VOA标准英语2010年-More Paramilitary Groups Disarm in Nor

Two splinter paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland have given up their weapons to an international commission monitoring what is known as 'decommissioning.' The two groups have for decades been waging an armed campaign against British sovereignty over Northern Ireland.

Andre de Nesnera | Washington 19 February 2010

Spokespersons for the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA), (from L), Gerard Murray, Martin Mc Monagle, Willie Gallagher and Martin Mc Ilkerney speak at a press conference to announce that INLA has disposed of its weapons, 08 Feb 2010

The two armed groups handing over their weapons February 8 are the Irish National Liberation Army - or INLA - and the Official Irish Republican Army - or OIRA. Both groups were active during the so-called "Troubles" - a euphemism¹ referring to the violent civil and political unrest in Northern Ireland that claimed more than 3,700 lives in more than three decades.

Darwin Templeton is editor of the Belfast Newsletter - a daily with close ties to the pro-British, Protestant community. He says the INLA was established in the mid-1970s.

"The INLA had broken away from the Official IRA. And the INLA was a rather small republican splinter group, but it had been involved in something like 120, 130 killings² during 'The Troubles' including the assassination³ of a very high-ranking British Minister [Airey Neave in 1979]. Although they were quite a small group, they were a very, very deadly group and they certainly were not a group that anybody could take for granted," Templeton said.

Analysts⁴ believe the INLA has currently about a couple of dozen active members.

As for the Official IRA, it was established because of another split in the republican movement. Noel Doran is the editor of Belfast's "Irish News" - a newspaper reflecting the views of the Catholic, nationalist community that favors union with Ireland.

"There was a split: the Official IRA went in one direction and the Provisional IRA, which became the mainstream⁵ IRA in the late 1960s, went in a different direction," explained Duran.  "The Official IRA called a ceasefire back in the early 1970s and concentrated on a political approach which would be regarded as a Marxist group, but very small, really on the fringes of the political sector⁶ here. It had retained its weaponry, had retained some sort of a [paramilitary] structure, but for all intents and purposes was dormant⁷ in many respects. And it also has taken the decision to handover its weaponry and it has also effectively left the stage," he said.

The most well-known paramilitary group - the Irish Republican Army - gave up its weapons in 2005. The main pro-British armed groups did so as well - but much later: the Ulster Volunteer Force in (June) 2009 and the Ulster Defense⁸ Association earlier this year (January).

Noel Doran says the INLA and the Official IRA handed over their weapons to the special international decommissioning body - created 13 years ago - hours before its mandate⁹ expired. 

"That deadline was significant because if decommissioning [giving up weapons] by particular groups was not completed, any provisions that they would have enjoyed, any exemptions¹⁰ from prosecution¹¹ which were there to allow the decommissioning process to take place, would have expired," he said.  "And that would have meant that anyone who was subsequently caught with weapons would have faced the full weight of the law and faced being imprisoned¹² for having any connections to those weapons. As things stand, if those weapons are handed over to authorities, no one will be prosecuted¹³, the weapons will be destroyed and that process comes to a conclusion," Duran said.

Analysts say there are still several small paramilitary splinter groups - such as the Continuity IRA - that have not given up their weapons.

"Groups that basically don't agree with the peace process and have broken away from the provisional IRA," said Darwin Templeton.  "Obviously they haven't decommissioned because they don't support the peace process and therefore don't support any talk of decommissioning or laying down weapons. They basically are still committed to what they call 'the armed struggle' and they are continuing their campaign," Templeton said.

Templeton and Doran say despite the political progress made in Northern Ireland over the years, those small armed organizations still cast a shadow over the British province.

 

1 euphemism   

n.婉言，委婉的说法

参考例句：

• Language reflects culture and euphemism is a mirror of culture.语言反映文化,而婉语则是各种文化的一面镜子。
• Euphemism is a very common and complicated linguistic phenomenon.委婉语是一种十分常见而又非常复杂的语言现象。

2 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。

3 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

4 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

5 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

6 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

7 dormant   

adj.暂停活动的；休眠的；潜伏的

参考例句：

• Many animals are in a dormant state during winter.在冬天许多动物都处于睡眠状态。
• This dormant volcano suddenly fired up.这座休眠火山突然爆发了。

8 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。

9 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

10 exemptions   

n.（义务等的）免除( exemption的名词复数 )；免（税）；（收入中的）免税额

参考例句：

• The exemptions for interpretive rules, policy statements, and procedural rules have just been discussed. 有关解释性规则、政策说明和程序规则的免责我们刚刚讨论过。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• A: The regulation outlines specific exemptions for some WPM. 答：该规定概述了某些木质包装材料的特定的例外情形。 来自互联网

11 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。

12 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。

13 prosecuted   

a.被起诉的

参考例句：

• The editors are being prosecuted for obscenity. 编辑因刊载污秽文字而被起诉。
• The company was prosecuted for breaching the Health and Safety Act. 这家公司被控违反《卫生安全条例》。