亚洲－美国继续印尼军事训练

 

US Resumes Joint¹ Military Training with Indonesia

 

The United States has taken a significant step toward re-establishing full military ties with Indonesia. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has announced that the U.S. military will resume offering training to the Indonesian armed forces. While Indonesia officials have welcomed the move, rights groups say it sends the wrong message.

 

Indonesia's involvement in the United States International Military Education and Training program, or IMET, was suspended in 1992, in response to the army's involvement in the massacre² the previous year of more than 250 people attending a funeral in East Timor.

 

Washington hardened its stance in the wake of the violence surrounding East Timor's 1999 vote for independence from Indonesia, and then again after the murder of two American schoolteachers in Indonesia in 2002.

 

State Department announced Saturday that Secretary Rice had given that confirmation³, and IMET could restart. Indonesia has welcomed the move. Andi Mallarangeng is the spokesman for Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

 

Andi Mallarangeng: We are happy. I think IMET is strengthening the cooperation between our officers and I think that is useful for both countries.

 

The cost of the IMET program, a little over $600,000 is relatively⁴ small, but the move has great symbolic⁵ significance: it is a sign that Washington believes Indonesia has moved away from its brutal⁶ and authoritarian⁷ past. It also is an important milepost for the country's strengthening democracy, represented by Mr. Yudhoyono, Indonesia's first directly elected president, who took office last October.

 

Washington is keen to improve ties with Indonesia, which has the world's largest Muslim population and is an important ally in the war on terrorism.

But human rights groups are unhappy. They say the Indonesian army has failed to bring to justice many past abusers, and that closer military ties with the United States will reduce the pressure for continued improvement.

 

But supporters of the move point out that there is still an embargo⁸ on weapons sales to Indonesia, a block that will take an act of Congress to remove.

 

Tim Johnston, VOA news, Jakarta.

 

注释：

resume [ri5zju:m] vt. 再继续

suspend [sEs5pend] v. 延缓，暂停

massacre [5mAsEkE] n. 残杀，大屠杀

funeral [5fju:nErEl] n. 葬礼，出殡

Timor [5ti:mC:] 帝汶岛（马来群岛中一岛）

stance [stAns] n. 立场，态度

brutal [5bru:tl] adj. 残忍的

authoritarian [C:7WCri5tZEriEn] adj. 独裁的，独裁主义的

milepost [5mail7pEust] n. 里程碑

take office 就职

embargo [em5bB:^Eu] n. 禁止出入港口，禁运

1 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

2 massacre   

n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀

参考例句：

• There was a terrible massacre of villagers here during the war.在战争中，这里的村民惨遭屠杀。
• If we forget the massacre,the massacre will happen again!忘记了大屠杀，大屠杀就有可能再次发生！

3 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

4 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

5 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

6 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

7 authoritarian   

n./adj.专制(的)，专制主义者，独裁主义者

参考例句：

• Foreign diplomats suspect him of authoritarian tendencies.各国外交官怀疑他有着独裁主义倾向。
• The authoritarian policy wasn't proved to be a success.独裁主义的政策证明并不成功。

8 embargo   

n.禁运（令）；vt.对...实行禁运，禁止（通商）

参考例句：

• This country put an oil embargo on an enemy country.该国对敌国实行石油禁运。
• During the war,they laid an embargo on commerce with enemy countries.在战争期间，他们禁止与敌国通商。