VOA慢速英语2023--Niger Rejects Diplomatic Efforts To Bring Order

Niger Rejects Diplomatic Efforts To Bring Order

Niger's military rulers have rejected the latest diplomatic attempt to return to power the country's ousted¹ president.

The coup² leaders refused to meet with a delegation³ of West African, African Union and United Nations representatives. In a letter Tuesday, the new rulers said a "climate of threatened aggression⁴" made it impossible to hold talks on ending the constitutional crisis in Niger.

The crisis began on July 26, when members of the presidential guard seized control of the government. They detained and continue to hold the democratically-elected leader of Niger, President Mohamed Bazoum and his family.

The West African political and economic organization, ECOWAS, threatened military intervention⁵ in Niger unless Bazoum was returned to power by August 6. ECOWAS stands for Economic Community of West African States.

Earlier, a top U.S diplomatic official visited Niger to urge the military rulers to restore the democratically elected Bazoum to power.

U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland said she traveled to the capital Niamey "to express grave concern at the undemocratic attempts to seize power and urged a return to constitutional order." She made the comment on the social media site X, formerly⁶ Twitter.

Nuland told reporters in a conference call Monday that she met with Niger's self-appointed ruler Brigadier General Moussa Salaou Barmou and three other military officials during her visit. She described the talks as "extremely frank and at times, quite difficult."

She said the military officials are "quite firm" on how they plan to move forward and those plans do not "comport⁷ with the constitution of Niger." She said the officials refused her request to meet directly with ousted President Bazoum and his family, as well as coup leader General Abdourahamane Tchiani.

ECOWAS leaders are preparing for a meeting Thursday to discuss their situation with Niger's ruling military.

Niger is the world's seventh-biggest producer of uranium. Uranium is the most widely used fuel for nuclear energy, adding to its importance.

"There's no doubt that diplomacy⁸ is the best way to resolve this situation," American Secretary of State Antony Blinken told French radio station RFI.

He said the United States was backing ECOWAS efforts to bring order. He declined to comment on the future of about 1,100 U.S. troops in Niger. French, German and Italian troops are also present in the country.

Blinken later told the BBC he was worried that Russia's Wagner mercenaries were using the instability in Niger to strengthen their presence in the Sahel.

ECOWAS has ordered sanctions on Niger and Western allies have suspended aid.

Residents of Niamey who spoke⁹ to Reuters were strongly supportive of the overthrow¹⁰.

Words in This Story

coup — n. a sudden attempt by a small group of people to take over the government usually through violence

grave — adj. requiring or causing serious thought or concern

frank — adj. used to say that someone is speaking or writing in a very direct and honest way

sanction — n. an action that is taken or an order that is given to force a country to obey international laws by limiting or stopping trade with that country, by not allowing economic aid for that country, etc.

comport — v. to behave in a certain way

 

resident — n. someone who lives in a particular place

1 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

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 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

4 aggression   

n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害

参考例句：

• So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结，就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。

5 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

6 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

7 comport   

vi.相称，适合

参考例句：

• His behavior did not comport with his office.他的行为与他的职务很不相称。
• A judge should comport himself authoritatively.法官举止必须要庄严。

8 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

9 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。

10 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。