2006年VOA标准英语-Liberia's New President Faces Pressure Ove

By Nico Colombant
Abidjan
27 January 2006
 
Liberia's new president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, is facing increased pressure to make sure her predecessor¹ Charles Taylor is surrendered to the war crimes court in Sierra Leone. The deposed² former warlord turned president is still living in exile in Nigeria, despite mounting demands to have him go on trial.

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Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
  

A coalition³ of civil society groups calling itself "Campaign against Impunity⁴" released a statement in Monrovia Friday asking Mrs. Sirleaf to seize on her new leadership and request Nigeria surrender Taylor to the U.N.-backed special court in Sierra Leone.  Members of the group said such a position could tip the balance and show she stands for accountability and the rule of law.

Mrs. Sirleaf has said she would ask for Taylor's handover in due course of consultations⁵ with regional leaders.  During the campaign, she said she regretted her past support for the warlord, at one point saying he should level Liberia so it could be rebuilt.
 

Charles Taylor (file photo)   
  
When it was clear she had won the election, the top European Union vote observer, Max van der Berg, told journalists he was expecting a clearer signal on the Taylor issue.  "When it comes to ex-President Charles Taylor, you need cooperation," said Max van der Berg. "We all know where he is now, today. We all know the complexity⁶ of that situation. At least it needs a government, a new government here, who says, yes, he should face court. And that already, with the Senate and the House of Representatives, would be a fairly positive step."

 
Edwin Snowe - Charles Taylor ally and speaker of the House of Representatives
  
But Liberia's new legislature is filled with former warlords and allies of Taylor. Calling for Taylor to face charges would also expose them.

When asked whether the Taylor question should be put to a referendum, the European observer dismissed the idea.

"It's not up to us as individuals, neither as people, just simply to say if somebody has done crimes against mankind, at least that he is alleged⁷ of it, let's put it very carefully, if he is alleged of that, then it's not up to somebody to say, well we could make a referendum to do it a different way," he said. "There are international laws, rules, and they are set by the international community. Liberia is part of that international community and wants to be a part of it and come out of the dark of the past into this new area of light. And having that light, it means being part of it. And there's no way to [mess] around with these things in another way. You need to cooperate, there's no other way."

Charles Taylor's empty cell in Freetown   
  
Liberia's long civil war ended when Taylor fled into exile in Nigeria in late 2003. President Olusegun Obasanjo said he would allow him to remain in Nigeria, as long as he didn't meddle⁸ in regional affairs. He has also said he would allow Taylor's handover to the war crimes court in Sierra Leone, if that was the request of Liberia's newly-elected government.

Liberian civil society leaders would prefer that Taylor be tried in Sierra Leone, since a court already exists there, even though Taylor used many of the same methods in Liberia he is accused of spreading to Sierra Leone - such as trading weapons for diamonds, and abducting⁹ and drugging children to turn them into looters and killers¹⁰.

Liberian journalist Philip Wesseh believes Mrs. Sirleaf has enough to deal with in her new presidency¹¹. He also says it's more of an international issue than a Liberian one.  "Taylor is not being charged for crimes committed in Liberia," said Wesseh. "He's being charged for crimes allegedly committed in Sierra Leone. He was indicted¹² by a court outside Liberia so it's an outside situation, so I believe they need to give the person a chance. There should be no pressure on Madam Sirleaf for the Taylor factor. She has too much to do, too much to think about."
 
 
Special court in Sierra Leone
  
He fears the international community could sanction Mrs. Sirleaf if she is seen as doing too little on the Taylor issue. "There might be certain measures by the international community against Mrs. Sirleaf's government because of Charles Taylor," said the journalist. "[But] she doesn't have control, it's the international community. If Taylor were indicted by a court in Liberia, [then] as president of Liberia, [Mrs. Sirleaf] would have jurisdiction¹³, but with that she doesn't have the jurisdiction, so Mrs. Sirleaf should be left alone. Let the international community handle the Charles Taylor factor."

Liberian and Nigerian newspapers have been reporting that U.S. and European pressure on Nigeria to send Taylor to Sierra Leone is building, but so far such reports have not changed the situation - Taylor remains¹⁴ free, living in a luxurious¹⁵ villa¹⁶, in Calabar, southeastern Nigeria, while his cell at the detention¹⁷ center on the grounds of the Freetown court remains empty.

1 predecessor   

n.前辈，前任

参考例句：

• It will share the fate of its predecessor.它将遭受与前者同样的命运。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

2 deposed   

v.罢免( depose的过去式和过去分词 )；（在法庭上）宣誓作证

参考例句：

• The president was deposed in a military coup. 总统在军事政变中被废黜。
• The head of state was deposed by the army. 国家元首被军队罢免了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 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。

4 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。

5 consultations   

n.磋商（会议）( consultation的名词复数 )；商讨会；协商会；查找

参考例句：

• Consultations can be arranged at other times by appointment. 磋商可以通过预约安排在其他时间。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Consultations are under way. 正在进行磋商。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 complexity   

n.复杂(性)，复杂的事物

参考例句：

• Only now did he understand the full complexity of the problem.直到现在他才明白这一问题的全部复杂性。
• The complexity of the road map puzzled me.错综复杂的公路图把我搞糊涂了。

7 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

8 meddle   

v.干预，干涉，插手

参考例句：

• I hope he doesn't try to meddle in my affairs.我希望他不来干预我的事情。
• Do not meddle in things that do not concern you.别参与和自己无关的事。

9 abducting   

劫持，诱拐( abduct的现在分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展

参考例句：

• She was charged with abducting a six-month-old child. 她被控诱拐一个6个月大的孩子。
• At the same time, the rate of abducting foreigners is going down. 同时，发生在外国人身上的绑架案正在下降。

10 killers   

凶手( killer的名词复数 )； 消灭…者； 致命物； 极难的事

参考例句：

• He remained steadfast in his determination to bring the killers to justice. 他要将杀人凶手绳之以法的决心一直没有动摇。
• They were professional killers who did in John. 杀死约翰的这些人是职业杀手。

11 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

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 jurisdiction   

n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权

参考例句：

• It doesn't lie within my jurisdiction to set you free.我无权将你释放。
• Changzhou is under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province.常州隶属江苏省。

14 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。

15 luxurious   

adj.精美而昂贵的；豪华的

参考例句：

• This is a luxurious car complete with air conditioning and telephone.这是一辆附有空调设备和电话的豪华轿车。
• The rich man lives in luxurious surroundings.这位富人生活在奢侈的环境中。

16 villa   

n.别墅，城郊小屋

参考例句：

• We rented a villa in France for the summer holidays.我们在法国租了一幢别墅消夏。
• We are quartered in a beautiful villa.我们住在一栋漂亮的别墅里。

17 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。