VOA常速英语2007-Turkish Parliament Approves Military Move Agains

By Dorian Jones
Istanbul
17 October 2007

The Turkish Parliament has voted overwhelmingly to allow the government to launch military incursions into Iraq for one year.  The motion is in response to attacks by separatists of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which Ankara says is using northern Iraq as a base.  Dorian Jones reports for VOA from Istanbul.

The Turkish speaker of parliament announced that the motion to approve military incursions into Iraq for one year passed by a vote of 507 to 19.

The only dissenters¹ were a small group of Kurdish nationalists. 

The main political parties, which are deeply divided on many issues, united in the position that Kurdish PKK separatists based in northern Iraq must be crushed.  Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek defended the motion.

He said legislators have must their minds over their emotions to reach a decision.  He said Turkey's patience has run out. 

Attacks in the past two weeks that killed more than 30 soldiers and civilians² have been blamed on the PKK and have sparked widespread outrage³ in the country.

But Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday that Turkish forces would not immediately launch an attack once the motion passed.

Political analyst⁴ Semih Idiz says the parliamentary vote has empowered the prime minister more than just militarily.

"The motion the government is seeking today is as much a diplomatic tool as a military one," he said.

The threat of a Turkish incursion into Iraq has fueled intense diplomatic activity.  Iraqi Vice⁵ president Tariq al-Hashimi held talks Tuesday and Wednesday with Turkey's president and prime minister.  Hashimi was positive after the talks.

"I think now a new environment, a new political environment, that we can build a new approach to defuse the current crisis," he said.

Just before the vote, Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al- Maliki telephoned his Turkish counterpart.  Baghdad is calling for emergency talks and has pledged to work with Ankara.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is also in Turkey for talks.  Speaking at a news conference in Ankara, the Syrian president said Turkey has a legitimate⁶ right to stage a cross-border offensive against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq.  

Washington is fearful that a Turkish attack could destabilize the most peaceful region of Iraq and has been lobbying Turkey not to intervene.

But the Turkish government is looking for action rather than words.  Turkish officials claim that despite promises by the U.S. and Iraq to deal with the PKK, attacks against Turkish forces continue.

With Turkish troops massed at the border and no constitutional or political barrier remaining, time appears to be running out for a diplomatic resolution of the crisis.

1 dissenters   

n.持异议者，持不同意见者( dissenter的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He attacked the indulgence shown to religious dissenters. 他抨击对宗教上持不同政见者表现出的宽容。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• (The dissenters would have allowed even more leeway to the Secretary.) （持异议者还会给行政长官留有更多的余地。） 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

2 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

3 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

4 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

5 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

6 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。