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本帖最后由 双籽宣言 于 2010-8-5 17:30 编辑
【原文标题】Sleaze Factor
【中文标题】丑闻
【登载媒体】Foreign Policy
【来源地址】http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/07/12/sleaze_factor?page=full
【译 者】 双籽宣言
【翻译方式】 人工
【声 明】 本翻译供Anti-CNN使用，未经AC或译者许可，不得转载。
【译 文】
丑闻事件会在这个民主世界中传染吗？
从安哥拉到乌兹别克斯坦，再从海地到津巴布韦，在这个世界上，至今为止有太多的国家政要遭遇腐败问题时，他们不仅可以逍遥法外，甚至可以被认为是一种正常现象。但是最近，当我们把行贿受贿、任人唯亲、敲诈与一些脆弱的发展中国家联系起来时，世界上那些发展最稳定和繁荣的民主国家的领导人就要因为这些犯罪指控而受到调查。这只是住在玻璃屋的人不应该朝别人扔石头的一个案例，还是这意味着我们在追赶骗子强国方面变得越来越擅长了？
法国
目标：法国总统尼古拉斯·萨科奇
被指控的罪状：收受非法献金
调查：法国检察人员最近对萨科奇的指控展开了调查。指控称，2007年，作为总统候选人的萨科奇接受了法国女首富利利雅娜·贝当古装在没有标记的信封中的现金。据贝当古前任会计称，欧莱雅继承人的财务顾问向萨科齐竞选团队的财务主管提供了15万欧元现金。但是，这项指控均被萨科奇及欧莱雅两方否认。现任劳工部长（原竞选团队财务主管）官方澄清了这一指控，但其对手则说，由法国财务总监执行的调查缺少公正性。
“贝当古案件”只是最近撼动萨科奇政府的丑闻之一，其他还包括两位初级部长由于花费数千美金用于雪茄和加勒比度假而辞职的丑闻及萨科奇最亲密朋友和政治联盟在2007年卷入的一宗涉及百万美元内部交易密谋的腐败丑闻。在此之后的金融危机及不受欢迎的养老金改革方案，使得总统萨科奇这次要为他的政治生涯拼搏一次：7月12日，萨科奇采取了不同寻常的一招，即出现在国家电视台上，否认了这些指控。
萨科奇的同盟公开指责了左翼“政治阴谋”的指控，而且在贝当古的财务顾问的声称中也确实存在一些大的漏洞。但是萨科奇的反对者则不太会向他表示同情。作为萨科奇长期的政治对手，前总理多米尼克·德维尔潘就成为了一项长达五年的调查及审判的对象。他被指控在与萨科奇争夺总统职位时，制造了关于其受贿的假文件。尽管他的三位竞选同事都被定罪，德维尔潘仍澄清了这一指控，并坚持认为调查只是由总统操纵的仇杀。
意大利
目标：意大利总理西尔维奥·贝卢斯科尼
被指控的罪状：贪污，有组织犯罪
调查：贝卢斯科尼骄傲地宣称自己是“一直以来最合法的被迫害者”。从逃税到伪造账目，再从受贿到卖淫，贝卢斯科尼遭遇了超过109项案件的攻击。他曾经受到自己法庭超过2500次的传讯。尽管起诉人和政治对手全力以赴，73岁的贝卢斯科尼离进入监狱或下台还尚早。
特氟隆总理曾经四次成功地通过法律使自己免于起诉，尽管每条法律都被法庭认为是违反宪法的。而贝卢斯科尼则指责意大利的司法系统存在根深蒂固的左翼偏见。
最近一项法律丑闻涉及贝卢斯科尼和他的老友、生意伙伴兼政治同盟马却罗。此人曾经因为作为黑手党与意大利政治精英的联系而被判有罪。在那项审判中，一个被定罪的黑手党职业杀手作证，黑手党的高级领导曾经在20世纪90年代吹嘘他们与贝卢斯科尼的关系。
以色列
目标：前总理胡德·奥尔默特
被指控的罪状：受贿
调查：有着对2008年进攻加沙及今年早期亲巴勒斯坦舰队具有争议性登陆的内部调查，可以很确切地说，以色列不缺乏高调的调查案件。但是现在，整个国家的注意力转移到了正在进行中的针对前总理胡德·奥尔默特受贿案的调查中。在奥尔默特的任期中，他一直被指控腐败。纽约商人莫里斯声称他曾在1997年给予奥尔默特150000美元竞选耶路撒冷市长，但是钱只用在了奥尔默特的酒店、雪茄及手表上。
也许更令人震惊的是，奥尔默特被指控以募捐的名义向多个非盈利组织收取费用，包括一个残疾人慈善机构和大屠杀纪念馆。2008年，奥尔默特宣布辞职并在一年之后被控欺诈。他尚未被定罪，但调查仍在进行中。最近，有人质疑奥尔默特被指控为帮助耶路撒冷一个房地产开发商而做的一个交易收取的贿赂。他的政府没有成功澄清这点：财政部长因挪用公款而被调查，司法部长因为被控性骚扰后而辞职，总统卡察夫在被控涉及性攻击后辞职。
奥尔默特是以色列第一个以贪污罪名被起诉的总理，尽管现任总理本杰明·内塔尼亚胡曾在过去成为调查的对象，外交部长阿维格多·利伯曼也由于一系列犯罪，包括受贿、欺诈和洗钱，也被调查。
台湾
目标：前总统陈水扁
被指控的罪状：腐败、挪用公款
调查：2008年，作为台湾总统的陈水扁下台后几小时内，他就被认定为一项涉及450000美元公款挪用案的嫌疑人，并且在不到一年之中就被判无期徒刑。这对于一个人权律师出身的著名政治家来说是一个耻辱的结束。
公诉人已经注意陈水扁很久了，当时他作为总统还享有豁免权。在他任职期间，他的妻子、女婿都被逮捕并被控伪造罪和内部交易。陈水扁的政治对手也坚持认为，陈水扁在2004年选举中通过伪造刺杀而赢得了同情票。
