2006年VOA标准英语-Presidents of Sudan, Eritrea Meet to Mend Relat

 

By Cathy Majtenyi
Nairobi
12 June 2006
 
The presidents of Sudan and Eritrea met in the Sudanese capital Khartoum in a bid to improve relations between the two countries.

The leaders were expected to discuss the rebellion taking place in eastern Sudan, where the Eastern Front rebel group is pushing for greater autonomy and more of a share of the country's resources.

An adviser¹ to Sudan's information minister, Rabie Abdul Atti, tells VOA that the rebellion was a bone of contention² between the two countries for a long time because of what he says was Eritrea's support for the Eastern Front rebels in Sudan, a situation he says has changed.

"These Eastern Front [rebels] were boosted to a certain extent at that time. [The] Eritrean government, for awhile, it provided some assistance and some help to the core group. I think that now 90 percent of the problems between Eritrea and Sudan are removed, and there is not any reason for the relationship with Sudan to be bad," he said.

Atti says the leaders will also discuss bilateral³ agreements, and says the meeting is considered to be an important milestone⁴ in the two countries' diplomatic history.

VOA could not reach the Eritrean government spokesman for comment. In previous interviews, the government had denied supporting the rebels in Sudan.

Later this week, the Eritrean government is hosting talks between the Eastern Front rebels and the Sudanese government.

Several rebel groups formed the Eastern Front last year to demand more autonomy and a greater share of the country's oil, gold, and other revenues.

Their demands are similar to rebels who fought in southern Sudan and have since signed a power and wealth-sharing agreement with Khartoum.

Rebels in the western Sudan region of Darfur say they are fighting for similar reasons. The main rebel group there also recently signed an agreement with the Sudanese government.

Information adviser Atti says he believes these two agreements will pave the way for a resolution of the eastern Sudan conflict as well as improve relations with Eritrea

1 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

2 contention   

n.争论，争辩，论战；论点，主张

参考例句：

• The pay increase is the key point of contention. 加薪是争论的焦点。
• The real bone of contention,as you know,is money.你知道，争论的真正焦点是钱的问题。

3 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

4 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。