VOA慢速英语:After Elections, What Now for Congo?

This week, people in the Democratic Republic of Congo voted for president and parliament.
这一周，刚果民主共和国的人民投票选举总统和议会。

On Friday, President Joseph Kabila took an early lead in the vote count. Election officials have said they will publish the full results by Tuesday, when his term ends. Some of his ten opponents want the votes cancelled.
上周五， Joseph Kabila总统在选举计票中初步赢得领先。选举官员称，周二他们将公布全部结果，到时现任总统任期也将结束。他十个竞选对手中的一些人希望此次投票被取消。

Parliamentary results are not expected until January.
议会选举结果预计到明年一月才能出结果。

Human Rights Watch says election-related violence killed at least eighteen civilians and seriously wounded one hundred others. The government says it is preparing for the possibility of more violence after the results are announced.
人权观察称，与选举有关的暴力事件已至少导致18名平民死亡和另外100人受重伤。政府称其正准备应对选举结果公布后可能发生的更多暴力事件。

Congo is no stranger to violence. The country formerly called Zaire has faced international pressure to stop an epidemic of rapes. Five years ago it passed stronger laws against sexual violence.
刚果对暴力并不陌生。这个原名为扎伊尔的国家面临国际压力，以阻止强奸的蔓延。五年前，该国通过了反对性暴力的强硬法律。

Then, in February, a military court in eastern Congo sentenced an army commander to twenty years in prison for crimes against humanity. Lieutenant Colonel Kibibi Mutware was found guilty of sending his troops on New Year's Day to rape, beat and steal in Fizi.
随后，在今年2月份，一名军官被刚果东部一个军事法庭判处反人类罪，被判20年监禁。Colonel Kibibi Mutware中校因元旦派遣其部队在菲兹村强奸、殴打和偷盗被定罪。

The United Nations noted it was the first time a high-level DRC commander was arrested, tried and sentenced for conflict-related sexual violence. Judges also sentenced three of his officers to twenty years, and five soldiers to long sentences as well.
联合国指出，这是第一次有一名刚果民主共和国的高层军官被逮捕、审判，并因和冲突有关性暴力被判刑。法官还判处了他的三名该军官20年徒刑,以及5名士兵终身监禁。

All sides in the DRC have long used sexual violence as a weapon of war. This woman told her story to reporter Heather Murdock.
在刚果民主共和国的各方长期使用性暴力作为战争武器。这名妇女告诉记者Heather Murdock她的故事。

WOMAN [in Swahili]: "I was married and I was pregnant. Rebel soldiers came to loot and they raped me. [They] killed my baby and now I have a disease.”
妇女[斯瓦希里语]：“我结婚并怀孕了，叛军士兵来抢劫，而且他们强奸了我。他们杀死了我的孩子，现在我也染上了疾病。”

Officials and activists agree that the situation is better now in eastern Congo. Congo's two thousand six rape law has made a difference. The central prison in North Kivu is crowded with men found guilty of rape. But lawyers and victims say lawlessness in the countryside means many rapists go unpunished.
官员和活动家们认同现在刚果东部的这种情况已经好转。刚果在2006年修改的强奸法改变了这一状况。北基伍省的中央监狱挤满了被判强奸罪的男子。但律师和受害者说，农村地区的法律约束力不够意味着很多强奸犯仍逍遥法外。

North Kivu's Justice Minister Francois Tuyihimbaze Rucogoza says most of the victims live deep in lawless rural areas. But he says the rape law has slowed the rate of attacks.
北基伍省的司法部长Francois Tuyihimbaze Rucogoza说，大多数受害者居住在法律约束力低的农村地区。但是他说，强奸法已经减缓了强奸袭击速度。

FRANCOIS TUYIHIMBAZE RUCOGOZA [in French]: "The military helps impose justice in places we cannot go. For example, where there is a military operation, they help us punish the perpetrators of sexual violence."
FRANCOIS TUYIHIMBAZE RUCOGOZA：“军方在我们无法企及的地方伸张正义。例如有一项军方行动，他们帮助我们惩罚性暴力的肇事者。”

At the same time, officials say international pressure to stop the rapes in Congo has had an unintended effect. The law, they say, establishes no difference between sexual violence and sex under the age of eighteen.
与此同时，有关官员说，国际所施加的压力对刚果阻止强奸的也产生了意想不到的效果。他们说，法律规定在未满18岁女性的性暴力和性行为上没有差别。

Yet when younger girls get married, that means their young husbands are technically guilty of rape. This prisoner named Kakule says he is guilty only of marrying young and not being able to pay a dowry.
然而，当年轻女孩结婚时，这就意味着她年轻的丈夫在技术上犯有强奸罪。这个名为Kakule的犯人说，他有罪只是因为结婚太早，并且买不起彩礼。

KAKULE: "I went to my girlfriend’s family to propose marriage, but I had nothing to give for a dowry. When her family realized we were still together, they accused me of rape."
KAKULE：“我去女朋友家家里提亲，但我没什么可以作为彩礼。当她的家人意识到我们仍在一起，他们就指控我强奸了。”

Aids workers and victims say the only real way to stop the rapes is to end the many years of conflict that Congo has suffered.
艾滋病工作者和受害者说，阻止强奸的唯一途径是结束刚果多年来的冲突。