陈水扁及其同样被判无期徒刑的妻子仍坚持上诉。6月，他们的从终身监禁削减为20年监禁，因为当时法院发现涉案金额比当初想象的要少。在陈水扁上诉的过程中，他仍被拘留。
但是现任政府也并不是完全清白，陈水扁的政治对手、总统马英九在上任前曾经两次被控腐败并判无罪。
本文被删除的一个部分暗示了南韩总统李明博正在接受一项关于非法监视的调查。同时，一些南韩的高级政府官员也在接受调查，包括总理办公室及总统办公室人员。李明博还未被认定为嫌疑人。外交政策承认这是个错误。
Sleaze Factor
Is there an epidemic of corruption in the world's democracies?
BY JOSHUA E. KEATING | JULY 12, 2010
From Angola to Uzbekistan, Haiti to Zimbabwe, in far too many countries around the world, blatant official corruption not only goes unpunished -- it's the norm. But while we normally associate bribery, cronyism, and extortion with fragile developing states, the leaders of some of the world's most stable and prosperous democracies have recently been investigated on criminal charges. Is this a case of those in glass houses shouldn't throw stones, or does it mean that we're getting better at catching powerful crooks?
FRANCE
The target resident Nicolas Sarkozy
The alleged crimes: Illegal cash payments
The investigation: French prosecutors recently investigated allegations that Sarkozy illegally received cash in unmarked envelopes from Liliane Bettencourt, France's richest woman, as a presidential candidate in 2007. According to Bettencourt's former accountant, the L'Oreal heir's financial advisor gave €150,000 to the treasurer of Sarkozy's campaign -- an allegation denied by both parties. The former treasurer, who is now labor minister, was officially cleared of wrongdoing, but opponents say the investigation by France's finance inspector was not impartial.
"L'affaire Bettencourt" is just the latest scandal to hit Sarkozy's administration, including the resignation of two junior ministers who spent thousands of dollars on cigars and Caribbean vacations, and a corruption scandal involving one of Sarkozy's closest friends and political allies who was implicated in a multimillion-dollar insider-trading scheme in 2007. But in the wake of the financial crisis and an unpopular pension-reform plan, this time the president might be fighting for his political career: On July 12, Sarkozy took the unusual step of appearing on national television to deny the charges.
