VOA常速英语2008年-Number of Missing Sri Lankan Tamils Increasing,

By Raymond Thibodeaux
Batticolao, Sri Lanka
02 April 2008

As violence surges in Sri Lanka, so does the number of abductions and disappearance¹ of mostly Tamil men.  That is the assessment² of human rights activists³ and international aid groups operating in the Indian Ocean nation.  Raymond Thibodeaux files this report for VOA from Batticolao, on the eastern edge of Sri Lanka.

Soli Chana, 23, is trying to find out what happened to her husband.  Witnesses say three men in civilian⁴ clothes stopped him, not far from his house in Vanuniya in central Sri Lanka.  They handcuffed him, shoved in a plain white van and sped away.  That was a year and a half ago.  He has not been heard from since.

"She is shocked and upset, [very] upset.  She made complaint to the police, the Red Cross, the Human Rights Commission and ICRC [Red Cross/Crescent]  also," Chana said. "All they can say is, 'We will search.'"

Thousands of other families across Sri Lanka are doing the same - making the rounds at human rights agencies to find family members who have disappeared.

The missing and the families left behind, most of them left struggling, impoverished⁵ without their breadwinners, are caught up in a growing list of atrocities⁶ being committed by both sides of this 25-year conflict between the Sinhala-dominated Sri Lankan government and Tamil militants⁷, known as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

The American government and others, around the world,  say the LTTE is a terrorist organization.

The numbers of the disappeared are in dispute by the Sri Lankan government, but human rights groups and foreign observer say that thousands of mostly Tamil men have been abducted⁸ in the past decade and remain missing.

Palitha Kohona is Sri Lanka's foreign affairs minister.  He says the government is sincere in trying to locate those who have disappeared.  He says the numbers are being exaggerated by Tamil activists and international aid agencies to tarnish⁹ the government's
human rights record.  Kohona says he helped investigate the disappearance of 355 people from list that an American diplomat¹⁰ recently handed to him.

"To us, one person disappearing is one too many," Kohona said. "When you have 355 it is a matter of serious concern.  But, in that list, when we went through the list, there were some repetitions in it.  There were 23 in that list whom we have located, up to now, and they are well and kicking.  And, there are others whose names are suspiciously similar to those recorded by our immigration authorities as people who have left the country." 

He says nearly half of the 355 people on the list were accounted for and that authorities are continuing their investigation¹¹.

Father Henry Miller¹² is a Jesuit priest who has .  He has a list of eight-thousand people - mostly young Tamil men - who have been abducted in the past decade. He says most of them are still missing.

He says the Sri Lankan government is touting¹³ a recent election here as a sign that democracy is flourishing in a part of the country once controlled by the LTTE. The winner of that election - the first here in 14 years - was an supposedly-less-militarized political split-off of the LTTE, known as the Tamil Makkal Vidutalaip Pullikal, led by a former LTTE commander.

For some, their victory could usher¹⁴ in a new era of trust between the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil community.

But Father Miller is skeptical¹⁵.  He says the TMVP is merely a proxy¹⁶ party of the government.

And, now the government can say we have restored self-government to the people of the Batticaloa District and it has not been done," Miller said. "This is the government's program.  And, with this they proclaim to the world that they have liberated¹⁷ and restored democratic government to the people of Batticaloa.  It is a falsity."

Father Miller says that, in the government's ongoing¹⁸ attempt to control Tamil militants, they treat all Tamils as potential terrorists.  He says that, with Sri Lanka's civil war flaring¹⁹ up once again in the Tamil-dominated north, that is not likely to change anytime soon.

A March report issued by the U.S. State Department cited almost daily extrajudicial killings²⁰ and attacks against civilians²¹ by the army, paramilitaries and pro-government militias²² in the government-controlled Jaffna Peninsula.

1 disappearance   

n.消失，消散，失踪

参考例句：

• He was hard put to it to explain her disappearance.他难以说明她为什么不见了。
• Her disappearance gave rise to the wildest rumours.她失踪一事引起了各种流言蜚语。

2 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？

3 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

5 impoverished   

adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化

参考例句：

• the impoverished areas of the city 这个城市的贫民区
• They were impoverished by a prolonged spell of unemployment. 他们因长期失业而一贫如洗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 atrocities   

n.邪恶，暴行( atrocity的名词复数 )；滔天大罪

参考例句：

• They were guilty of the most barbarous and inhuman atrocities. 他们犯有最野蛮、最灭绝人性的残暴罪行。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The enemy's atrocities made one boil with anger. 敌人的暴行令人发指。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

8 abducted   

劫持，诱拐( abduct的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展

参考例句：

• Detectives have not ruled out the possibility that she was abducted. 侦探尚未排除她被绑架的可能性。
• The kid was abducted at the gate of kindergarten. 那小孩在幼儿园大门口被绑架走了。

9 tarnish   

n.晦暗，污点；vt.使失去光泽；玷污

参考例句：

• The affair could tarnish the reputation of the prime minister.这一事件可能有损首相的名誉。
• Stainless steel products won't tarnish.不锈钢产品不会失去光泽。

10 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

11 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

12 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

13 touting   

v.兜售( tout的现在分词 )；招揽；侦查；探听赛马情报

参考例句：

• He's been touting his novel around publishers for years. 他几年来一直到处找出版商兜售自己的小说。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Technology industry leaders are touting cars as a hot area for growth. 科技产业领袖吹捧为增长热点地区的汽车。 来自互联网

14 usher   

n.带位员，招待员；vt.引导，护送；vi.做招待，担任引座员

参考例句：

• The usher seated us in the front row.引座员让我们在前排就座。
• They were quickly ushered away.他们被迅速领开。

15 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

16 proxy   

n.代理权，代表权；（对代理人的）委托书；代理人

参考例句：

• You may appoint a proxy to vote for you.你可以委托他人代你投票。
• We enclose a form of proxy for use at the Annual General Meeting.我们附上委任年度大会代表的表格。

17 liberated   

a.无拘束的，放纵的

参考例句：

• The city was liberated by the advancing army. 军队向前挺进，解放了那座城市。
• The heat brings about a chemical reaction, and oxygen is liberated. 热量引起化学反应，释放出氧气。

18 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

19 flaring   

a.火焰摇曳的，过份艳丽的

参考例句：

• A vulgar flaring paper adorned the walls. 墙壁上装饰着廉价的花纸。
• Goebbels was flaring up at me. 戈塔尔当时已对我面呈愠色。

20 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。

21 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。

22 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网