VOA常速英语2008年-Liberia's Army Rebuilt to Defend Country

By Kari Barber
Monrovia
14 April 2008
 

During Liberia's civil war, the national army and rebel factions¹ were guilty of gross human-rights abuses.  Civilians² were killed, villages looted and torched.  Many civilians said they had nowhere to turn for safety.  Now, those helping³ to restore security in Liberia and rebuild its armed forces say they are building an army that will protect people.  Kari Barber reports from Monrovia there is a sense of nervousness as United Nations peacekeepers begin to withdraw.

These soldiers are part of Liberia's new army, which numbers only a couple of thousand.  After the war which ended in 2003, the U.N. helped demobilize former fighters while the new government, with United States help, began recruiting. New trainees⁴ must meet much higher eligibility⁵ requirements.

Private American companies are training the Liberian soldiers.  The military contractors⁶ were hired and paid for by the U.S. government.

These soldiers are being drilled on battlefield tactics.

Lieutenant⁷ Colonel Chris Wyatt of the U.S. Army is in charge of the training.  He says there have been concerns about the use of private contractors. "The question is not whether they are private or they are public, the question is whether they are competent and doing their proper job.  This is not the government's army, this is not the American army, this is the people of Liberia's army," Wyatt said.

The U.N. mission also established training for the national police force, which is expected to take on many of the peacekeepers' roles.  Unlike U.N. troops, police are not allowed to carry guns.

Skirmishes and crime are frequent in Liberia, and it has been difficult for police to gain respect.

However, United Nations spokesman Ban Malor says the U.N. drawdown needs to happen. "There comes a time that people need to face the reality that you cannot have international presence, military-wise a U.N. mission presence, forever.  Nervousness is understandable."

This Ministry⁸ of Defense⁹ office was a command center during the war, where one official says Liberia attempted to destabilize the region.  Liberia's post-war Defense Minister Brownie Samukai says this will never happen again. "Not one inch of Liberian territory will be used to destablize our neighbors, that is a cardinal¹⁰ principle of securing our borders so that none of our neighbors will have any concern that any inch of our territory will be used to destablize their country," Samukai said.

Newly trained soldiers say this military will not be abusive like security forces under warlord and President Charles Taylor.  An officer under Taylor, Oyango Kole, says he agrees with a requirement that new soldiers have clean human rights records.

"Because we do not want anybody out there that people are going to be spotting and saying 'This guy did that during the war, and he did this and that' - that is old wine in a new bottle,” Kole said. “We do not want that again."

Army restructuring began a little over two years ago.

Trainers say they do not know when the new army will be activated¹¹.  Rebuilding a military, they say, must be a careful process in a country scarred by past abuses.

1 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

2 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。

3 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

4 trainees   

新兵( trainee的名词复数 )； 练习生； 接受训练的人； 训练中的动物

参考例句：

• We've taken on our full complement of new trainees. 我们招收的新学员已经满额了。
• The trainees were put through an assault course. 受训人员接受了突击训练课程。

5 eligibility   

n.合格，资格

参考例句：

• What are the eligibility requirements? 病人被选参加试验的要求是什么？ 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望
• Eligibility for HINARI access is based on gross national income (GNI). 进入HINARI获取计划是依据国民总收入来评定的。

6 contractors   

n.（建筑、监造中的）承包人( contractor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Contractors winning construction jobs had to kick back 2 per cent of the contract price to the mafia. 赢得建筑工作的承包商得抽出合同价格的百分之二的回扣给黑手党。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

8 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

9 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

10 cardinal   

n.(天主教的)红衣主教；adj.首要的，基本的

参考例句：

• This is a matter of cardinal significance.这是非常重要的事。
• The Cardinal coloured with vexation. 红衣主教感到恼火，脸涨得通红。

11 activated   

adj. 激活的 动词activate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The canister is filled with activated charcoal.蒸气回收罐中充满了活性炭。