Sarkozy's allies have denounced the allegations as a left-wing "political plot," and indeed there seem to be some large holes in the allegations made by Bettencourt's advisor. But Sarkozy's opponents will likely have little sympathy. His longtime political rival, former Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, was the subject of a five-year investigation and trial over allegations that he faked documents that linked Sarkozy to bribes while the two politicians were angling for the presidency. De Villepin was cleared of the charges -- though three of his colleagues were convicted -- and has maintained that the investigation was nothing but a political vendetta by the president.
ITALY
The target: Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi
The alleged crimes:Corruption, organized crime
The investigation: Berlusconi claims with pride that he is "the most legally persecuted man of all time." More than 109 cases have been brought against him, ranging from nonpayment of taxes to false accounting, bribery to prostitution. By his own count, he has been subjected to more than 2,500 court hearings. But despite the best efforts of prosecutors and political opponents, the 73-year-old Berlusconi seems unlikely to ever see the inside of a jail cell or be forced to step down.
The Teflon prime minister has managed four times to pass laws granting himself immunity from prosecution, though each of which has been judged unconstitutional by the courts. For his part, Berlusconi has accused the Italian judicial system of having an ingrained left-wing bias.
The most recent legal scandal involving Berlusconi concerns his longtime friend, business partner, and political ally Marcello Dell'Utri, who has been convicted of serving as a liaison between the mafia and Italy's political elite. In the course of the trial, a convicted Mafia hit-man testified that senior Mafia leaders had boasted of their ties to Berlusconi during the 1990s.
ISRAEL
The target: Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
The alleged crimes: Bribe-taking
The investigation: With internal probes into the 2008 offensive in Gaza and the controversial boarding of a pro-Palestinian flotilla earlier this year, Israel certainly doesn't lack for high-profile investigations. But the country is riveted by the ongoing corruption investigation against former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who was plagued by corruption charges throughout his term. New York businessman Morris Talansky claims he gave Olmert more than $150,000 for his campaign for mayor of Jerusalem in 1997, but the money was spent on fine hotels, cigars, and watches.
Perhaps more shockingly, Olmert is accused of charging multiple nonprofit groups -- including a charity for the disabled and the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial -- for the same fundraising trips. Olmert announced his resignation in 2008 and was charged with fraud a year later.
He has yet to be convicted, but investigations are ongoing. Most recently, Olmert was questioned over accusations that he accepted bribes in exchange for helping win contracts for a Jerusalem real estate developer. His administration didn't come off looking that clean either: A finance minister was investigated for embezzlement, a justice minister resigned after being convicted for sexual harassment, and President Moshe Katsav resigned amid scandal after allegations of sexual assault.
Olmert is the first Israeli head of government to be indicted on corruption charges, though current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been the subject of investigations in the past. Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman is also under investigation for a number of crimes, including bribery, fraud, and money-laundering.
TAIWAN
The target: Former President Chen Shui-bian
The alleged crimes: Corruption, embezzlement
The investigation:Chen was named as a suspect in a $450,000 embezzlement case within hours of stepping down as president of Taiwan in 2008 and sentenced to life imprisonment less than a year later -- an ignominious end to the political career of the once renowned human-rights-lawyer-turned-politician.
Prosecutors had long been gunning for Chen, who enjoyed immunity from prosecution as president -- his wife and son-in-law were arrested on charges of forgery and insider trading while he was still in office. Chen's political opponents also maintained that Chen faked an assassination attempt in 2004 to win voter sympathy in his reelection bid.
Chen and his wife, who was also given a life sentence, continue to appeal their convictions. Their sentences were reduced from life imprisonment to 20 years in June when the court found that less money was involved in the corruption than previously thought. The former president remains in detention as his appeal continues.
But the current administration isn't squeaky clean either: President Ma Ying-jeou, Chen's political rival, was twice tried and acquitted on corruption charges before taking office.
* A deleted section of this article implied that President Lee Myung-bak of South Korea is being investigated in connection with allegations of illegal surveillance. While several senior South Korean officials are being investigated, including several in the prime minister’s office and one in the president’s office, Lee has not been named as a suspect. FP regrets the error. |
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发表于 2010-8-5 17:36
