美国国家公共电台 NPR--In Burkina Faso, military officers have taken control of the government

In Burkina Faso, military officers have taken control of the government

Transcript¹

NPR's Rachel Martin speaks with Rachel Chason, West Africa bureau chief for The Washington Post, about the coup² unfolding in Burkina Faso — the second in the country in eight months.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

In the West African country of Burkina Faso, a group of military officers has taken control of the government from another group of military officers who took control of the government just eight months ago. Rachel Chason is the West Africa bureau chief of The Washington Post. She told our co-host Rachel Martin that this was a coup within a coup.

RACHEL CHASON: In January, the military seized power from the democratically elected president because they said they wanted to get the country back on track in terms of its security situation. And then on Friday, a different faction³ of the military seized power again. And now we have a new leader in Ouagadougou who is again saying that his priority is going to be improving the security situation in Burkina Faso.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

So let's back up. Why is the security situation so bad as to have triggered this initial coup back in January?

CHASON: Yeah. So last year, Burkina Faso became the epicenter of the jihadist threat in West Africa. And so there have been a number of attacks in the past couple of years. And what we have even in the past couple of weeks were a series of attacks that really angered residents and the military.

MARTIN: So in your reporting, you said that some of the people participating in the coup showed up to demonstrations⁴ carrying Russian flags. Explain what that's about.

CHASON: Yes. That's been a really interesting sort of factor. Both in January and now, at protests in support of the coup, there have been a number of protesters who waved Russian flags, who said that they wanted to see more involvement from Russian forces. It's not clear to what extent, if any, Russia was behind this coup. But the founder⁵ of the Wagner Group did say he welcomed it. The Wagner Group is a group of Russian mercenaries that have sort of increasingly gained a foothold in West and Central Africa. And I think that there's just a real hunger in Burkina Faso to see something that works. And for a lot of protesters that are on the streets, what they're saying, what they're telling us is that they think that that help could come from Russia.

MARTIN: So what does all of this mean for the average citizen of Burkina Faso? What is life like amidst all this political chaos⁶?

CHASON: You know, I think that what we kept hearing was that people are just so hungry to see any sort of semblance⁷ of peace and of the country that they once knew. One 40-year-old woman told us that it felt like an eternal restart in Burkina Faso, with the new governments promising⁸ change and then not delivering. A vendor⁹ told us that all he wants to see is peace. He doesn't even care if he likes the president in power. What he wants to see is them bring real security to the country, which once was an incredibly peaceful place.

MARTIN: What are the odds¹⁰ that this new government can actually stem the violence, can actually prevent the Islamist groups from waging attacks?

CHASON: I think that a lot remains¹¹ to be seen about this new government and sort of what their strategy is going to be and what they're actually going to do. One thing that they have said is that they really want to turn to different international partners. That sort of raised speculation¹² about the extent to which they're talking about Russia. But I think that it's not clear yet who they really mean and what sort of their new strategy is going to be.

MARTIN: Rachel Chason is the West Africa bureau chief for The Washington Post. Thank you so much for your reporting on this. We appreciate it.

CHASON: Thank you very much.

(SOUNDBITE OF THE CINEMATIC ORCHESTRA'S "ALL THINGS")

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

3 faction   

n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争

参考例句：

• Faction and self-interest appear to be the norm.派系之争和自私自利看来非常普遍。
• I now understood clearly that I was caught between the king and the Bunam's faction.我现在完全明白自己已陷入困境，在国王与布纳姆集团之间左右为难。

4 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

5 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

6 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

7 semblance   

n.外貌，外表

参考例句：

• Her semblance of anger frightened the children.她生气的样子使孩子们感到害怕。
• Those clouds have the semblance of a large head.那些云的形状像一个巨大的人头。

8 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

9 vendor   

n.卖主；小贩

参考例句：

• She looked at the vendor who cheated her the other day with distaste.她厌恶地望着那个前几天曾经欺骗过她的小贩。
• He must inform the vendor immediately.他必须立即通知卖方。

10 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

11 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

12 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。