Obama condemns 'unjust' violence 奥巴马谴责非正义暴力运动

Obama condemns² 'unjust' violence 奥巴马谴责非正义暴力运动

US President Barack Obama has strongly condemned³ the "unjust actions" of Iran in clamping down on election protests.

He said he respected Iran's sovereignty（主权） and it was "patently（明白地，公然地） false" of Iran to say the West was fomenting⁴ the unrest.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon had called on Iran to respect the "will of its people" after the disputed presidential poll but Tehran accused him of "meddling⁵".

Earlier, the opposition⁶ was told by Iran's Guardian⁷ Council the 12 June election would not be annulled⁸.（取消，废除）

Electoral fraud（欺骗，欺诈）

But Iran's Supreme⁹ Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei later agreed to extend by five days the amount of time allowed to examine complaints of electoral fraud.

In the 11 days since the election result, which saw incumbent¹⁰ （在职者）President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad returned with 63% of the vote, opposition supporters have clashed with police on the streets of the capital Tehran.

Mr Obama said: "The United States and the international community have been appalled¹¹ and outraged（震惊的，义愤填膺的） by the threats, beatings, and imprisonments of the last few days.

"I strongly condemn¹ these unjust actions, and I join with the American people in mourning each and every innocent life that is lost."

He said: "The United States respects the sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and is not at all interfering（妨碍）in Iran's affairs. But we must also bear witness to the courage and dignity of the Iranian people, and to a remarkable¹² opening within Iranian society."

Mr Obama said of the allegations（断言，主张，辩解） of meddling: "This tired strategy of using old tensions to scapegoat（替身） other countries won't work anymore in Iran.

"This is not about the United States and the West. This is about the people of Iran, and the future that they - and only they - will choose."

Referring to the recent clampdown （对言行的控制或禁止）on the foreign media in Iran, Mr Obama said: "In 2009 no iron fist is strong enough to shut off the world from bearing witness to the peaceful pursuit of justice.

"Despite the Iranian government's efforts to expel（驱逐） journalists and isolate¹³ itself, powerful images and poignant¹⁴ （悲伤的，严厉的）words have made their way to us through cell phones and computers, and so we have watched what the Iranian people are doing."

Earlier Mr Ban had urged the authorities in Iran to respect fundamental civil rights, "especially the freedom of assembly（集会自由） and expression", and end arrests.

However, Iranian foreign ministry¹⁵ spokesman Hassan Ghashghavi said: "These stances are an evident contradiction of the UN secretary general's duties, international law and are an apparent meddling in Iran's internal affairs."

He said the UN secretary general had "damaged his credibility" in the eyes of "independent" countries by "ignorantly following some domineering powers which have a long record of uncalled-for interference in other countries' internal affairs and colonisation". （殖民地化）

On Tuesday, the country's legislative¹⁶ body, the Guardian Council, said there had been no major polling irregularities（谬误）and the result would stand.

Guardian Council spokesman Abbas Ali Kadkhoda'i said there had been "no major fraud or breach¹⁷ in the election".

Mourning call

However, opposition supporters continued to call for the elections to be re-run, amid claims of vote tampering¹⁸.

Among them was opposition candidate Mehdi Karoubi, who urged Iranians to mourn for dead protesters on Thursday.

His call echoed an earlier one from cleric Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri for three days of national mourning for those killed in the street protests.

The protests in the last 24 hours are smaller than they have been over the past 10 days, amid the strong security presence on the streets.

BBC Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen said the protesters were talking about finding other ways to show their opposition, including strikes or civil disobedience. （不合作主义）

A spokesman for the US government said it "would not endorse（支持，赞同）" general strikes, but he added: "We've seen the beginnings of change in Iran."

In a fresh diplomatic move, Britain is expelling two Iranian diplomats¹⁹ in response to Tehran's decision to order two UK diplomats to leave Iran following allegations UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown called "absolutely without foundation".

'Good relationship'

Mr Brown told the BBC: "We want a very good relationship with the Iranians, we also respect the fact that it's for the Iranian people themselves to choose who their government is.

"But when there is a sign of repression（抑制，制止）or where there is violence that's affecting ordinary people in the streets, we have a duty to speak out and to say we want Iran to be part of the world, we don't want Iran to be isolated²⁰ from the world."

The Iranian parliament's national security and foreign policy commission responded to the expulsion（逐出，开除） of the diplomats in London by reconsidering ties with Britain.

The meeting was attended by Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki and the Iranian state broadcaster said certain decisions were made in the meeting that would be announced in due time.

On Friday, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei banned protests, prompting street violence in which at least 10 people died.

Severe reporting restrictions²¹ placed on the BBC and other foreign media in Iran mean protest reports cannot be verified independently. (本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

 

1 condemn   

vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑

参考例句：

• Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。
• We mustn't condemn him on mere suppositions.我们不可全凭臆测来指责他。

2 condemns   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的第三人称单数 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• Her widowhood condemns her to a lonely old age. 守寡使她不得不过着孤独的晚年生活。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The public opinion condemns prostitution. 公众舆论遣责卖淫。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

4 fomenting   

v.激起，煽动（麻烦等）( foment的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They accused him of fomenting political unrest. 他们指控他煽动政治动乱。
• Three sailors were fomenting a mutiny on the ship. 三个水手正在船上煽动叛变。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 meddling   

v.干涉，干预（他人事务）( meddle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He denounced all "meddling" attempts to promote a negotiation. 他斥责了一切“干预”促成谈判的企图。 来自辞典例句
• They liked this field because it was never visited by meddling strangers. 她们喜欢这块田野，因为好事的陌生人从来不到那里去。 来自辞典例句

6 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

7 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

8 annulled   

v.宣告无效( annul的过去式和过去分词 )；取消；使消失；抹去

参考例句：

• Their marriage was annulled after just six months. 他们的婚姻仅过半年就宣告取消。
• Many laws made by the former regime have been annulled. 前政权制定的许多法律被宣布无效。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

10 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

11 appalled   

v.使惊骇，使充满恐惧( appall的过去式和过去分词)adj.惊骇的；丧胆的

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• They were appalled by the reports of the nuclear war. 他们被核战争的报道吓坏了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

13 isolate   

vt.使孤立，隔离

参考例句：

• Do not isolate yourself from others.不要把自己孤立起来。
• We should never isolate ourselves from the masses.我们永远不能脱离群众。

14 poignant   

adj.令人痛苦的，辛酸的，惨痛的

参考例句：

• His lyrics are as acerbic and poignant as they ever have been.他的歌词一如既往的犀利辛辣。
• It is especially poignant that he died on the day before his wedding.他在婚礼前一天去世了，这尤其令人悲恸。

15 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。

16 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

17 breach   

n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破

参考例句：

• We won't have any breach of discipline.我们不允许任何破坏纪律的现象。
• He was sued for breach of contract.他因不履行合同而被起诉。

18 tampering   

v.窜改( tamper的现在分词 )；篡改；（用不正当手段）影响；瞎摆弄

参考例句：

• Two policemen were accused of tampering with the evidence. 有两名警察被控篡改证据。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• As Harry London had forecast, Brookside's D-day caught many meter-tampering offenders. 正如哈里·伦敦预见到的那样，布鲁克赛德的D日行动抓住了不少非法改装仪表的人。 来自辞典例句

19 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

21 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制