织指责埃塞俄比亚打压媒体

 

AS IT IS 2015-01-29 Rights Group Accuses Ethiopia of Suppressing Media 人权组织指责埃塞俄比亚打压媒体

An international rights group is accusing the government in Ethiopia of systematically¹ suppressing media before the country’s elections in May. Human Rights Watch released a report on the subject last week. The report shows how the Ethiopian government has restricted independent reporting since 2010. 

Felix Horne is a researcher for Human Rights Watch. He says the government has taken actions against independent journalists who have different opinions than the government. He says after the reporters write stories critical of the government, officials harass² them. He says government and security officials threaten the reporters on the phone or through messages on their cell phones, or in person. He says the officials are trying to convince the reporters to write stories that give only the government’s views on issues.

“The next level is, is threats and harassments against family members -- quite often arbitrary detention³ to intimidate⁴ and to pressure the journalist into censoring⁵ their writing(s). If that doesn’t work, the next step seems to involve criminal charges.”

The new Human Rights Watch report is called “Journalism Is Not a Crime.” It says 22 journalists, bloggers and publishers faced criminal charges, and more than 30 journalists fled Ethiopia. Most of those charged were accused of violating a widely criticized anti-terrorism declaration.  

Human Rights Watch says the repression⁶ described in the report is leading to self-censorship. Some Ethiopian journalists are now refusing to report on some issues. The rights group adds that citizens and lower-level government officials are afraid to talk to reporters because they believe the government will punish them.

Felix Horne says the repression has led to a reality where only positions of Ethiopian officials or the government are discussed in the media.

“It is crucial and critical that there be a vibrant⁷ and flourishing independent media that can contribute to the political discourse⁸ and the political dialogue within the country that can provide critical information and critical analysis about the political issues of the day. But sadly, given the decimation of private media that we’ve seen since 2010, that’s just not happening.”

Ethiopia’s ruling party has governed the country since 1991. It won more than 99 percent of the votes in the 2010 elections. The opposition⁹ won just one seat in parliament.

Getachew Redda is a special advisor¹⁰ to Ethiopia’s prime minister. In his words, “HRW lost their credibility a long time ago, even by their own supporters, so there is no point for us to respond to their remarks.”

He said journalists who have been detained are jailed because they are guilty of a crime. In his words, “you can be anything -- a journalist or pretending to be a journalist -- but being involved in criminal activity is still a crime and they will be held responsible.”

Human Rights Watch is calling on the Ethiopian government to release imprisoned¹¹ journalists and bloggers and to amend¹² the anti-terrorism measure. 

Words in This Story

arbitrary – adj. not planned or chosen for a particular reason

intimidate – v. to make (someone) afraid

censor(ing) – v. to examine books, movies, letters and news reports in order to block or remove things that are considered to be offensive, immoral¹³, harmful to society or in disagreement with, or not supportive of, a government’s policies

discourse – n. the use of words to exchange thoughts and ideas

dialogue – n. a discussion or series of discussions that groups or countries have in order to end a disagreement

decimate – v. to severely damage or destroy a large part of (something)

1 systematically   

adv.有系统地

参考例句：

• This government has systematically run down public services since it took office.这一屆政府自上台以来系统地削减了公共服务。
• The rainforest is being systematically destroyed.雨林正被系统地毀灭。

2 harass   

vt.使烦恼，折磨，骚扰

参考例句：

• Our mission is to harass the landing of the main Japaness expeditionary force.我们的任务是骚乱日本远征军主力的登陆。
• They received the order to harass the enemy's rear.他们接到骚扰敌人后方的命令。

3 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

4 intimidate   

vt.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• You think you can intimidate people into doing what you want?你以为你可以威胁别人做任何事？
• The first strike capacity is intended mainly to intimidate adversary.第一次攻击的武力主要是用来吓阻敌方的。

5 censoring   

删剪（书籍、电影等中被认为犯忌、违反道德或政治上危险的内容）( censor的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Therefore, exhibitors shall not make use of these materials before censoring. 展商在审查前不可使用这些资料。
• The company then said it would end self-censoring search results, putting it at odds with Beijing. 随后该公司表示，将停止自我审查搜索结果，从而与中国政府发生对抗。

6 repression   

n.镇压，抑制，抑压

参考例句：

• The repression of your true feelings is harmful to your health.压抑你的真实感情有害健康。
• This touched off a new storm against violent repression.这引起了反对暴力镇压的新风暴。

7 vibrant   

adj.震颤的，响亮的，充满活力的，精力充沛的，(色彩)鲜明的

参考例句：

• He always uses vibrant colours in his paintings. 他在画中总是使用鲜明的色彩。
• She gave a vibrant performance in the leading role in the school play.她在学校表演中生气盎然地扮演了主角。

8 discourse   

n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述

参考例句：

• We'll discourse on the subject tonight.我们今晚要谈论这个问题。
• He fell into discourse with the customers who were drinking at the counter.他和站在柜台旁的酒客谈了起来。

9 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。

10 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。

11 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。

12 amend   

vt.修改，修订，改进；n.[pl.]赔罪，赔偿

参考例句：

• The teacher advised him to amend his way of living.老师劝他改变生活方式。
• You must amend your pronunciation.你必须改正你的发音。

13 immoral   

adj.不道德的，淫荡的，荒淫的，有伤风化的

参考例句：

• She was questioned about his immoral conduct toward her.她被询问过有关他对她的不道德行为的情况。
• It is my belief that nuclear weapons are immoral.我相信使核武器是不邪恶的。