2006年VOA标准英语-East Timor Marks Independence; Prime Minis

By Heda Bayron
Hong Kong
19 May 2006
 

East Timor's Prime Minister, Mari Alkatiri, left, and Foreign Minister Jose Ramos-Horta, during a visit to Sydney, Australia, Jan. 2006  
  
On the eve of its fourth independence anniversary, East Timor is facing political turmoil¹. A recent outbreak of violence among former military officers has exposed the fragility of the world's youngest democracy and is testing the leadership of Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri.

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Calm has returned to the capital, Dili, after a deadly riot on April 28 by hundreds of disgruntled former soldiers shook the city. The riot killed five people and prompted thousands of frightened residents to flee.

The nearly 600 soldiers - or a third of the country's defense² forces - left their barracks in February complaining of discrimination in the armed forces. They allege³ soldiers from the east - where most of East Timor's independence fighters were from - get preferential treatment.

The soldiers were dismissed and staged protests for weeks in Dili. A government commission was about to investigate the complaints when the violence erupted.

It was the worst unrest in East Timor since the bloodshed surrounding its vote for independence from Indonesia in 1999.

The incident has highlighted the immaturity⁴ of the country's democratic institutions and called into question the leadership of Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri.

Analysts⁵ - like expert Damian Grenfell of RMIT University in Australia - say East Timor, with just four years of independence, is still experiencing some growing pains.

"We're talking about a very, very fragile society - both economically not well off and also socially - suffering enormously from its past that to try to build a new state and to do so very quickly, of course, there's going to be problems along the way," he said.

East Timor is the poorest country in Southeast Asia, although it has substantial gas reserves. Unemployment is high and poverty widespread. The country relies heavily on foreign aid and on United Nations peacekeeping forces for its defense.

Political analysts say some people are frustrated⁶ with slow economic development. Government spokesman, Jose Guiterrez, says frustrations⁷ stem from people's high expectations, but he says violent riots - like the ex-soldiers staged - are not the way to solve them.

"When Timor became independent many people thought all their problems were solved with a magic touch," he said. "But things are not like this. The people in Timor have to know that there are institutions and everything must be solved in the institutions. Of course, the institutions are still weak, we need to consolidate⁸ the institutions."

Critics of Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri say he mishandled the soldiers' complaints and that he is out of touch with the people.

A plan to unseat him as head of Fretilin, during the party's congress Friday May 19, collapsed⁹ when the forum¹⁰ opted¹¹ for an open vote on his leadership instead of a secret ballot¹². Most Fretilin members work for the government.

Fretilin is the dominant¹³ political force in East Timor, holding 55 of the 88-seat parliament. With national elections scheduled next year, political analysts say Fretilin needs to shore up public support.

Professor Grenfell says how Fretilin deals with potentially destabilizing issues - like the soldiers' mutiny - would set the tone for the outcome of next year's polls.

"You could certainly think that some of what we are seeing today is the beginnings of those elections in some respect," he said.

With the soldiers' issue still unresolved, the government is sensing the potential for instability ahead of the elections. The foreign minister has urged the United Nations to extend its peacekeeping mission, which expires this month. Neighboring Australia - which led the international peacekeeping mission in 1999 - says it is ready to send troops if requested.

1 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

2 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

3 allege   

vt.宣称，申述，主张，断言

参考例句：

• The newspaper reporters allege that the man was murdered but they have given no proof.新闻记者们宣称这个男人是被谋杀的，但他们没提出证据。
• Students occasionally allege illness as the reason for absence.学生时不时会称病缺课。

4 immaturity   

n.不成熟；未充分成长；未成熟；粗糙

参考例句：

• It traces the development of a young man from immaturity to maturity. 它描写一位青年从不成熟到成熟的发展过程。 来自辞典例句
• Immaturity is the inability to use one's understanding without guidance from another. 不成熟就是不经他人的指引就无法运用自身的理解力。 来自互联网

5 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

6 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 frustrations   

挫折( frustration的名词复数 )； 失败； 挫败； 失意

参考例句：

• The temptation would grow to take out our frustrations on Saigon. 由于我们遭到挫折而要同西贡算帐的引诱力会增加。
• Aspirations will be raised, but so will frustrations. 人们会产生种种憧憬，但是种种挫折也会随之而来。

8 consolidate   

v.使加固，使加强；(把...)联为一体，合并

参考例句：

• The two banks will consolidate in July next year. 这两家银行明年7月将合并。
• The government hoped to consolidate ten states to form three new ones.政府希望把十个州合并成三个新的州。

9 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

10 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

11 opted   

v.选择，挑选( opt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She was co-opted onto the board. 她获增选为董事会成员。
• After graduating she opted for a career in music. 毕业后她选择了从事音乐工作。

12 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

13 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。