2006年VOA标准英语-East Timor Asks for Foreign Troops to Help Quel

By Nancy-Amelia Collins
Jakarta
24 May 2006
 
 
East Timorese soldiers secure an area after a gunfight which killed one soldier and wounded seven others outside Dili, May 23, 2006
  
Australia and New Zealand have agreed to send troops to East Timor after receiving a request from the capital, Dili, to help quell¹ an uprising by rebel soldiers. East Timor has also asked Malaysia, and Portugal to send troops to help put an end to ongoing² violence between its military and disgruntled former soldiers.

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East Timorese Foreign Minister Jose Ramos Horta said Wednesday that both Australia and New Zealand have pledged to send troops immediately, to disarm³ troops and police that were, as he put it, "rebelling against the state."

Ramos Horta told reporters in the Timorese capital, Dili, that troops from the two countries would start arriving as early as Thursday morning. Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer says Canberra is concerned about the escalating⁴ violence.

"There's been some report of some fighting during the course of this morning around the military barracks area just outside Dili. We are actually very concerned about the security situation there," said Downer. "There is no sign of it getting better at this stage."

More than 10 East Timorese have been killed or wounded in violence perpetrated by soldiers who were dismissed in March, after complaining of discrimination and deserting.

The dismissed soldiers say the military gives preferential treatment to soldiers from the eastern part of the country, where most of East Timor's independence fighters come from. They say because they come from the West, they are denied promotions⁵.

After weeks of protests, the dismissed soldiers rioted last month in Dili. Five people were killed then and thousands of residents fled to nearby villages to escape the violence.

On Tuesday, there was new fighting between the military and the ex-soldiers, which left two more people dead and five wounded. The escalating violence prompted the U.S. and Australian embassies in Dili Wednesday to order non-essential personnel to leave the country.

Shannon Quinn, spokeswoman for the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta, says the U.S. State Department is urging its citizens to stay away from East Timor altogether.

"And the Department of State further urges American citizens to defer⁶ travel to East Timor, and that Americans currently in East Timor should consider departing in light of the current security situation," she said.

East Timorese President Xanana Gusmao on Wednesday ordered troops to "hunt down" the alleged⁷ ringleader of the renegades, Alfredo Reinado, along with his followers⁸.

East Timor, the world's newest nation, voted overwhelmingly for independence from Indonesia's brutal⁹ 24-year rule in a United Nations-sponsored vote in 1999.

 

1 quell   

v.压制，平息，减轻

参考例句：

• Soldiers were sent in to quell the riots.士兵们被派去平息骚乱。
• The armed force had to be called out to quell violence.不得不出动军队来镇压暴力行动。

2 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

3 disarm   

v.解除武装，回复平常的编制，缓和

参考例句：

• The world has waited 12 years for Iraq to disarm. 全世界等待伊拉克解除武装已有12年之久。
• He has rejected every peaceful opportunity offered to him to disarm.他已经拒绝了所有能和平缴械的机会。

4 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

5 promotions   

促进( promotion的名词复数 )； 提升； 推广； 宣传

参考例句：

• All services or promotions must have an appeal and wide application. 所有服务或促销工作都必须具有吸引力和广泛的适用性。
• He promptly directed the highest promotions and decorations for General MacArthur. 他授予麦克阿瑟将军以最高的官阶和勋奖。

6 defer   

vt.推迟，拖延；vi.(to)遵从，听从，服从

参考例句：

• We wish to defer our decision until next week.我们希望推迟到下星期再作出决定。
• We will defer to whatever the committee decides.我们遵从委员会作出的任何决定。

7 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

8 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

9 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。