双语新闻：奥巴马不应再对人权沉默

2012-11-28 00:00:00来源：新东方网

　　Anybody might think that Susan Rice is gearing up for aconfirmation hearing. Last week, the US ambassador to the UNtweeted: “I condemn today’s cowardly terrorist attack targetinginnocents on a Tel Aviv bus.” Yet trawling back through herTwitter feed over the previous week, there is no indication thatinnocents might be dying anywhere else in the Middle East. Theword “Gaza” is noticeable by its absence – although the ambassador did find time to hail America’sTransgender Day of Remembrance.

　　在人们眼里，苏珊赖斯(Susan Rice)的确在全力备战任命听证会。上周，这位美国驻联合国大使在Twitter上写道：“我谴责今天针对特拉维夫公交车上无辜平民的懦弱恐怖袭击。” 但是，从她在此前一周的Twitter帖子看，中东其他地方似乎没有无辜平民死亡。她只字未提“加沙”，这一点令人关注，尽管这位大使有时间赞扬美国的 “跨性别纪念日”(Transgender Day of Remembrance)

　　A bit of solidarity with Israel never goes amiss if – like Ms Rice – you are quite likely to be nominatedto be America’s next secretary of state. But the ambassador’s selective tweeting reflects a broaderproblem for US foreign policy. Even under Barack Obama, America cannot shake off the chargethat its moral authority is regularly undermined by the use of double standards. Israel is not theonly beneficiary. The Americans’ robust condemnation of repression in Syria, Libya and (latterly) Hosni Mubarak’s Egypt makes a striking contrast with its embarrassed muttering about Saudi-backed repression in Bahrain. The administration’s response to human rights violations by otherAmerican friends such as Rwanda or Sri Lanka has also been muted.

　　如果你很有可能被任命为美国的下一任国务卿(就像赖斯一样)，展示一些与以色列的团结是不会错的。但大使在Twitter上选择性的言论，反映出美国外交政策的一个普遍问题：即便是在巴拉克奥巴马(Barack Obama)任下，美国也无法摆脱双重标准削弱其道义权威的指控。以色列并不是唯一的受益者。美国对叙利亚、利比亚以及(后来)胡斯尼穆巴拉克(Hosni Mubarak)统治的埃及的镇压活动大加挞伐，但对巴林在沙特阿拉伯撑腰下展开的镇压只是尴尬地搪塞过去，两者形成反差。对于美国其他盟友(如卢旺达和斯里兰卡)侵犯人权的行为，奥巴马政府也保持了沉默。

　　In the real world, American concern for human rights is always going to be balanced by otherconcerns – preserving alliances, avoiding conflict, flattering domestic constituencies. Given thedifficulty of consistency on human rights, some might suggest that silence is a more seemlyalternative. But that is no good either. Many of those who decry American double standards wouldbe even more appalled by a US that cheerfully embraced a completely amoral foreign policy.

　　在现实世界，美国对人权的关切总要与其他关切一起得到权衡 ——维护同盟关系、避免发生冲突、讨好国内选民群体。鉴于难以实施一视同仁的人权政策，可能有人提出“沉默”是更得体的选择。但这也并非可行之道。如果美国欣然拥抱完全无视道德的外交政策，那么很多鄙夷美国双重标准的人将更加震惊。

　　What is needed in Mr Obama’s second term is an America that is bolder in speaking out for humanrights, political freedom and the protection of civilians – and more willing to make the point thatthese are universal principles that are not just applied when it is convenient.

　　在奥巴马的第二个任期内，美国需要在人权、政治自由和保护平民方面更加敢于直言，并且更愿意展示，这些是普世原则，而不是只在对自己便利的场合搬出来的说词。

　　In his first term, the president’s cool pragmatism was a welcome antidote to the hot-headedmoralism of George W. Bush. But in his determination to avoid ideas such as the “axis of evil”, MrObama overcorrected for the mistakes of his predecessor. As a result, the Iranian uprising of 2009 wrongfooted him, and so did the Arab Spring.

　　在奥巴马的第一个任期内，他那种冷静的务实主义是对乔治·W·布什(George W. Bush)冲动的道德主义的可喜纠正。但在决心回避“邪恶轴心”之类的概念之际，奥巴马对前任的错误矫枉过正。结果，2009年伊朗民众示威和后来的阿拉伯之春让他措手不及。

　　When the president made his Cairo speech in 2009, calling for better relations between the US andthe Muslim world, many commentators (including me), hailed it as a masterpiece. But rereading thespeech in the aftermath of the Arab Spring, its failure to highlight the political stagnation of theMiddle East is striking. By contrast, the Cairo speech made in 2005 by Condoleezza Rice looks bothbrave and prescient in its insistence that the “Egyptian government must fulfil the promise it hasmade to its people – and to the entire world – by giving its citizens the freedom to choose”.

　　总统在2009年开罗演讲中呼吁改善美国与穆斯林世界的关系，当时很多评论人士(包括我)将其誉为杰作。但在阿拉伯之春后重读这篇演讲，我们明显注意到它未能提到中东的政治停滞。相比之下，2005年康多莉扎赖斯(Condoleezza Rice)的开罗演讲不仅大胆，而且有先见之明。她坚称，“埃及政府必须履行对人民和全世界的承诺，赋予公民选择的自由。”

　　 President Obama and his team must also surely regret their failure to speak out more strongly insupport of the “Green” uprising in Iran in 2009. As Iranians died in the streets, protesting against astolen election, the voice of the US was disappointingly hesitant.

　　奥巴马总统及其团队肯定也后悔没能更强有力地声援2009年伊朗“绿色”革命。就在伊朗人为抗议选举舞弊而在街头流血抗争之际，美国的声音犹豫得令人失望。

本文关键字: 双语新闻