Amnesty Report Fair, says Member of Iraqi Governing Council

 

Alisha Ryu

A member of the U.S.-appointed Iraqi Governing Council says he believes Amnesty International's report, in which the human rights group harshly criticizes the conduct of coalition¹ troops in Iraq, is fair and may be helpful in persuading coalition officials to improve their methods for dealing² with ordinary Iraqis and fighting the insurgency³.
Amnesty International says coalition forces in Iraq did not do enough last year to restore and maintain public order and safety, and to provide food, medical care, and relief assistance to the Iraqi people.
The London-based human rights organization also accuses anti-coalition insurgents⁴ of committing, what it called, gross human rights abuses, which have killed many innocent people. It condemns⁶ the attacks by armed insurgents and terrorists as crimes against humanity.
Iraqi Governing Council member Mahmoud Othman tells VOA he agrees with Amnesty's overall assessment⁷ that coalition troops did not fully⁸ live up to their responsibilities as the occupying power.
Mr. Othman is an independent politician from the Kurdish area of northern Iraq and is seen as a moderate figure in the 25-member Governing Council.
"I think there have been some violations⁹ of human rights by American forces in Iraq in the last year," he said. "It is helpful to the Iraqi people because if you have this organization talking about it, then the Americans would do something about it."
Amnesty International's report for 2003 says coalition forces violated human rights numerous times last year, during the six-week war to topple Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and in the months following, as U.S. and British troops tried to restore order in a chaotic¹⁰ and violent post-war Iraq. In one part of the report, Amnesty says the use of excessive force by American and British troops cost the lives of civilians¹¹. Without giving specific numbers, Amnesty says coalition bombs killed hundreds of civilians during the war and U.S. troops shot and injured scores of civilians after major combat was declared over on May 1.
The human rights group also accuses the U.S. and British military of violating the human rights of Iraqis by arresting and detaining them without charge, and denying them family visits or any form of judicial¹² reviews during weeks and months of detention¹³.
It says the abuse of detainees included sleep deprivation¹⁴, prolonged restraint in painful positions, and exposure to extreme heat while housed in tents. The group says the ill-treatment and torture of detainees were widespread.
Amnesty complains that none of the allegations of torture and mistreatment of detainees had been adequately investigated. The report was written before the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse became public last month. Since then, the U.S. military has convicted one soldier and charged several others with abusing prisoners and detainees under their care. The military says it is continuing its investigations¹⁵ as new allegations surface.
Iraq is one of 157 countries and territories Amnesty International included in its 339-page report.

注释：
Amnesty International 大赦国际（于1961年5月28日在伦敦成立）
insurgency [In`sdVEnsI] n. 叛乱
commit [kE5mit] vt. 犯（错误，罪行）
gross [^rEus] adj. 公然的
abuse [E5bju:z] n. 滥用
condemn⁵ [kEn5dem] vt. 谴责，声讨
assessment [E5sesmEnt] n. 看法，评价
live up to 真正做到
Kurdish [kE:diF] adj. 库尔德的
topple [5tCpl] v. 推翻
chaotic [kei5Ctik] adj. 混乱的，无秩序的
excessive [ik5sesiv] adj. 过度的，极端的
detain [di5tein] v. 扣押，拘留
judicial [dVu:5dIF(E)l] adj. 司法的
detention [di5tenFEn] n. [di5tenFEn] n. 拘留，禁闭
detainee [7di:tei5ni:] n. 被拘留者，未判决囚犯
deprivation [7depri5veiFEn] n. 剥夺
prolonged [prE5lRNd] adj. 延长的
restraint [ris5treint] n. 约束，监禁
housed [haus] vt. 供以住房，收容
ill-treatment n. 虐待
allegation [7Ali5^eiFEn] n. 指控
convict [kEn5vIkt] vt. 证明……有罪，宣告……有罪

1 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

2 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

3 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

4 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

5 condemn   

vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑

参考例句：

• Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。
• We mustn't condemn him on mere suppositions.我们不可全凭臆测来指责他。

6 condemns   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的第三人称单数 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• Her widowhood condemns her to a lonely old age. 守寡使她不得不过着孤独的晚年生活。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The public opinion condemns prostitution. 公众舆论遣责卖淫。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

8 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

9 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。

10 chaotic   

adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的

参考例句：

• Things have been getting chaotic in the office recently.最近办公室的情况越来越乱了。
• The traffic in the city was chaotic.这城市的交通糟透了。

11 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。

12 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

13 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。

14 deprivation   

n.匮乏；丧失；夺去，贫困

参考例句：

• Many studies make it clear that sleep deprivation is dangerous.多实验都证实了睡眠被剥夺是危险的。
• Missing the holiday was a great deprivation.错过假日是极大的损失。

15 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。