美国国家公共电台 NPR International team of observers has been in eastern Ukraine to monitor 2015 cease-fire

International team of observers has been in eastern Ukraine to monitor 2015 cease-fire

Transcript¹

NPR's Rachel Martin talks to Ambassador Yasar Halit ?evik, chief monitor for the OSCE mission in Ukraine, about the monitoring of Russian troops in regions of eastern Ukraine.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Ukrainian officials have ordered a nationwide state of emergency for the next 30 days. This comes after Russia declared two regions of Ukraine as independent and then sent in Russian troops. There's an international team of observers in eastern Ukraine, and they're there to monitor compliance² of a 2015 cease-fire deal between Ukraine and Russian-backed separatists. That deal called for a buffer³ zone free of heavy weapons. Ambassador Yasar Cevik is chief monitor for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's Special Mission in Ukraine, and he says abuses of the cease-fire have been happening on both sides of this conflict. We spoke⁴ earlier this morning from his base in Kyiv.

YASAR HALIT CEVIK: The cease-fire violations⁵ have increased since Friday. And now the violations are around 2,500 daily. Before these tensions arise, there were around on average between 150 and 600. And also, another important observation we have is the heavy weapons usage has increased percentagewise. This means more weapons are used with fragmentation effects, artillery⁶ and those armaments that were actually proscribed⁷ by the Minsk weapons. So the situation is tense. We are receiving civilian⁸ casualty allegations from both sides. We are receiving also military casualties from both sides. These are all allegations for us because our protocol⁹, our methodology, requires that we need to corroborate¹⁰ all this information before we put them in our weekly reports, which are, of course, public. So it is increased activity, but, I mean, we cannot determine, of course, which side is having more violations. All I can say is the violations are happening on both sides of the line of contact.

MARTIN: The OSCE has seen its numbers shrink in recent weeks in Ukraine. Staff from Canada, Great Britain and the U.S. have left. What kind of difference has that made?

CEVIK: Sometimes (ph) an inflexible¹¹ organization, it is agile¹², it is adaptive, it is highly mobile. Of course, some of our colleagues have been withdrawn¹³ by some of the countries that you mentioned, but they were not limited to those countries that are being mentioned. We were able to make the necessary movements for their departure, and we arranged our posture¹⁴ during that time, and we continue doing our work, and we completed all this procedure within 48 hours. So a lot of movement had to be done, but we never ceased our normal operations.

MARTIN: Was it disappointing to see these countries pull out their OSCE monitors right when you need them more than ever?

CEVIK: I do not want to mix the feelings with the professional work we are doing. This mission can adapt, did adapt. It was maybe a difficult period, but now we are again stabilized¹⁵ and working and delivering our reports.

MARTIN: What do you want a broader audience to understand about the importance of your work right now?

CEVIK: In any tension and conflict, reaching out to the reliable information is the most important thing because part of fighting is also disinformation for the public. And I know the wider public looks for reliable information. This is why we are here. Being a neutral organization making observations, we try to satisfy that need - or demand, actually.

MARTIN: But does Russia consider you to be an independent broker¹⁶? I mean, a Kyiv-appointed governor in the Luhansk region complained to The Guardian¹⁷ newspaper that the departures of Western countries in particular has led to a pro-Russian bias¹⁸.

CEVIK: That is out of question. We are a multilateral organization. Our team is comprised of 40-plus nations, and we have mechanisms¹⁹ to eliminate any bias in our reporting. There is never a team comprised of one nationality. There is never reporting based on one nationality. This is normal for any multilateral international organization. And since we are doing a very sensitive job as a - from the beginning, from its establishment, from its inception²⁰, has taken well care of this aspect, I can say comfortably that our reporting is never challenged by the sides on the ground.

MARTIN: Ambassador Yasar Cevik, chief monitor for the OSCE Special Mission in Ukraine. We appreciate your time. Thank you.

CEVIK: Thank you very much.

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 compliance   

n.顺从；服从；附和；屈从

参考例句：

• I was surprised by his compliance with these terms.我对他竟然依从了这些条件而感到吃惊。
• She gave up the idea in compliance with his desire.她顺从他的愿望而放弃自己的主意。

3 buffer   

n.起缓冲作用的人(或物)，缓冲器；vt.缓冲

参考例句：

• A little money can be a useful buffer in time of need.在急需时，很少一点钱就能解燃眉之急。
• Romantic love will buffer you against life's hardships.浪漫的爱会减轻生活的艰辛。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

6 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

7 proscribed   

v.正式宣布（某事物）有危险或被禁止( proscribe的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They are proscribed by federal law from owning guns. 根据联邦法律的规定，他们不准拥有枪支。 来自辞典例句
• In earlier days, the church proscribed dancing and cardplaying. 从前，教会禁止跳舞和玩牌。 来自辞典例句

8 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

9 protocol   

n.议定书，草约，会谈记录，外交礼节

参考例句：

• We must observe the correct protocol.我们必须遵守应有的礼仪。
• The statesmen signed a protocol.那些政治家签了议定书。

10 corroborate   

v.支持，证实，确定

参考例句：

• He looked at me anxiously,as if he hoped I'd corroborate this.他神色不安地看着我，仿佛他希望我证实地的话。
• It appeared that what he said went to corroborate my account.看来他所说的和我叙述的相符。

11 inflexible   

adj.不可改变的，不受影响的，不屈服的

参考例句：

• Charles was a man of settled habits and inflexible routine.查尔斯是一个恪守习惯、生活规律不容打乱的人。
• The new plastic is completely inflexible.这种新塑料是完全不可弯曲的。

12 agile   

adj.敏捷的，灵活的

参考例句：

• She is such an agile dancer!她跳起舞来是那么灵巧！
• An acrobat has to be agile.杂技演员必须身手敏捷。

13 withdrawn   

vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出

参考例句：

• Our force has been withdrawn from the danger area.我们的军队已从危险地区撤出。
• All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries.一切外国军队都应撤回本国去。

14 posture   

n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势

参考例句：

• The government adopted an uncompromising posture on the issue of independence.政府在独立这一问题上采取了毫不妥协的态度。
• He tore off his coat and assumed a fighting posture.他脱掉上衣，摆出一副打架的架势。

15 stabilized   

v.（使）稳定， （使）稳固( stabilize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The patient's condition stabilized. 患者的病情稳定下来。
• His blood pressure has stabilized. 他的血压已经稳定下来了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

16 broker   

n.中间人，经纪人；v.作为中间人来安排

参考例句：

• He baited the broker by promises of higher commissions.他答应给更高的佣金来引诱那位经纪人。
• I'm a real estate broker.我是不动产经纪人。

17 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。

18 bias   

n.偏见，偏心，偏袒；vt.使有偏见

参考例句：

• They are accusing the teacher of political bias in his marking.他们在指控那名教师打分数有政治偏见。
• He had a bias toward the plan.他对这项计划有偏见。

19 mechanisms   

n.机械( mechanism的名词复数 )；机械装置；[生物学] 机制；机械作用

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms. 这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He explained how the two mechanisms worked. 他解释这两台机械装置是如何工作的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 inception   

n.开端，开始，取得学位

参考例句：

• The programme has been successful since its inception.这个方案自开始实施以来一直卓有成效。
• Julia's worked for that company from its inception.自从那家公司开办以来，朱莉娅一直在那儿工作。