2007年VOA标准英语-Ethiopian Opposition Leaders Given Life Sentenc

By Arjun Kohli
Nairobi
16 July 2007

Thirty five Ethiopian opposition¹ leaders have been given life sentences for their role in the 2005 election protests that saw scores of people killed. Arjun Kohli reports from our East Africa Bureau in Nairobi the court rejected prosecution² recommendations for the death penalty.

The verdict for 35 life sentences was read by a panel of three judges in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. Three other defendants³ received jail terms of between 18 months and 18 years.

Among the 35 men is the entire leadership the opposition Coalition⁴ for Unity⁵ and Democracy, the elected mayor of Addis Ababa, Brehanu Nega, and journalists.

The accused were tried for their alleged⁶ involvement in demonstrations⁷ two years ago in which hundreds of thousands of people protested the results of national elections.

The group was convicted for the deaths of state security forces and for destroying state property. They refused to defend themselves because they believed the trial was flawed.

Chief prosecutor⁸ Abraha Tetemke claimed the convicted men showed no remorse⁹ for their actions. Showing no regret, he said, is a punishable crime under Ethiopian law. The prosecution requested the death penalty for the men last week.

The leader of the opposition United Ethiopian Democratic Forces, Beyenne Petros, was relieved to be informed of the news that members of the group were not given the maximum sentence by the court.

But Petros says it is wrong for the government to be pursuing this group of people with such vigor¹⁰. He described the life sentences as political repression¹¹.

"I know them and their political platform and discourse¹² over the last 10 or so years," said Petros. "These are highly responsible, professional, well-meaning individuals who really sought to provide an alternative to the kind of political discourse that the ruling party has put on this country. This does not really reduce our indignation. This has been already too severe and uncalled for and would not help the situation at all."

EU observers say the 2005 legislative¹³ elections fell short of international standards and there were many complaints of fraud and discrepancies¹⁴ during protests that led to a military crackdown and the conviction of the opposition leaders.

Petros tells VOA his party believes the men should not have been taken to court at all, for they were involved in politics, not crime.

"That has been our position all along, in parliament as well as outside, this should be handled politically out of court," said Petros. "That is our position. This is sending a message to all of us, to all the opposition political parties that the ruling party and the government are ruling in the wrong way and we have to follow their defects."

"They did threaten us as well that they can always scratch a case against us. It might be a very bad indication of what the future has for opposition, for democratic movements in this country," he added.

Ethiopia is Africa's oldest independent country. It was ruled for more than 40 years by Emperor Haile Selassie, and then suffered under a military junta¹⁵ that was led by Mengistu Haile Mariam, who was later convicted of genocide by an Ethiopian court. After his conviction he fled to Zimbabwe, where he lives in exile.

In 1995 legislative elections were held and the country was renamed the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. It is dominated by the Tigray People's Liberation Front, whose leader is Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.

Ethiopian prosecutors¹⁶ said last week the life sentence imposed on the former leader, Mengistu, is inappropriate for genocide, and they requested the death sentence for him last week. Although the death sentence is legal in Ethiopia and several people have been convicted, no one has been executed since the 1990's.

1 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。

2 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

3 defendants   

被告( defendant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The courts heard that the six defendants had been coerced into making a confession. 法官审判时发现6位被告人曾被迫承认罪行。
• As in courts, the defendants are represented by legal counsel. 与法院相同，被告有辩护律师作为代表。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

4 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。

5 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

6 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

7 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。

8 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。

9 remorse   

n.痛恨，悔恨，自责

参考例句：

• She had no remorse about what she had said.她对所说的话不后悔。
• He has shown no remorse for his actions.他对自己的行为没有任何悔恨之意。

10 vigor   

n.活力，精力，元气

参考例句：

• The choir sang the words out with great vigor.合唱团以极大的热情唱出了歌词。
• She didn't want to be reminded of her beauty or her former vigor.现在，她不愿人们提起她昔日的美丽和以前的精力充沛。

11 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。

12 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。

13 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

14 discrepancies   

n.差异，不符合（之处），不一致（之处）( discrepancy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• wide discrepancies in prices quoted for the work 这项工作的报价出入很大
• When both versions of the story were collated,major discrepancies were found. 在将这个故事的两个版本对照后，找出了主要的不符之处。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 junta   

n.团体；政务审议会

参考例句：

• The junta reacted violently to the perceived threat to its authority.军政府感到自身权力受威胁而进行了激烈反击。
• A military junta took control of the country.一个军政权控制了国家。

16 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。