2006年VOA标准英语-Poverty in Thailand Blamed for Unrest in M

By Scott Bobb
Bangkok
05 June 2006

Anand Panyarachun
  
  
In Thailand, a special commission on the violence in the Muslim-dominated south says that separatism and religious extremism are aggravating¹ the strife² but that the root causes are poverty, alienation³ and government neglect. 

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The National Reconciliation⁴ Commission Monday presented its report on the violence in Thailand's southernmost provinces. The almost daily bombings and drive-by shootings by alleged⁵ Muslim separatists have killed 1,300 people in the past two and a half years.

The chairman of the commission, former Prime Minister Anand Panyarachun, says the root causes - poverty, injustice⁶ and a lack of good schools - are common throughout Thailand. But he says the situation in the south has been aggravated⁷ by differences in religion, ethnicity, language and the interpretation⁸ of history.

"It is not a conflict of religion and it is not a separatist issue. [But] definitely, those two issues have been exploited to advance their [the attackers'] political concerns. But they're not the root causes," he said.

Southern Thailand was an independent Muslim sultanate until it was annexed⁹ a century ago by the government in Bangkok. Deep local resentments¹⁰ against the Buddhist-dominated central government erupted into violence in early 2004.

 
Anand Panyarachun
  
The government one year later appointed the 50-member panel of leaders from across Thai society to investigate the root causes of the violence and present recommendations on ending it.

The commission on Monday recommended the creation of several councils to address reconciliation, economic development and local grievances¹¹.

Commission Chairman Anand says government policies have not succeeded in addressing the grievances of the south.

"So long as there is still a deep mistrust of the government, of the government officers, of the government machineries, you will not get the cooperation that you need from the people in the area, in the villages," added Anand.

The Thai government has sought to address the resentments through job and development programs. But it has also vowed¹² to punish the attackers.

Human rights groups have accused security forces of using excessive force in quelling several uprisings and of being behind dozens of disappearances of Muslim leaders in the region

1 aggravating   

adj.恼人的，讨厌的

参考例句：

• How aggravating to be interrupted! 被打扰，多令人生气呀！
• Diesel exhaust is particularly aggravating to many susceptible individuals. 许多体质敏感的人尤其反感柴油废气。

2 strife   

n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争

参考例句：

• We do not intend to be drawn into the internal strife.我们不想卷入内乱之中。
• Money is a major cause of strife in many marriages.金钱是造成很多婚姻不和的一个主要原因。

3 alienation   

n.疏远；离间；异化

参考例句：

• The new policy resulted in the alienation of many voters.新政策导致许多选民疏远了。
• As almost every conceivable contact between human beings gets automated,the alienation index goes up.随着人与人之间几乎一切能想到的接触方式的自动化，感情疏远指数在不断上升。

4 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

5 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

6 injustice   

n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利

参考例句：

• They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。
• All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。

7 aggravated   

使恶化( aggravate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使更严重； 激怒； 使恼火

参考例句：

• If he aggravated me any more I shall hit him. 假如他再激怒我，我就要揍他。
• Far from relieving my cough, the medicine aggravated it. 这药非但不镇咳，反而使我咳嗽得更厉害。

8 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。

9 annexed   

[法] 附加的，附属的

参考例句：

• Germany annexed Austria in 1938. 1938年德国吞并了奥地利。
• The outlying villages were formally annexed by the town last year. 那些偏远的村庄于去年正式被并入该镇。

10 resentments   

（因受虐待而）愤恨，不满，怨恨( resentment的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He could never transcend his resentments and his complexes. 他从来不能把他的怨恨和感情上的症结置之度外。
• These local resentments burst into open revolt. 地方性反感变成公开暴动。

11 grievances   

n.委屈( grievance的名词复数 )；苦衷；不满；牢骚

参考例句：

• The trade union leader spoke about the grievances of the workers. 工会领袖述说工人们的苦情。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He gave air to his grievances. 他申诉了他的冤情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。