PBS高端访谈:安卡拉爆炸事件使得土耳其面临严峻形势

 　　HARI SREENIVASAN: Thousands of people gathered in the Turkish capital of Ankara today to condemn¹ the worst terrorist attack in that nation's recent history.

　　Families and friends of some victims gathered today to mourn. At least 95 people died when two bombs exploded at a rally by ethnic² Kurds protesting the escalating³ violence between Turkish security forces and Kurdish separatists. Today, families also waited for news about the 160 people still being treated in hospitals. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack near Ankara's main rail station, but Turkish officials are pointing to the Islamic State, or ISIS.

　　Some demonstrators blamed lax security by the government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, which is waging a military campaign against Kurdish fighters in the southeast part of the country. Yesterday's bombings came as Turkey is also partnering with the U.S. campaign against ISIS militants⁴ in neighboring Syria and Iraq.

　　Turkish president Erdogan said today national parliamentary elections in three weeks will not be postponed⁵.

　　Joining me now via Skype from Istanbul, Turkey, to discuss the impact of the bombings is Wall Street Journal reporter Emre Peker.

　　Emre, you have lived there for several years. You have been working for The Journal for a few years there. How bad are these tensions now?

　　EMRE PEKER, The Wall Street Journal: Hari, thanks for having me on the show.

　　It's — it's pretty bad. This is kind of unprecedented⁶ and unchartered territory that we're in. We're in the lead-up to snap elections. We had elections in June that produced Turkey's first hung Parliament since 2002, and violence has been escalating ever since then.

　　Both domestic threats with Kurdish insurgents⁷ and foreign threats stemming from Islamic State and the instability in Iraq and Syria have been sort of bedeviling Turkey. And that, just in the midst of all of this, when some 14,000 people were gathering⁸ for a peace march, that we have, you know, been hit by the deadliest terrorist attack in the nation's modern history is quite devastating⁹.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: Well, what is the sentiment like on the street when you go to get groceries yesterday? Or, I mean, what are people feeling like in the wake of this attack, especially since some of that explosion was televised?

　　EMRE PEKER: It kind of depends on where you are going and who you are talking with. The country has been going through a very polarizing period recently. And that's been sort of playing out in the aftermath of yesterday's bombing attack as well.

　　Some people you talk with adamantly¹⁰ blame the government and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's political ambitions for the blast, accusing the government of war-mongering for political gains, whereas supporters of the government and President Erdogan blame Kurdish militants, a pro-Kurdish political party that they say is supporting terrorism, and say that foreign forces and leftist militants and so forth¹¹ are trying to destabilize the country to undermine a decade of progress that Turkey has lived through under mostly President Erdogan's rule.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: Has this strengthened the president's resolve to try and justify¹² the bombing campaigns against the PKK, or softened¹³ it any?

　　EMRE PEKER: We haven't heard much on that.

　　The PKK yesterday declared a unilateral cease-fire, saying that they want to safeguard free and fair elections. There has been increased security measures taken in the majority Kurdish southeast, which I guess both the PKK and the pro-Kurdish HDP were afraid would hamper¹⁴ voters' access to the ballots¹⁵.

　　So, in order to unwind some of the security measures, the PKK declared a unilateral cease-fire. But, on the same day, also, a PKK road bombing killed a police officer. And the military has responded to these operations by launching widespread raids and also airstrikes against PKK camps in Northern Iraq on Sunday, claiming to have killed dozens of PKK militants.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: All right, Emre Peker of The Wall Street Journal joining us via Skype Istanbul, thanks so much.

　　EMRE PEKER: Thank you.

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 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

3 escalating   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The cost of living is escalating. 生活费用在迅速上涨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cost of living is escalating in the country. 这个国家的生活费用在上涨。 来自辞典例句

4 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

5 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

6 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

7 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

8 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

9 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

10 adamantly   

adv.坚决地，坚定不移地，坚强不屈地

参考例句：

• "Come over here,"he told her adamantly. “到这边来，”他对她坚定地说。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His family were adamantly opposed to the marriage. 他的家人坚决反对这门亲事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

12 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

13 softened   

（使）变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰

参考例句：

• His smile softened slightly. 他的微笑稍柔和了些。
• The ice cream softened and began to melt. 冰淇淋开始变软并开始融化。

14 hamper   

vt.妨碍，束缚，限制；n.(有盖的)大篮子

参考例句：

• There are some apples in a picnic hamper.在野餐用的大篮子里有许多苹果。
• The emergence of such problems seriously hamper the development of enterprises.这些问题的出现严重阻碍了企业的发展。

15 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》